Facilitator Reflections on Shared Expertise and Adaptive Leadership in ECHO Autism: Center Engagement

Authors

Alexandra H. Vinson, Department of Learning Health Sciences, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
Dorothea Iannuzzi, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Department of Psychiatry; Harvard Medical School Department of Psychiatry, Boston MA
Amanda Bennett, Division of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA
Eric M. Buttler, Pediatrics, Psychiatry, & Psychology; Child Development Center, Nationwide Children's Hospital, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH
Alicia B. Curran, CHO Autism; CDC's Act Early Ambassador in Missouri, Columbia, MO
Amy Hess, Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, OH
Susan L. Hyman, Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY
Amy Kelly, Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health, Philadelphia, PA
Donna S. Murray, Autism Speaks; epartment of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, College of Medicine, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH
Lisa Nowinski, Lurie Center for Autism, Massachusetts General Hospital, MA; Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
Lonnie Zwaigenbaum, Division of Developmental Pediatrics, Department of Pediatrics, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB
Kristin Sohl, Department of Child Health, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2021

Abstract

Introduction: Project Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes (ECHO) is used to increase provider capacity in a wide range of health care specialties. ECHO Autism: Center Engagement is a program that promotes improvement in autism care by improving the management of autism care centers. The program’s focus brought experienced clinicians together as both facilitators and participants in an ECHO series. ECHO Autism: Center Engagement facilitators devised a reflective writing exercise to prospectively study their experience leading this new curriculum.

Methods: Drawing on a qualitative thematic analysis of longitudinal reflective writing exercises from seven “Hub Team” facilitators, we describe how ECHO leaders cultivate a learning environment that emphasizes shared learning and acknowledges the expertise of ECHO participants.

Results: The analysis generated three main themes: (1) Hub Team facilitators valued reciprocal exchange with Spoke sites, a theme we name “shared learning,” (2) Hub Team facilitators demonstrated high levels of awareness about their facilitation styles, and (3) Hub Team facilitators cultivated an interactional style they described as “all teach, all learn.”

Discussion: Examining the experiences of ECHO facilitators produces qualitative accounts of continuing professional development that may not be captured in other program evaluation approaches. In the case of ECHO Autism: Center Engagement, facilitators cultivated an environment of shared learning, which acknowledged the expertise of both facilitators and participants. These findings are pertinent for scholars of continuing education in health professions who lead educational programs where participants and facilitators have high levels of overlap in their areas of expertise and years of experience.

Recommended Citation

Vinson, A. , Iannuzzi, D. , Bennett, A. , Butter, E. , Curran, A. , Hess, A. , Hyman, S. , Kelly, A. , Murray, D. , Nowinski, L. , Zwaigenbaum, L. & Sohl, K. (2022). Facilitator Reflections on Shared Expertise and Adaptive Leadership in ECHO Autism: Center Engagement. Journal of Continuing Education in the Health Professions, 42 (1), e53-e59. doi: 10.1097/CEH.0000000000000395.