| This qualitative study compares competency development experiences as described by Certified Medical Practice Executives with the element of a competency building model authored by Thomas Durand (1998; 2000). The model suggests that there are 9 elements that play a role in developing competency. The 16 certified medical practice executives who participated in the study were asked how they had developed their competency in 4 specific areas that were identified as important responsibilities to performing their job. A content analysis approach was used to code their responses. These responses were then compared against the 9 competency building elements of Durand's model. The study's central finding is that only 6 of the 9 competency building elements suggested by the Durand model (i.e., formal training, instructional companionship, learning by doing, social companionship, self-identity, and learning by sharing) were also mentioned by participants in the study. Three elements (i.e., use of existing knowledge, learning by learning, and use of existing skills) were not mentioned. In addition, 2 new elements were identified: innate ability and learning by private reading. Some elements were also found to be optimum ways of further developing competency in each of the 4 areas that were examined. In the competency of developing sound billing and collection policies and procedures, the element of learning by doing was identified as optimum. In the competency of designing efficient patient flow systems, the 2 elements of learning by doing and learning by sharing were identified as optimum. In the competency of modeling a high level of ethical behavior, the element of instructional companionship was identified. No element was identified as being optimum for the competency of utilizing employee relations to achieve a high level of morale. The implications from this study indicate that developing competency is a composite of many experiences. Future areas of research include duplicating the study for executives in industries other than health care and studying how individual learning styles impact the value of competency building experiences. |
