Communities of practice: A theoretical framework for undergraduate longitudinal placements

There has been a global shift towards longitudinal placements in undergraduate medicine, which are believed to play an important role in supporting medical student learning and professional identity formation. A better understanding of how learning occurs on such placements is needed, and community of practice (CoP), a social learning theory, has been proposed to form their pedagogical foundations. However, empirical research exploring learning through CoPs on longitudinal placements is limited.

Case study methodology triangulating data from interviews, written reflections and routine evaluations was undertaken to explore how second-year students on an undergraduate longitudinal General Practice placement participated within CoPs and the factors enabling this participation.

Routine evaluation data were available for 57% (n239) of students and in-depth interviews were carried out with five students and three tutors across eight placements. Themes identified through inductive thematic analysis were (i) participation within CoPs, (ii) enablers of legitimate peripheral participation and (iii) socialising agents. Student legitimate peripheral participation was greatly facilitated by making contributions to patient care, a welcoming clinical environment, access to the informal spaces and repertoires of the practice and effective brokerage of educational activities by tutors.

CoP is a theory that allows us to make tangible the somewhat abstract when deepening our understanding of how students learn on longitudinal placements. The extent to which students become legitimate peripheral participants varies, and this theoretical framework allows us to consider the factors that can enable such participation, with implications for how educators design curricula and placement infrastructure.