Portfolios and the assessment of competence in nursing: a literature review

The purpose of this paper is to explore the literature on the portfolio as a tool for the assessment of competence in nurse education.

Literature reviews are a valuable source of information; by locating, appraising and synthesising evidence from primary studies they can provide reliable answers to focused questions. They can also help to plan new research by identifying both what is known and not known in a given area. Literature reviews adhere to a scientific methodology which seeks to minimise bias and errors generating inferences based on the synthesis of best available evidence.

The literature review was conducted utilising several databases, selected because of their relevance to the subject under review and including CINAHL and MEDLINE as well as a hand search of relevant journals and documents. The search terms included: nurses in education, portfolios and assessment and competence. Articles were included in the review if they focused on portfolios as a method of assessment in nurse education and if they were published after 1993 when portfolios first appeared in the nursing literature.

The review divides the literature into content themes allowing synthesis of the subject looking at consistencies and differences, followed by a summary and key arguments relating to the next theme.

Results highlight the importance of clear guidelines for portfolio construction and assessment, the importance of tri-partite support during portfolio development and guidelines for qualitative assessment. Where the portfolio process is well developed there are clear links to competence in practice.

The evidence on portfolios as a means of assessment continues to expand. If educators take on board the lessons learned from previous research and apply it to their assessment process, the difficulties found at present, in defining and measuring competence may be reduced.