Module Components

• Overview
• Assignments

Topics

• The Challenge of Innovation and Change
• Understanding and Managing Change
• Personal and Career Development

Nurs 659 - Organizational/Professional Dimensions

Module 11: Managing Innovation and Change

Personal and Career Development

Hamric (2014) notes (1) specific attributes of effective advanced practice nursing leaders and change agents; (2) developing leadership skills; (3) leadership in the political arena; (4) obstacles to  effective leadership, and (5) strategies for implementing professional and clinical leadership. Please review each of these areas in preparation for the assignment,

The need for portfolios in nursing is increasingly important. In states that require CEs for licensure, an organized portfolio is almost a must. Donna Cardilla notes that the time has come to create your permanent professional record, with or without the licensure mandate  http://www.dcardillo.com/articles/beyondresume.html. In this discussion of personal and career development, the focus is on the role of the ePortfolio in marketing self, and in defining leadership abilities.  It extends the discussion of Hamric 2014,. p. 592-593 in which the components of the professional portfolio for advanced practice nurses is discussed. This discussion focuses instead on the electronic portfolio or ePortfolio that is rapidly becoming a standard in many academic institutions and in many schools of nursing.

While used primarily as an educational evaluation tool, the ePortfolio  has wide applicability in marketing self to the public and to prospective employers.  It provides an excellent opportunity to demonstrate and display examples of valued leadership and other experiences.

Definitions:

e-Portfolios Electronic portfolios are selective and purposeful collections of student work made available on the WWW that focus on the students' reflections on their own work/accomplishments, providing meaningful documentation of abilities. Electronic portfolios provide information to students, parents, teachers, and members of the community about what students have learned or are able to do. They represent a learning history.  Reference: http://www.sandiego.gov/public-library/pctech/tech/students/port/2.shtml ePortfolios vs. Webfolios Since the mid-90s, the term "ePortfolio" or "electronic portfolio" has been used to describe collections of student work at a Web site. The term "Webfolio" has also been used. This article describes the general meaning of the term, which is a dynamic Web site that interfaces with a database of student work artifacts. It is distinguished from Webfolios that are static Web sites where functionality derives from HTML links. "E-portfolio" therefore now refers to database-driven, dynamic Web sites, not static, HTML-driven sites.       Reference: The Electronic Portfolio Boom: What's it All About? By Trent Batson http://campustechnology.com/articles/39299/

Why ePortfolios?

There are numerous advantages to ePortfolios, including:

• easier to share with a colleague or prospective employer over long distance.
• takes up less space (often virtually no space at all).
• permanent and secure forever.
• easier to make multiple copies for distribution.
• more easily modified and maintained.
• Non-EP, or paper versions can always be easily produced as needed.

An example:

Exercise: Tour the John Hopkins University Center for Technology in Education Electronic Portfolio http://www.cte.jhu.edu/epweb/ 

Where DO I Start?

A number of resources exist for the development of ePortfolios.  Consider a review of any of the following sites if you are interested in beginning the process. In addition, see the reference "The Electronic Portfolio Boom: What's it All About?" By Trent Batson http://campustechnology.com/articles/39299/ for additional websites.

Oakland University, Rochester, MI provides a site that is written and Compiled by Career Services http://www.oakland.edu/upload/docs/Career%20Services/ElectonicPortfolio1.doc
 

Other Resources:

http://electronicportfolios.org/portfolios/howto/

Exercises:

1. Using any of the guides above, begin to collect, organize and assemble materials for your professional portfolio.  **Identify key academic projects and experiences to include in the portfolio. Begin to catalog these experiences starting with this class and ending with your last class. 
2. Review materials on developing the ePortfolio and consider if this is of interest to you.