Nursing Education for E Portfolio

 E-Portfolios and Nursing Education

 

What are E-Portfolios,Purposes of E-Portfolio,Role of E-Portfolios In Nursing Education,Outcomes of E-Portfolios In Nursing Education.

What are E-Portfolios

    An E-Portfolio is an electronic compilation of professional and career accomplishments, thus providing evidence of expertise. With the explosion of technology and focus on self learning and development of critical thinking skills, the e-Portfolio has evolved into demonstrating clinical competence and reflective practice that can be measured over time.

Purposes of E-Portfolio

    The e-Portfolio serves many purposes. One is to supplement or complement the résumé or curriculum vitae (CV) as it details one's career over time. Professional growth is demonstrated overall or in a specific category such as leadership or education, as well as detailing clinical expertise such as critical care or advanced nursing practice competencies ( Pincombe , McKellar. Weise, Grinter , & Beresford, 2010). 

    Demonstrating skills and knowledge can support credentialing, certification, or re-certification, as well as support employment issues such as securing a professional nursing position serving as an adjunct for a performance review. The ePortfolio has also been used to supplement graduate admissions criteria and can serve as a basis for promotions and awards. More recent applications of the ePortfolio have focused on the development of reflective nursing practice including the assessment of clinical competencies and professional development.

Role of E-Portfolios In Nursing Education

    Developing and refining one's ePortfolio is a continuous ongoing process, not a one-time endeavor. The process includes collecting the materials initially wanted in the ePortfolio , reflecting on how the materials best demonstrate the primary purpose or goal of the ePortfolio , selecting the best and most appropriate materials, and then again reflecting on the overall presentation of materials to support the intended goal. The final stage is compiling the ePortfolio and storing it in an appropriate medium or on a website best suited for its purpose. The evaluation reflection selection process closes the loop for quality improvement. 

    Oermann (2002) suggests that there are two types of portfolios, each serving a specific purpose. She identifies these as "best work" and "growth and development." Best work ePortfolios equate to those supplementing the CV or résumé, while the growth and development are more reflective in nature.

    The following items should be considered for inclusion in the ePortfolio when they are used to demonstrate professional development (Jones, Sackett , Erdley , & Blyth, 2007): training or education including formal education, in-services, certificates, workshops, and seminars; license or certification information; specialized clinical skills; language fluency including sign language: awards and honors; references that may include letters of introduction or recommendation; and scholarly activities such as podium or poster presentations, publications, work on faculty projects, grants, and research studies.

    Green, Wyllie, and Jackson (2013) assert that the ePortfolio can be used to assess cognitive, reflective, and effective skills. Garrett, MacPhee , and Jackson (2013) have used the ePortfolio to assess the clinical competence of baccalaureate nursing students. Using a self-reflection process, students were able to self-identify learning needs. Faculty were able to assess and track student progress based on the College of Registered Nurses of British Columbia (CRNBC) entry-to-practice competencies. 

    Summative assessments of students can also be accomplished through the ePortfolio (Hill, 2012; Yanhua & Watson. 2011). These uses of the ePortfolio are predicated on constructivist learning theories ( Jonassen , 1991) using experiential learning and the novice to expert model defined by Benner (1984). Reflection on personal experiences not only bridges the gap between knowledge and experience but also includes evaluating the ethics of a situation, personal beliefs and values, and self-evaluating one's personal strengths and challenges.

    The ePortfolio is not without its limitations. Jones, Sackett , Erdley , and Blyth (2007) cite the amount of time spent by faculty to review ePortfolios and students' complaints of the labor intensity of completing the ePortfolio as barriers to its use. These sentiments were echoed by Bogossian and Kellett (2010) when implementing the ePortfolio within the framework of an actual clinical setting. Support from faculty was also cited as a limitation by Jones et al. (2007) Garrett and Jackson (2006) proposed the use of a mobile clinical ePortfolio that would be directly linked to the student's personal digital assistant (PDA). This would decrease the time for documentation of competencies.

     It is important to note that the ePortfolio should be differentiated from the paper portfolio. The ePortfolio needs to be portable in order to facilitate sharing of its contents with prospective employers, graduate admissions committees, faculty, and accreditation bodles . As a most cumbersome process in paper format, the el'ortfolio serves an important purpose for students as well as practicing nursing professionals.

Outcomes of E-Portfolios In Nursing Education

    The underpinnings of the ePortfolio , such as reflective practice, can help nurses grow both professionally and personally throughout their career. Although the ePortfolio can enhance the self-reflective and critical-thinking process, there is little empirical data to support the effectiveness of the el'ortfolio for summative assessments, clinical competence, and its use in reflective practice for undergraduate students, new graduates, and advanced practice nurses.The ePortfolio may also need to be incorporated into different pedagogical approaches in nursing practice in both academic and clinical settings.