Action Learning In Health Social And Community Care

This comprehensive guide covers all aspects of action learning, one of the most widely used development methods in health, social and community care. The book addresses the theory and practice of action learning in these fields, and considers action learning as an adult educational ethos as well as a helpful tool. Based upon emerging experience, it identifies good practice in action learning and offers a wide range of resources to enable individuals and organisations extract maximum benefit from this approach. Offering practical tips grounded in sound educational principles, this book is invaluable reading for all senior managers and professionals considering using action learning for leadership, management and organisation development purposes, including organisation development practitioners and action learning facilitators, and for medical and healthcare educators and their counterparts in social and community care looking for a general introduction to this growing field.

This comprehensive guide covers all aspects of action learning, one of the most widely used development methods in health, social and community care. The book addresses the theory and practice of action learning in these fields, and considers action learning as an adult educational ethos as well as a helpful tool. Based upon emerging experience, it identifies good practice in action learning and offers a wide range of resources to enable individuals and organisations extract maximum benefit from this approach. Offering practical tips grounded in sound educational principles, this book is invaluable reading for all senior managers and professionals considering using action learning for leadership, management and organisation development purposes, including organisation development practitioners and action learning facilitators, and for medical and healthcare educators and their counterparts in social and community care looking for a general introduction to this growing field.

Most leadership development activity in health and social care has been intra-organisational or confined to a particular sector. However, there is increasing recognition of the need to move beyond simple collaboration and partnership and work towards different models of care which involve addressing the whole health and social care system. This is particularly important when addressing complex and 'wicked' problems in a time of resource scarcity. This book provides a much-needed guide for individuals, professionals, and organisations making the shift towards working in radically different ways in this current climate. It provides a rationale for systems leadership, describing the basic underlying principles behind it and their origins, and explores the various aspects of it, with particular emphasis on the development of systems leaders in health and social care. It also captures good practice, which is illustrated by a number of case studies, and suggests further reading on the topic. Combining theory with practice, this book will be essential reading for those studying on courses in public service, public policy, health and social care, as well as policymakers and professionals interested in honing best practice.

Organisational development (OD) as a practice involves an ongoing, systematic process of implementing effective organisational change. OD is both a field of applied science focused on understanding and managing organisational change and a field of scientific study and inquiry. It is interdisciplinary in nature and draws on sociology, psychology, particularly industrial and organisational psychology, and theories of motivation, learning, and personality. Organisation Development in Healthcare: A Critical Appraisal for Practitioners provides both an overview of the evolution of OD in healthcare as a field of practice and as a challenge to its future development. It examines the underlying assumptions behind OD and tracks its historical growth in healthcare, with special attention devoted to the UK’s National Health Service. The unusual nature of healthcare organisations delivering human services through the work of professionals who are subject to emotional labor and are addressing society’s wicked problems provides a unique context. A range of challenges for healthcare OD are identified, including questions of conformists or deviant innovation; organisations as machines or systems; hierarchy versus democracy; the importance of power and emotion and possible future ways forward for healthcare OD are suggested. Examples and short case studies from both the UK and the US to illustrate the benefits of OD are included.

Throughout their careers, social work students and practitioners need to demonstrate an understanding of critical and reflective practice. The Professional Capabilities Framework sets out how newly-qualified social workers can achieve this, and become 'critical practitioners' who are able to make decisions in fast-moving situations. This book is a complete guide for those practitioners who wish to engage with action learning as a way of developing critically reflective practice. The authors use Action Learning to explore fundamental aspects of good social work including for example person centred and anti-oppressive practice. The notions of social and emotional intelligence and being critically reflective are also explored in the context of action learning. This book is practical, skills-based and essential reading for all social workers who wish to extend their understanding and knowledge.

Applied as a discrete activity focused on a priority need or on new or changed roles; as a linkage between more formal programs and the workplace or blended with other elements in a program, this book distils current and previous practice and theory to provide an up-to-date guide to action learning.

Unprecedented investment is being made in leadership development across the public sector: leadership courses are growing, and development is a core theme of organizational capacity building initiatives. Within this, action learning has attracted increasing interest as an approach that can simultaneously address individual and organizational development. An impressive and scholarly collection, this book collates important examples and considers the evidence for action learning’s effectiveness. An important read for postgraduate students and researchers of human resources, training and development, this important book draws important insights to raise new questions concerning the role of the facilitator, the value of a ‘bilingual’ ability with public service issues and facilitation, comparisons with coaching and mentoring, and implications for employing action learning in a politicized or hierarchical environment and on a consultancy basis.

Community-Based Collaborative Action Research: A Nursing Approach provides a clear framework for an action research process to improve health outcomes and enact needed systems improvement. The authors bring years of experience in community-based collaborative action research (CBCAR) to demonstrate how nursing and other health care practitioners, leaders, and scholars can transform communities by identifying and addressing systemic and structural barriers to health and well-being. These communities can range from neighborhoods, practice environments, and villages to boardrooms and organizations. Ideal for novice and experienced researchers, including graduate and doctoral students involved in research initiatives and capstone projects, this rigorous text is a non-prescriptive, step-by-step guide to enacting meaningful change that emerges primarily from within the community. Rooted in social justice and advocacy and driven by theory and evidence-based practice, Community-Based Collaborative Action Research: A Nursing Approach is a unique and innovative resource.