Occasioning learning in the workplace: the case of interprofessional peer collaboration.

In this study, we explore the potential of peer collaboration as a means of promoting continuous learning at work. Six peer collaboration groups comprised of 18 employees in a large urban health region in Canada participated in small collaborative inquiry groups over a period of 6 - 8 months. Using a collective case study design, each group provided one instrumental case that when combined with the other five served a supportive role in studying peer collaboration in continuous professional education. In this article, drawing on analysis of transcribed group conversations, we provide portraits of two interprofessional peer groups for in-depth discussion and further illustration. While one group used peer collaboration to: (1) retrace and reconsider their practical judgments; and (2) identify and explore breakdowns in practice, the other group demonstrated that peer collaboration can provide a space in which to identify and explore issues related to (1) workplace conflict, (2) professional boundaries and (3) emotional pain. The power of peer collaboration as an informal vehicle for continuous learning seems to lie in interprofessional conversation. This study suggests that unstructured but focused conversations about daily practice, among close colleagues from other professions, can yield surprising possibilities for learning.

[Improving work morale of nurses despite insurance cost cutting. 2. Program planning]. / Die Arbeitsmoral von Pflegepersonen verbessern trotz knapper Kassen. 2. Teil: Programmplanung.

Declining resources in health care frequently translate into work overload and declining opportunities for nursing staff. Faced with increases in absenteeism and lower morale among staff, nursing administrators must develop low-cost approaches to these problems. Building on the assessment process in Part 1, the authors present elements of program planning, illustrating the process with a low-cost model program to improve morale that addresses workload, learning opportunities, and organizational rewards for staff nurses.

[Improving job morale of nurses despite insurance cost control. 1: Organization assessment]. / Die Arbeitsmoral von Pflegepersonen verbessern trotz knapper Kassen.1. Teil: Organisationsassessment.

Faced with declining resources for health care and greater pressures to improve productivity of nursing staff, nursing administrators must act now to develop organizational responses to morale problems among nursing staff. As part of a two-part series for JONA, the authors describe low-cost organizational approaches that address nursing morale. Presented in Part 1 is a low-cost diagnostic process for assessing needs of staff and appraising organizational dimensions contributing to morale. Assessment findings provide clear direction for developing organizational approaches for improving morale.