Perceptions of Communities of Practice and Sense of Belonging: Focus Groups of Academic Pediatric Faculty

Margaret P Huntwork; Myo T Myint; Emma Simon; Bonnie Desselle; Amy M Creel

doi:10.7759/cureus.63605

Perceptions of Communities of Practice and Sense of Belonging: Focus Groups of Academic Pediatric Faculty

Cureus. 2024 Jul 1;16(7):e63605. doi: 10.7759/cureus.63605. eCollection 2024 Jul.

Authors

Margaret P Huntwork¹, Myo T Myint², Emma Simon³, Bonnie Desselle⁴, Amy M Creel⁴

Affiliations

¹ Clinical Immunology, Allergy, and Rheumatology, Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, USA.
² Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, USA.
³ Office of Medical Education, Children's Hospital New Orleans, New Orleans, USA.
⁴ Pediatric Critical Care Medicine, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center School of Medicine, New Orleans, USA.

Abstract

Background: Providing the opportunity for collaboration around a central purpose to improve skills and exchange knowledge, the Community of Practice model can be useful for faculty development. A sense of belonging enhances the engagement in communities. Yet, the barriers and contributors to academic medicine faculty's sense of belonging in communities are not as well explored.

Methods: Through focus groups with 21 academic pediatric faculty conducted between January and March 2023, this qualitative study examined knowledge of Communities of Practice and the factors that affect sense of belonging and engagement. The authors iteratively coded transcripts to generate themes.

Results: Community accessibility; opportunities for active engagement; working under a clear, shared purpose; and personal interactions enhanced faculty sense of belonging. Barriers to engagement included competing demands, process challenges, and uncertainty.

Discussion: Study results suggest strategies for the promotion of faculty sense of belonging and engagement in Communities of Practice. Consideration of contributors to a sense of belonging may enhance efforts to design and improve engaging faculty development programs.

Keywords: communities of practice; faculty development; faculty engagement; focus groups; sense of belonging.