A portfolio can be defined as a collection of n evidence that is used to show or prove students’ performance. They are usually in written form. A portfolio has many definitions; it can also be defined as a tool or document that can be used as a quality measure. The value of the portfolio can only depend on the way that it is taken or the process that is used to measure the quality and it should depend on the end product instead.
However, research clearly shows that various portfolios cannot be identified or cannot be identified unless a standard measure is established. There are just various standard criteria that can be applied or can be used to ensure that these portfolios are uniform. The first strategy that can be used here is the point scale. For example, the post-registration program at a UK university, was established and in fact, it has come out to be among the best criteria to be used in grading programs, this is how the criteria at the post-program at a UK university work; A ten-point was introduced whereby from point zero to three here shows or indicates that there is little or evidence, and from the point of three to the point of four indicates that the evidence of the criterion has been met in all its aspects.
Nevertheless, these are essentially skewed pointers whose soundness and trustworthiness could only be judged if outfitted definitions of little or no evidence were provided. The portfolio by itself simply records the process, rather than supplying any measure of quality.
The quality and standards of the portfolio can also be verified in another way. The other way that research also shows that can help or can be very effective is called the practice assessment document. Here, the sufficiency of the knowledge base can be tested through an examination. This calls for the evaluation of clinical performance and skills in practice settings should be assessed separately from the reflective aspects recorded in a portfolio. Anyway the sometimes the attempts to demonstrate the validity of portfolio scoring systems fail because of the terminologies that are always used in the definition of scores, the complexity of the scoring rubric, lack of understanding of the levels of student performance, and lack of agreement regarding characteristics most valued by the evaluators.
As a result, it is not possible to show portfolio scores correlate with those on other tests such as the standardized examinations used at the state level in the US for registration as a nurse. In summary, issues of validity and reliability in the assessment of student nurse clinical competence using portfolios have been discussed widely in the literature in the UK but solutions to the problems are underdeveloped.
On the other hand, parameters for portfolio evaluation in clinical academic settings can be; communication skills enhancement, here the students must be or they should show a patient-centered direction.
References
- McDonald, M. E. (2007). The nurse educator’s guide to assessing learning outcomes (2nd ed). Boston: Jones and Bartlett Publishers,
- Alexander, J. G., Craft, S. W., Baldwin, M. S., Beers, G. W., & McDaniel, G. S. (2002). The nursing portfolio: A reflection of a professional. The Journal of Continuing Education in Nursing, 33(2), 55-59.
- Bell, S. K. (2001). Professional nurse’s portfolio.Nursing Administration Quarterly, 25(2), 69-73.
- Bowers, S. J., & Jinks, A. M. (2004). Issues surrounding professional portfolio development for nurses. British Journal of Nursing, 13(3), 155-159.
- Building a nursing portfolio. (2001). Nursing, 31(8), 74, 76.