Qatar University, Qatar Health Cluster, College of Pharmacy, Doha, Qatar.
University of Bath, Department of Pharmacy and Pharmacology, Bath, United Kingdom.
Am J Pharm Educ. 2020 Sep;84(9):ajpe847515. doi: 10.5688/ajpe847515.
To examine the Qatar University Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) program for evidence of incorporation of communities of practice (CoP) learning theory. A developed CoP framework was used as a theoretical instrument to analyze the evidence of CoP theory in QU PharmD program, utilizing a case study research approach. The research suggests that the evidence of the CoP framework in the PharmD program falls into three categories. The first category represents elements of CoP that were fully evident, such as knowledge recontextualization, social and professional acceptance, and effective assessment measures. The second category represents elements that were partially evident, such as the formation of a co-development team, informal learning, mentoring strategies, and preceptors' orientation to assessment. The third category represents elements that were not evident, such as collaboration between faculty and preceptors and ensuring the reliability and validity of assessment tools. In cases where elements of CoP were implemented, this was an implicit rather than explicit application of CoP theory. Therefore, it was theorized that the disconnect between CoP learning theory and educational practices is at the "implicit disconnect" level. This research indicates that the CoP framework facilitated the identification of areas for future quality improvement and suggests that the theoretical CoP framework could be used by other programs to identify areas for improvements. We theorize that a full and explicit implementation of learning theory into educational practices is crucial, which calls for the collaboration of academic, practice, accreditation, and governmental sectors in pharmacy educational reform initiatives.
为了考察卡塔尔大学药学博士（PharmD）项目中是否有实践共同体（CoP）学习理论的应用，我们采用案例研究的方法，使用已开发的 CoP 框架作为理论工具，分析了 QU PharmD 项目中 CoP 理论的证据。研究表明，PharmD 项目中 CoP 框架的证据可分为三类。第一类代表了 CoP 的充分体现，如知识再语境化、社会和职业认可、以及有效的评估措施。第二类代表了部分体现的元素，如共同发展团队的形成、非正式学习、指导策略、以及导师对评估的导向。第三类代表了不明显的元素，如教师和导师之间的合作，以及确保评估工具的可靠性和有效性。在 CoP 元素得到实施的情况下，这是 CoP 理论的隐含而非显式应用。因此，理论上认为，CoP 学习理论与教育实践之间的脱节处于“隐性脱节”水平。这项研究表明，CoP 框架有助于确定未来质量改进的领域，并建议其他项目可以使用理论 CoP 框架来确定改进的领域。我们认为，将学习理论全面、明确地应用于教育实践至关重要，这需要学术、实践、认证和政府部门在药学教育改革倡议中进行合作。
