At their simplest level Communities of Practice are small groups of people, usually from one organisation, who through intense communication develop a common sense of purpose and desire to share skills and knowledge (Seely Brown & Duguid 1991). The notion of practice is central and members of the community must actively practice the same craft; in our case nursing older people (Tolson et al in press).
Wenger et al (2002) identifies three distinctive features of communities of practice;
This shared repertoire serves as a foundation for future learning. Mutual commitment to the community provides opportunity for reciprocity in learning where one member may assist another.
Several Communities of Practice are participating in this project:
CoPs involved in Best Practice Statement Development are recruited from across the spectrum of practice environments within the NHS and independent sector within Scotland. CoPs Membership of CoPs involved in piloting modules comprise registered nurses from one the Elderly Care Directorate of an NHS acute hospital Division. The membership of the Involving Older People CoP is restricted to the West of Scotland to allow us to provide intense outreach computing support to the participants of the Involving Older People Project.