Community learning: A profound choice?! a qualitative study of value creation through community learning in nursing practice

Abstract

A contemporary problem in many countries is a large outflow of health care professionals. Health care professionals should be valued differently to retain them in the sector, with facilitating fruitful collaboration as one of the initiatives. A way to accomplish this is to connect working and learning by breaking down the traditional separation between education and working in health care. Community learning has been considered a promising way to connect learning and working.

This thesis examined what value is created through community learning among health care professionals, educators and students situated in nursing practice. The aim is to help health care organizations develop a substantiated perspective on community learning, considering: the necessities for community building, the interconnectedness between collective and individual value, and the reach of value creation.

With findings of the thesis, health care organizations can make profound choices and formulate sustainable policy proposals in pursuit of more combination of learning and working through fruitful collaboration. The recommendations from the thesis are helpful regarding community performance, policy-making, and educational initiatives. In this way, health care professionals now and in the future can be valued differently and retained for the sector.