Background
In 1992, the College of Nurses(external link) was established as a professional organisation for New Zealand nurses. The College is a strong voice in the nursing community in New Zealand, focusing on the support of nurses and their ongoing professional development.
As technology advanced, the College of Nurses wanted an online space to enable members to create and store their practice portfolios easily. A practice portfolio contains a summary of a nurse’s current practice and is used to showcase their competency and evidence of their achievements and accreditation. There are two circumstances when nurses need to present a portfolio:(external link)
- Being randomly selected for a recertification audit of the continuous competence requirements by the Nursing Council of New Zealand (NCNZ)(external link).
- Being employed by an organisation with an approved Professional Development and Recognition Programme (PDRP) and is required to submit a portfolio on a three-yearly cycle or wishing to apply for another level of practice.
So, to have a place to store this for all NZ nurses, the College of Nurses required a site that would reflect their reputation while offering a clean and engaging interface for nursing professionals.
Solution
Catalyst collaborated with the College of Nurses to build a site to host professional nursing ePortfolios using the open source ePortfolio platform Mahara. As standard, Mahara caters to a variety of evidence types:
- submission of reflective statements
- documents
- images
- videos
- audio recordings.
The practice portfolios enable New Zealand Registered Nurses (RN) and Nurse Practitioners (NP) to add and showcase their ongoing professional development.
Professional practice portfolios
Through the customisation of Mahara, nurses can complete a professional practice portfolio. The portfolios are tailor-made for a Nursing Council Recertification audit or NP registration application through the nurse portfolio site. Nurse portfolios can:
- store career, education, and practice information
- meet the requirements for a Nursing Council recertification audit
- be used as a portfolio for NP applicant registration.
Additionally, Catalyst set up a support website to guide nurses through creating their practice portfolios. Alongside these helpful guides are templates on ‘Nurseportfolio’ to make it easy for nurses to start and maintain their portfolios. Additionally, the College of Nurses staff can edit templates as needed.
Catalyst’s designers themed the Mahara instance and helped guide to match the College branding to ensure seamless integration and easy recognition of the College of Nurses identity. Now, nurses can access their ePortfolio when and where it suits them while keeping their practice portfolios confidential and secure. Without an internet connection, nurses can still collect evidence via the Mahara mobile app and then upload it to their ePortfolio once online.
Efficient transition to ePortfolios
The transition to ePortfolios has been swift, efficient, and warmly received. Professor Jenny Carryer, Executive Director of the College of Nurses Aotearoa, says “The College is proud to host a facility that makes the collection and presentation of evidence so much easier, so much more flexible, and completely portable.”
Liz Manning, Operations Manager, College of Nurses Aotearoa, adds: “Nurses have said that they are delighted that it’s all set up for them... to see it all so easily laid out has them going ‘okay now I know what I need to do’.”
While Catalyst and the College of Nurses worked together, Catalyst maintained the online documentation while providing stakeholder and technical support when needed.
‘Nurseportfolio’ is a versatile platform that continues to grow and improve.