A Brief Review of an Action Research Dissertation on Culture Change in Healthcare Education

In the action research study, “Changing the culture of teaching in silos in healthcare education”, Hunsinger studied the utilization of the appreciative inquiry (AI) process as a reference tool to improve communication and collaboration at an institution.  Hunsinger (2014) was “trying to determine how interprofessional planning processes, used to build a collaborative activity, or set of collaborative activities, change the ‘silo mentality’ of the delivery of healthcare education” at the selected institution.

Differences Compared to Traditional Dissertations

In this study, the research question chosen was “How can an interprofessional collaborative planning process used to build a collaborative activity, or set of collaborative activities, change the ‘silo mentality’ of the delivery of healthcare education at College A?”.  The study becomes important because of the identified silo culture, which has emerged throughout history as one of the major barriers to interprofessional collaboration (Chung, Ma, Hong, and Griffiths, 2012).  The objective of this study was to create opportunities for improved and increased communication and collaboration through the use of the AI process for the delivery of healthcare education.  Faculty and staff were engaged in the study and the end result was two products:

1. Interprofessional Collaboration Course
2. Experiential Learning Activity

Hunsinger states that the products were developed with a very “simple framework and design because future iterations of action research will be used to add more detail to the activities prior to being delivered to the students” (2014, p. 54).

Personal Interest and Contributions to Research

This study is of personal interest to me as I wish to build a workplace learning culture model and framework to train and consult healthcare organizations (or communities) on how to cultivate this culture.  The study of workplace learning culture and understanding what impact cultivating continuous lifelong learning has on people and organizations may be an appropriate topic for applied research, and Hunsinger’s study will contribute to my future research goals.  The study found that:

1. AI proved to be effective in increasing collaboration, evaluation, and communication.
2. Data collected confirmed the influence of the eight principles of AI.
3. Contributing to discussions in the beginning was difficult for some as they were not familiar with the AI process at that time.
4. An increased effort from all must remain in order for the benefits of increased communication and collaboration to be sustainable long term.

References

Chung, V., Ma, P., Hong, L., & Griffiths, S. (2012). Interprofessional collaboration and turf wars how prevalent are hidden attitudes? Journal of Chiropractic Education, 26(1), 32-39.

Hunsinger, M. S. (2014). An action research project: Changing the culture of teaching in silos in healthcare education (Order No. 3636641). Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global. (1615349909).

Robson, C. (2011). Real world research: A resource for users of social research methods in applied settings (3rd ed.). United Kingdom: John Wiley & Sons.