Clinicians’ informal acquisition of accounting literacy in UK clinical commissioning groups

IMPACT

This article offers practitioners important insights into the way clinicians can be engaged in the management of funds through situated learning in the workplace. Situated learning has the potential to foster accountability by engaging clinicians in meaningful and goal-driving activities and to stimulate the acquisition of accounting literacy informally. When clinicians work alongside accountants, learning takes place informally. A context needs to be created in which clinicians and accountants can work together to achieve common goals. This has been achieved in clinical commissioning groups (CCG) in the UK.

ABSTRACT

This article discusses how clinicians acquire accounting literacy informally by working alongside accountants, highlighting how participation in different activities situated within specific contexts fosters informal learning. Data were gathered from interviews, document analysis and participant observation. The study has identified three processes of acquiring accounting information informally; attachment to managers, hearing the same information repeatedly and participation in goal-driven activities. Interdependency between the clinicians and accountants and their shared version have been the two key factors in clinical commissioning groups (CCG) facilitating the informal learning process.

KEYWORDS:

• Accounting information
• Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs)
• informal learning
• situated learning theory