Helen Almond, Australian Institute of Health Service Management, CoBE
Sheree Lloyd, Australian Institute of Health Service Management, CoBE
Joel Scanlan, Australian Institute of Health Service Management, CoBE
The Australian Institute of Health Service Management (AIHSM) CoP comprises Australian Institute of Health Service Management academics, colleagues and leaders in our disciplines focused on advancing health and social care education and research. We aim to drive excellence in health service management through collaboration, education and research.
We trialled a proof of concept: CoP@AIHSM, in Semester 2, 2023. The intention was to engage current learners, alumni and academics across AIHSM courses, using the MyLO platform. Discussions were created in a conversational tone and included industry-relevant and academic topics such as AI in health/Accreditation. Central to the design of CoP@AIHSM was the vision of a 'one-stop shop' for participants to attend or access recordings of industry guest lectures and masterclasses, and to contribute to discussions on current and emerging topics. To reduce the burden on academics, announcements and discussion topics were scheduled prior to semester, and academics were rostered to oversee announcements and monitor discussion boards. CoP@AIHSM included announcements for events, a soapbox for dialogue, discussion boards, and recordings of guest lectures. A barrier encountered was providing alumni with access to the MyLO platform.
Next steps are evaluation and planning for 2024.
Evaluation is addressing:
1. the value of a 'one-stop shop'
2. elements that supported learning and
3. the sense of community/belonging.
Looking forward, plans to enhance CoP@AIHSM, informed by feedback and insights, are progressing. We have identified solutions to support alumni participation. A research paper is planned to share findings. This paper will provide a valuable resource for those interested in creating CoPs to facilitate meaningful connections between learners, alumni, academia and industry.