Implementing a competency-based electronic portfolio in a graduate nursing program.

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Educational Technology
• Health Professions Education

Background:

• Electronic portfolios (e-portfolios) are increasingly advocated for showcasing nursing student achievements and program outcomes.
• Integrating information technology into education aligns professional degree programs with 21st-century learning scholarship.
• Current methods often rely on traditional hard-copy binders for documenting student competencies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the feasibility of transitioning from hard-copy binders to e-portfolios for documenting nursing student competencies.
• To assess the efficiency of implementing e-portfolios in a graduate nursing program.
• To align educational processes with modern information technology standards.

Main Methods:

• The Plan, Do, Study, Act (PDSA) quality-improvement model was utilized for an efficient transition.
• An interdisciplinary team developed a professional e-portfolio template.
• A pilot program was conducted with 10 graduate nursing students in a nurse educator specialty.

Main Results:

• The project involved assessing university resources and evaluating the technological competence of students and faculty.
• Ongoing support was provided by the interdisciplinary team throughout the pilot program.
• The feasibility of using e-portfolios for documenting student competencies was explored.

Conclusions:

• The transition from hard-copy binders to e-portfolios is feasible for documenting nursing student accomplishments.
• The use of e-portfolios aligns nursing education with contemporary information technology and teaching practices.
• The PDSA model facilitated an efficient implementation of the e-portfolio system.