Portfolio Guidelines - Pre-Licensure BSN Program

The purpose of the portfolio requirement is to give senior nursing students an opportunity to document their educational growth throughout the nursing program. The portfolio will serve to demonstrate accomplishment in meeting the BSN program outcomes as well as serve as a tool in seeking employment pursuant to graduation. The following guidelines are provided to aid students in preparing the portfolio. The evaluation tool faculty will use when reviewing the portfolio is also included.

Guidelines:

All students are to keep a professional portfolio that will demonstrate their work in the professional sequence of the BSN program.  By graduation, the portfolio should demonstrate that the student met all of the terminal outcomes.  The outcomes are:

1. Perform collaborative leadership roles in the provision, delegation, and supervision of nursing care while retaining accountability for patient safety and the quality of that care. (Collaborative Leadership)
2. Integrate theories and knowledge from the arts, humanities, sciences, and nursing to develop a foundation for nursing practice. (Theoretical Base for Practice)
3. Organize the interdisciplinary health care needs of diverse populations across the lifespan toward achieving the goal of healthy individuals, families, groups, and (Generalist Nursing Practice)
4. Assimilate current evidence into the practice of nursing. (Scholarship for Practice)
5. Advocate for healthcare across the continuum of healthcare (Health Care Environment )
6. Demonstrate a level of professionalism that is congruent with the inherent values, ethics, and behaviors of the discipline of nursing. (Professionalism)

Format Guidelines

Students should consult with faculty in appropriate courses as needed during the portfolio preparation.  It is the student’s responsibility to seek out assistance prior to submission of the portfolio if anything is unclear.

1. The portfolio framework will be established in NURS 260 using the BlackBoard Portfolio tool. See Appendix A for example instructions.  The portfolio will contain the following eight pages (tabs or folders):
   1. A page introducing your portfolio
   2. A page for each of the six BSN Program Outcomes
      1. Collaborative Leadership
      2. Theoretical Base for Practice
      3. Generalist Nursing Practice
      4. Scholarship for Practice
      5. Health Care Environment
      6. Professionalism
   3. A page for your resume and cover letter
2. The portfolio will be submitted for review (checkpoint) as follows:
   1. NURS 260, 362, 372, 462, and 472
3. The portfolio should be professional and meet scholarly standards.
   1. Careful attention to grammar, punctuation, spelling, and sentence structure will be demonstrated throughout.
   2. A professional portfolio is not a “precious memory book,” scrapbook, or checklist.
   3. Portfolios involve critical thinking, synthesis, and self-direction.
4. Throughout the program, students will place documents that provide evidence of accomplishment in each of the outcomes.
   1. The grid in Appendix B outlines the documents that are required at each portfolio checkpoint.
   2. During the program, students may replace items that better represent their accomplishments, or they may include early and later efforts to show their progress.
   3. Each nursing course includes a course evaluation table that outlines assignments designed to meet specific program outcomes. For example, the presentation assignment below could represent how a student met the program outcome (#5) healthcare environment or (#6) professionalism. See specific course syllabi for details.

   4. The following are suggested documents, but each student’s portfolio will be unique and based on personal experiences and accomplishments.

      • Collaborative Leadership
        • Leadership activities
        • Collaboration with other disciplines
      • Theoretical Base for Practice
        • Theory-based assignments
      • Generalist Nursing Practice
        • Clinical paperwork
      • Scholarship for Practice
        • Research projects/papers/assignments
      • Health Care Environment
        • Clinical evaluations
      • Professionalism
        • Service Learning Project
        • Other Community Service
        • Ferris Student Nurse Association member
        • Resume will be graded as part of this section but should be in a separate and easily accessible location in the portfolio.
5. In NURS 472, an introductory page is required for each of the six outcome pages.
   1. The introductory page provides a synthesis of, and reflections on, how the program objective was met throughout the nursing program.
   2. A clear explanation of how the included materials specifically helped the student meet the program outcome should be included.  
   3. The introductory page should be between 250 and 500 words in length and double-spaced.
6. The final portfolio will include no less than two (2) documents in each outcome section.
   1. These items should be “clean” versions of previously submitted work.
   2. Students should correct errors in writing and content and remove editing marks prior to inclusion in the portfolio.
   3. Do not include papers that did not receive a passing grade! Only include strong examples of your
7. Resume (written in NURS 472) should be current, follow appropriate professional guidelines, and be free of errors.

Example Course Evaluation Tool

Assignment	Course Outcome(s) Assessed	Percent of the Grade
Participation (i.e. discussions)	1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 (formative*)	40%
Group project	2, 4	20%
Paper A	1, 3, 5, 6 (formative*)	10%
Paper B	1, 3	15%
Presentation	5, 6	15%

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Appendix A

 

PROFESSIONAL PORTFOLIO Framework (example) Instructions NURS 260

All students are to keep a professional portfolio that will demonstrate their work throughout the sequence of the BSN program.   By graduation, the portfolio should demonstrate that the student met all of the terminal (program) outcomes. We want you to "wrap your head around" the goals (outcomes) of the program.  These goals are your goals. Understanding them is important to fulfilling them.  Faculty can create paths for students to fulfill goals, but each of you must actually meet or surpass the goals. It is fine to say "I'll do a class at a time," however, if students are not looking "down the road" to the final outcome, they may not understand why certain classes or activities are important.  Every activity in the program is geared to the outcome goals.

Follow the instructions in the Learning Module for “Making a Portfolio in Blackboard”.

NURS 260 Professional Portfolio Framework Rubric

Area of Evaluation	Total Possible Points
Established an easily accessible electronic portfolio framework using the BlackBoard Portfolio tool	20
Your framework should contain eight pages: an introduction page a résumé page one page for each of the six BSN Program Outcomes. Each outcome page should contain the original outcome language (with citation), then a paragraph explaining what you think the outcome means in your own words. At the bottom of each outcome page, include the full reference.	60
Careful attention to grammar, punctuation, spelling, and sentence structure demonstrated throughout	10
Proper APA format throughout - primarily proper order, capitalization, and punctuation in citations and references (APA spacing and indentation is not as important in the portfolio).	10
Total Points Earned

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Appendix B

Five (5) Semester Professional Portfolio Checkpoint Expectations for Cohorts Starting F’17

Semester 1	Semester 2	Semester 3	Semester 4	Semester 5
NURS 260	NURS 362	NURS 372	NURS 462	NURS 472
Build Portfolio Shell Evidence: None	Evidence: Service-Learning Proposal One (1) Service-Learning Journal One (1) document for two (2) outcomes	Evidence: Two (2) Service Learning Journals One (1) document for each outcome	Evidence: All Service Learning Reflections Two (2) documents for each outcome	Evidence: Update Documents Update Outcome Summaries/ Reflections

Professional Portfolio Checkpoint RUBRIC

Area of Evaluation	Total Points Possible
Documents: Includes the required number of documents for the checkpoint	20
Outcome pages:  Each outcome containing a document includes:   Each outcome page should contain the original outcome language (with citation), then a paragraph explaining what you think the outcome means in your own words. At the bottom of each outcome page, include the full reference. (30 points) Reflects upon how newly included personal academic work demonstrates the program outcome. (30 points)	60
Careful attention to grammar, punctuation, spelling, and sentence structure demonstrated throughout	10
Proper APA format throughout - primarily proper order, capitalization, and punctuation in citations and references (APA spacing, and indentation is not as important in the portfolio).	10
Total Points Earned

PORTFOLIO FINAL EVALUATION RUBRIC
*Each course outcome page (tab or folder) will be evaluated for:

Not Acceptable	Below Average	Average	Above Average	Excellent
None of the submitted examples of academic work support the outcome, and they are not clean/corrected versions. Lacks evidence of having accomplished this program outcome. 0-27 points	There are less than 2 examples of academic work included, or examples are not clean versions or lack connection to the outcome criteria. Lacks evidence of having accomplished this program outcome. 28 points	There are 2 clean versions of academic work included. 1 or more only have a weak or superficial connection to the program outcome. 32 points	There are 2 or more clean versions of appropriate academic work included that meet the program outcome. 36 points	There are 2 or more clean/corrected versions of appropriate academic work included that clearly meet the program outcome. 40 points
The outcome section introductory page is not included or lacks connection to the program outcome. Reflection and/or synthesis is absent and writing only superficially shares what was included in this section without examples to support. 0-27 points	The outcome section is less than a full one-page double-spaced introduction that lacks reflection and shares a very limited overview of how each of the included items  in this section connects to the personal achievement of that program outcome. Reflection and synthesis of personal, academic work and experiences is superficial and does not demonstrate how the program outcomes was achieved.  1 or fewer examples are included as support. 28 points	The outcome section is less than a full one-page, double-spaced introductory reflection that provides a limited overview of how each of the included items in this section connects to the personal achievement of that program outcome. The student shows an average ability to reflect on and synthesize personal, academic work and experiences to demonstrate how the program outcome was met. At least 1 example is provided as support. 32 points	The outcome section is nearly a full one-page, double-spaced introductory reflection that describes how each of the included items in this section connects to the personal achievement of that program outcome. The student shows the ability to reflect on and synthesize personal, academic work and experiences to demonstrate how the program outcome was met. Examples are provided as support. 36 points	The outcome section is a full one-page, double-spaced introductory reflection that very clearly describes how each of the included items in this section connects to the personal achievement of that program outcome. The student shows the ability to reflect on and synthesize personal, academic work and experiences to demonstrate how the program outcome was met. Examples are provided as support. 40 points
Formatting does not follow guidelines, writing errors are numerous, and the appearance is unprofessional. The table of contents is missing or does not help the reader navigate to this section of the portfolio. 0-13 points	Formatting does not adhere to guidelines in most areas, and there are multiple spelling, grammar, punctuation, and/or other writing errors. Appearance lacks professionalism. The table of contents is missing or only minimally provides the reader ability to navigate to this section of the portfolio. 14 points	Formatting follows most guidelines, but there are some spelling, grammar, punctuation or other writing errors. Overall appearance is average. The table of contents allows the reader to navigate to this section of the portfolio. 16 points	Formatting follows guidelines, only a few spelling, grammar, punctuation or other writing errors. Overall appearance is professional, and table of contents allows the reader to easily navigate to this section of the portfolio. 18 points	Formatting follows guidelines, no spelling, grammar, punctuation or other writing errors. Overall appearance is very professional, and table of contents allows the reader to easily navigate to this section of the portfolio. 20 points
*Collaborative leadership	/100 Comments
*Theoretical Base for Practice	/100 Comments
*Generalist Nursing Practice	/100 Comments
*Scholarship for Practice	/100 Comments
*Health Care Environment	/100 Comments
*Professionalism	/100 Comments
A resume is missing or lacks in professional structure and content. 0-13 points	A resume is included but is poorly structured, and the information is lacking related to professional and educational background.   14 points	A resume is included. The structure could be improved, and there could be additional information related to professional experiences. 16 points	A well-structured resume that addresses most appropriate professional and educational experiences.   18 points	A well-structured resume that addresses appropriate education and professional degree experiences is included. 20 points
Final Score: