title: Learning from Somaliland? Transferability of learning from volunteering to national health service practice in the UK.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Capacity building partnerships between healthcare institutions have the potential to benefit both partners particularly in staff development. Previous research suggests that volunteering can contribute to professional development but there is little evidence on how learning is acquired, the barriers and facilitators to learning in this context or the process of translation of learning to the home environment.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Volunteers from a healthcare partnership between the UK and Somaliland reported learning in communication, interdisciplinary working, teaching, management, leadership and service development. This learning came from observing familiar practices in unfamiliar environments; alternative solutions to familiar problems; learning about Somali culture; opportunities to assume higher levels of responsibility and new professional relationships. There was variability in the extent of translation to NHS practice. Time and support available for reflection and mentoring were important facilitators of this process.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The professional development outcomes documented in this study came directly from the experience of volunteering. Experiential learning theory suggests that this requires a complex process of critical reflection and new knowledge generation, testing and translation for use in new contexts. This process benefits from identification of learning as an important element of volunteering and support for reflection and the translation translation of learning to UK contexts. We suggest that missed opportunities for volunteer learning will remain until the volunteering process is overtly framed as part of continuing professional development.
authors.affiliation: Barts and the London Medical School, London, UK. esther.tillson@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Esther
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Tillson
authors.affiliation: King's Centre for Global Health, London, UK.
authors.forename: Sibylle Herzig
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: van Wees
authors.affiliation: Hull York Medical School, London, UK.
authors.forename: Charlotte
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: McGowan
authors.affiliation: Kings Centre for Global Health, London, UK.
authors.forename: Hannah
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Franklin
authors.affiliation: University of Oxford, London, UK.
authors.forename: Helena
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.affiliation: Guy's and St. Thomas' NHS Trust, London, UK.
authors.forename: Patrick
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bogue
authors.affiliation: King's College London, London, UK.
authors.forename: Shirin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Aliabadi
authors.affiliation: King's Centre for Global Health, London, UK.
authors.forename: Paula
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Baraitser
mesh_terms: D057191:Capacity Building / Q000379:methods*; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D003695:Delivery of Health Care / Q000379:methods; D003906:Developing Countries; D015730:Djibouti; D006282:Health Personnel / Q000592:standards; D006801:Humans; D007858:Learning; D011361:Professional Competence / Q000592:standards; D013222:State Medicine; D006113:United Kingdom; D014838:Volunteers