Imaging the Furure of Nursing Informatics
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According to Andre (2010), e-Portfolios refer to collections of digital or electronic information that are collected with the purpose of showing development or using as evidence of learning outcomes, skills and competencies as well as evaluation. Many learning institutions today engage in preparation of portfolios by their students as a means of evaluating the outcomes as well as the quality of the programs that they offer and to check their professional development. Whichever the case, e-portfolios are currently common given that many institutions want to keep up with the digital migration of their operations.
Driving purpose behind requiring e-portfolios
From the above statements, it is clear that there are always varied driving forces behind preparation of e-portfolios. To my opinion, the driving purpose behind requiring electronic portfolios should be professional development planning. This is because e-portfolios normally include of collections of information and artifacts that indicate ones milestones in life such as achievements and other materials that help educational institutions to be able to gauge the levels of students in their academic fields that they want to pursue. Therefore, e-portfolios help to give institutions an overview of the interests of the individuals and therefore be able to plan appropriate professional development. Knowing the line that one is inclined towards is very useful in making sure that nurturing their profession remains within the track of their interests (Andre, 2010).
Merits of the two approaches in requiring the e-portfolios
Requiring the e-portfolios for the purpose of professional development is advantageous in the sense that e-portfolios help to provide the educational institution with the appropriate line of interest of their students and therefore help them to develop their professional competencies and skills that helps them to become better experts in their areas of specialization (Andre, 2010). On the other hand, requiring e-portfolios for the purpose of institutional evaluation is equally advantageous since it helps to organize and arrange information in which makes it very easy to evaluate the quality of the programs of the institutions and their impact on the learners (Green, Wyllie & Jackson, 2014). Furthermore, this approach also helps institutions to gauge to what extent the intended outcomes are being achieved from their programs so as to make appropriate adjustments.
Scholarly Article on the Usage of e-portfolio in Nursing
Green, J., Wyllie, A., & Jackson, D. (2014). Electronic portfolios in nursing education: a review of the literature. Nurse education in practice, 14(1), 4-8.
Summary of Findings and applicability to my nursing practice
The article on Electronic portfolios in nursing education: a review of the literature, from the journal of Nurse Education in practice; generally reviews literature on the use of portfolios in nursing education. The main findings that can be seen from the article are that e-portfolios are used for assessment. The e-portfolios provide students with an opportunity to conduct self evaluation and assessment of their cognitive skills and provide a way of measuring the affective skills, evaluation of personal skills and even the evaluation of the peers (Green, Wyllie & Jackson, 2014). Furthermore, the literature in this article reveals that e-portfolios are useful in developing competencies for a nurse. The e-portfolios help to develop various competencies of the nurses because they include exercising various skills and activities that are geared towards making the nurse a better health practitioner. The information collected and stored electronically helps to direct the nurses in their practice and thus, they become competent in their work (Green, Wyllie & Jackson, 2014). This may be very applicable to my nursing practice because the various documents that I gather in my e-portfolio helps to keep me on track of my jurisdiction and this increases my competence in my nursing practice. The e-portfolio also serves as a motivation to me to be a better nurse and this leads me to carrying out my activities appropriately and therefore becoming competent as I continue developing and using my e-portfolio.
References
Andre, K. (2010). E-Portfolios for the aspiring professional. Collegian, 17(3), 119-124.
Green, J., Wyllie, A., & Jackson, D. (2014). Electronic portfolios in nursing education: a review of the literature. Nurse education in practice, 14(1), 4-8.
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