Community of Practice for Orthopaedics and Musculoskeletal Health
Communities of practice are groups of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly.
Three characteristics are crucial:
- The domain: A community of practice is not merely a club of friends or a network of connections between people. It has an identity defined by a shared domain of interest. Membership therefore implies a commitment to the domain, and therefore a shared competence that distinguishes members from other people. The domain is not necessarily something recognized as "expertise" outside the community.
- The community: In pursuing their interest in their domain, members engage in joint activities and discussions, help each other, and share information. They build relationships that enable them to learn from each other.
- The practice: A community of practice is not merely a community of interest. Members of a community of practice are practitioners. They develop a shared repertoire of resources: experiences, tools, ways of addressing recurring problems - a shared practice. This takes time and sustained interaction.
From http://www.ewenger.com/theory/
