Defining E-Portfolio and Its Benefits in the Nursing Profession

1.An e-portfolio or an electronic portfolio can be defined as an online resource that stores, records and archives important learning material, artefacts and reflection records for the benefit of an individual learner (Nielsen, Pendersen & Helms, 2015). E-portfolios therefore serve as examples that reflect professional and personal growth (Nielsen et al., 2015). E-portfolio is also known as a digital portfolio or an online portfolio. As mentioned by, Karsten et al. (2015) it forms a collection of the electronic device that helps in the process of assembling and managing information stored by the user on the web. The assembled information might comprise of electronic media such as images, blog entries, hyperlinks, multimedia graphics or texts. Electronic portfolios critically demonstrates the ability of the user to showcase self-expression. A stated by Green et al. (2014), e-portfolios can be compared to dynamic portfolios that highlight the personal achievements of the user and can be modified with the progression of time. It can be stated in this regard that e-portfolios serve as learning records that represent the actual evidence and level of achievement gathered by the student. In addition to this, it should also be mentioned that the learning records presented within an e-portfolio depict the learning plan. According to Feather and Ricci (2014), a learning plan can be defined as an academic tool that aids individuals to critically enlist communities of interest and organizations to pursue higher education and certification courses. Therefore, it can be said that the level to which an individual learning environment is capable of capturing and displaying a learning environment could also be considered as a miniature version of an electronic portfolio. According to Eynon et al. (2014), it has been mentioned that e-portfolios present examples of evidence-based practices that aids in planning a career path for future professional development and professional experiences.  Studies mention that E-portfolios are similar to traditional portfolios and facilitate individual’s perception and critical reflection on their learning experience. This helps in the promoting awareness about learning strategies and needs and accordingly design academic and professional goals. According to Collins and Crawley (2016), it has been mentioned that an electronic portfolio is similar to a traditional and paper-based portfolio. However, the use of electronic portfolios have been associated with stronger and better learning outcomes.

According to Chang et al. (2017), electronic portfolios have been characterized under three categories that include developmental portfolio, assessment portfolio and showcase portfolio. A developmental e-portfolio has been typically compared to a portfolio that highlights the advancement of the skills and abilities of the student within a stipulated period of time-frame. The developmental portfolio serves as a communication platform between the student and the tutor. On the basis of the developmental portfolio, the tutor accesses the level of academic progress and performance of the student within a particular domain. As stated by Bulman and Schutz (2013), a showcase portfolio emphasises upon the work-based experience and skills of an individual within a particular work domain. This type of e-portfolios widely find their application to assist employers to recruit experienced employees for a particular job role. As mentioned by Andrews and Cole (2015), a career portfolio is a type of showcase portfolio that is used by the employees to seek employment for a specific job role. It highlights the educational qualifications, skills and professional experience gathered by the employees while working in different organizations. Most of the e-portfolios are a mix of the three types of e-portfolios discussed above. In such cases, the resulting e-portfolio is known as a hybrid-portfolio.

Process of Creating an E-Portfolio for Career Advancement

Electronic portfolios find their application in a wide range of domains that include the following (Chang, Lee and Mills, 2017):

• Academic institutions such as schools and colleges
• Applying for higher education in Universities
• Continuing the process of professional development
• Applying for job-opportunities or publishing professional advertisements
• Applying for psychological therapy groups
• Conducting an assessment
• Approving an accreditation
• Recognition of the process of prior learning experiences

E-portfolios find extensive application in the field of the education sector. It should be noted in this context that the e-portfolios managed by the students provide them with an opportunity to organize, archive and display the learning goals and the associated academic progress (Feather & Ricci, 2014). Also, the electronic format of the record helps the assessor to critically evaluate the portfolios of the students over the internet or on secondary memory devices such as CD-ROM, DVD or Zip disk. The popularity and increased demand of the e-portfolios within the educator sector can be attributed to the associated advantages over the traditional portfolios. The advantages can be accounted as the continuous communication process that allows the instructor to review and provide a feedback in an asynchronous manner (Green et al., 2014). Also, it provides an opportunity to the students to reflect upon their practical experiences and that serves as the meaningful purpose to create the portfolio. It should be noted in this regard that the e-portfolio of a student is shred with a prospective employer in order to critically record the achievements acquired in an academic program and the ability to acquire the learning goals. The two domains that extensively encourage the students to create an e-portfolio are the Nursing and the Education department. In most of the developed Nations, it is expected that the nursing students must create an e-portfolio in order to apply for specialization training and to assume the role of advanced nursing practitioners (Nielsen et al., 2015). Also, pre-service and fresh teachers are required to create e-portfolios in order to gather teaching certification and licensure. E-portfolios used by the students are based upon a number of academic disciplines that include, Math, Science, Business, Architecture, Engineering and Communications. The major functions served by academic electronic portfolios within the education domain can be enlisted as follows (Karsten et al., 2015):

• Record and document skills and learning
• Document and critically track development within an academic course or a program
• Plan an education course or a program
• Critically evaluate and monitor performance
• Look for job opportunities
• Evaluate the advantages and application of the course

Therefore, it can be mentioned that the e-portfolios encourage critical thinking and promote the successive development of technological as well as literacy skills. Apart from the students, educators also make use of electronic portfolios in order to record course and discipline designs so as to promote learning objectives in collaboration with the teaching professionals. E-Portfolios thus help in reinforcing an independent and an autonomous thought perspective of aspirants willing to explore educational and job opportunities (Eynon et al., 2014). Therefore, in this regard, I would like to state that creating an e-portfolio would help me in showcasing my level of academic education, professional experiences, personal strengths, learning interest and career map. It would also include a section of critical reflection based upon my professional experience that would allow me to analyse my strengths and weaknesses. The online portfolio thus created by me would be used to apply in different academic institutions offering certification courses for speciality programs and advanced nursing practices. It would allow me to assess my strengths and weaknesses and highlight the areas where I would need to acquire training in order to attain professional excellence. In addition to this, it should also be mentioned that the e-portfolio would help in the process of networking and allow me to apply for better job opportunities in order to boost my professional career. It would also help me in remaining updated with the latest job vacancies for advanced practitioners across Australia and increase my chances of recruitment in reputed healthcare organizations.

2:This section of the paper would highlight my accomplished academic certifications, degrees and my career goals. I have always aspired to work in the healthcare sector in order to serve people and enhance their quality of life. The nursing profession seemed extremely appropriate to me as it fulfilled both the criteria of my dream job. As a registered nurse, my primary responsibility would be to care for people and alleviate their standard of life with appropriate medical assistance and treatment intervention. However, the journey to assume my desired job-role is a lengthy journey that offers critical challenges throughout. However, I consider determination and optimism to be my key strengths.

Job Responsibilities of an Emergency Nurse Practitioner

I have completed my Bachelor of Science in Indian and at present, I am pursuing my Graduate Diploma Course in Nursing, from Australia. After the completion of my Graduate Diploma Course in Nursing, I am planning to acquire sufficient training in order to qualify the APHRA criteria for bridging Courses (Nursingmidwiferyboard.gov.au., 2018). On qualifying the criteria, I would be recognized as a Registered Nurse. However, my career growth curve would not remain static at that point. This is because I plan to become an emergency nurse practitioner and work at the acute Care Unit in the long run.

In this regard, it should be noted that the Advanced Nursing Practitioners are professionals who are highly experienced and educated. The APNs, are experts at assessing, investigating, diagnosing and prescribing an intervention discourse to a patient in need. According to Paterson and Chapman (2013), it has been stated that within NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde a total of more than 100 APNs are working across diverse care units, ranging from primary to intensive care unit. The APNs represent excellent competency skills within the scope of practice. In addition to this, APNs also showcase freedom and independence in critical decision making process and in the planning and designing course of an intervention strategy (Registerednursing.org, 2018). The decisions made by the professionals are made using the high level of expertise, skills and knowledge. It also includes the authority to refer, admit and discharge patients depending upon the appropriate clinical requisite. It is critical to note in this regard, that the advanced nursing practitioners also represent excellent ability to coordinate and maintain communication with the multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary healthcare team of professionals which serves as an important criterion to render holistic care to the patients (Nursingmidwiferyboard.gov.au., 2018).

As already mentioned above, my area of career interest to assume the job role of an advanced nursing professional and work within the emergency care unit. In order to work as an APN, the first step that has to be taken by me after the completion of my Diploma Degree in Nursing is to enrol myself in a Master’s program. It should be noted in this regard, that numerous specialization areas are offered under the APRN category. The specialization areas include, the Nurse Practitioners, Certified nurse-midwives, certified registered nurse anaesthetists and Clinical nurse specialists (Nursingmidwiferyboard.gov.au., 2018). Also, the advanced nursing practitioners may work within varied healthcare settings that include, hospitals, ambulatory clinics and long-term facilities. In addition to this, the advanced nursing professionals also work with a specialized population that might include, older adults, neonates, paediatrics or women.

The key job responsibilities of the advanced nursing professional have been represented in a clear and articulate manner in the table given below (Nursingmidwiferyboard.gov.au., 2018):

Emergency nurse practitioners are a group of advanced nursing professionals who work within the emergency care unit (Registerednursing.org., 2018). The professionals are efficiently trained in managing the illness and injury of patients belonging to diverse age groups. The nurses are efficiently equipped to manage patients within busy emergency rooms. It should be noted in this context that assistance and supervision by the physicians might or might not be required depending upon the condition where they are placed. Emergency care nursing professionals diagnose and treat patients who present with emergency symptoms (Registerednursing.org., 2018). The nurses perform assessment and collect information about the physical, psychological and environmental conditions that could have potentially affected the condition of the client. In addition to this, emergency nurse practitioners also impart education to the patient and the family members of the patients and adapt a family-centred approach to devise care (Nursingmidwiferyboard.gov.au., 2018). Therefore, the emergency practitioners effectively improve the access to care.

Using Benner’s Model or Gibbs Cycle for Professional Growth

On qualifying the NCLEX-RN examination after the completion of my Diploma course, I would qualify the requisite and eligibility to obtain the licensure for practicing as a RN (Registerednursing.org., 2018). Further, I would enrol myself to pursue a master’s degree program or a doctoral degree program in Nursing and obtain a BSN licensure. While pursing the MSN, I would opt for the emergency nurse practitioner speciality domain. In this regard, it should be mentioned that Emergency Nurse Practitioner Board Certified Credential is offered by the ANCC that offers certification to eligible candidates through portfolio assessment where no exam is required. I plan to join the American Academy of Emergency Nurse Practitioners in order to obtain my BSN certification Licensure (Registerednursing.org., 2018). The credential is valid for a time period of 5 years (Registerednursing.org., 2018). I also plan to obtain additional certification in Basic Life Support to enhance my academic achievements.

It should be critically noted in this regard that being an emergency nurse would require me to work under challenging circumstances with extensive work load independently. Therefore, obtaining a certification in Critical Care would prepare me to effectively manage emergency situation. It would enhance my decision making skills and expertise to manage critical clinical scenario and render effective treatment. Emergency Nurse Practitioners serve as esteemed healthcare professionals who help in the process of delivering holistic and comprehensive care to the patients and at the same time attain positive patient outcomes. Some of the responsibilities and duties that I as an Emergency Nurse Practitioner would be required to follow would include (Registerednursing.org., 2018):

• Conducting patient assessment and rapid assessment of patients across their lifespan
• Diagnosis of the patient and prescribing intervention
• Performing triage and assessing the acuity of patients
• Ordering for diagnostic tests and interpreting the results
• Conducting bedside procedures, such as, suturing, accessing central line and intubations
• Admitting the patients to the hospital
• Discharging patients from the Emergency Department
• Collaborating with the physicians in complicated cases
• Referring the patient to specialists as and when required

Reflection forms an integral part of professional nursing practice (Paterson and Chapman, 2013). According to Jayatilleke & Mackie (2013), it has been mentioned that the Gibbs reflective cycle encourages the professionals to think and analyse clinical situations in a systematic manner. The Gibbs Reflective Cycle covers five important steps that include, Description, Feelings, Evaluation, Analysis, Conclusion and an Action Plan (Husebo et al. 2013). All the six steps are equally important and help professionals to critically reflect upon their clinical experiences in order to identify the existing lacunae within the scope of practice and undertake sufficient steps to attain expertise (Howatson-Jones, 2016).

According to my clinical experience so far, I feel that I have yet to learn a lot about professional excellence and acquire skills for clinical expertise. In this regard, I would like to mention one clinical incident that clearly displayed my inability to render culturally safe intervention to a patient during an abdominal assessment.

I was required to perform an abdominal assessment of an aboriginal male who was 35 years old. I proceeded to perform the assessment but did not educate the patient about his medical health condition. I further failed to seek consent from the patient that whether or not he was comfortable with me performing his abdominal assessment. This clearly reflects my inability to render a culturally safe intervention and care to the client.

On critically reflecting upon the clinical incident, it can be mentioned that I had not considered the comfort and the convenience level of the client. It can further be mentioned that I had failed to take note of the cultural background of the client.

On evaluating the clinical condition, it can be stated that the clinical experience might have elicited a negative impact on the psychological health and though process of the client. It can further be evaluated that my capability as a nursing professional was questionable. Overall, the incident reflected my lack of knowledge in cultural competence.

On critically analysing the clinical scenario, it can be mentioned that I need to work on my competence skills and my clinical decision making ability. I should be stringently aware about the ethical code of conduct of the nursing profession and accordingly endeavour to improve myself and enhance the quality of care provided by me.

Conclusion:

It can be mentioned in this regard that I should have been proactive in consulting with my seniors and supervisors before performing the assessment. I should have recollected the nursing ethics and accordingly proceeded with the assessment procedure.

Therefore, in order to improve my skills on cultural competence, it is important for me to draft an action plan and accordingly take steps to work on my lacuna and improve the quality of my professional practice. The two key areas, where I would require to work upon include, decision making ability and cultural competence. In order to improve my skills, I would attend workshops on cultural competence, browse through online academic resources that deal with cultural competency and follow blog postings of the experienced nursing professionals who share their experience about cultural competence and managing patients from diverse ethnic backgrounds. In order to enhance my decision making skills I would work under the supervision of my seniors and acquire skills from practical experience. Therefore, to conclude, I would expect to acquire success in providing effective and holistic care to the patients in order to obtain positive patient outcomes.

References:

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Registerednursing.org. (2018). Emergency Nurse Practitioner. Retrieved from https://www.registerednursing.org/nurse-practitioner/emergency/