Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Mar 24:8:23821205211000356.
doi: 10.1177/23821205211000356. eCollection 2021 Jan-Dec.

A Systematic Scoping Review on Portfolios of Medical Educators

Daniel Zhihao Hong  1   2 , Annabelle Jia Sing Lim  1   2 , Rei Tan  1   2 , Yun Ting Ong  1   2 , Anushka Pisupati  1   2 , Eleanor Jia Xin Chong  1   2 , Chrystie Wan Ning Quek  1   2 , Jia Yin Lim  1   2 , Jacquelin Jia Qi Ting  1   2 , Min Chiam  3 , Annelissa Mien Chew Chin  4 , Alexia Sze Inn Lee  3 , Limin Wijaya  5   6 , Sandy Cook  5 , Lalit Kumar Radha Krishna  1   2   3   5   7   8   9   10
Affiliations

A Systematic Scoping Review on Portfolios of Medical Educators

Daniel Zhihao Hong et al. J Med Educ Curric Dev. .

Abstract

Background: Heralded as a teaching, assessment and reflective tool, and increasingly as a longitudinal and holistic perspective of the educator's development, medical educator's portfolios (MEP)s are increasingly employed to evaluate progress, assess for promotions and career switches, used as a reflective tool and as a means of curating educational activities. However, despite its blossoming role, there is significant dissonance in the content and structure of MEPs. As such, a systematic scoping review (SSR) is proposed to identify what is known of MEPs and its contents.

Methods: Krishna's Systematic Evidenced Based Approach (SEBA) was adopted to structure this SSR in SEBA of MEPs. SEBA's constructivist approach and relativist lens allow data from a variety of sources to be considered to paint a holistic picture of available information on MEPs.

Results: From the 12 360 abstracts reviewed, 768 full text articles were evaluated, and 79 articles were included. Concurrent thematic and content analysis revealed similar themes and categories including: (1) Definition and Functions of MEPs, (2) Implementing and Assessing MEPs, (3) Strengths and limitations of MEPs and (4) electronic MEPs.

Discussion: This SSR in SEBA proffers a novel 5-staged evidence-based approach to constructing MEPs which allows for consistent application and assessment of MEPs. This 5-stage approach pivots on assessing and verifying the achievement of developmental milestones or 'micro-competencies' that facilitate micro-credentialling and effective evaluation of a medical educator's development and entrust-ability. This allows MEPs to be used as a reflective and collaborative tool and a basis for career planning.

Keywords: Medical educator portfolio; assessment; medical education; reflection; teaching; teaching portfolio.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of conflicting interests: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
The SEBA process.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Five stages of construction and deployment of MEP.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
What should be documented in MEPs.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Dalton CL, Wilson A, Agius S. Twelve tips on how to compile a medical educator’s portfolio. Med Teach. 2018;40(2):140-145. - PubMed
    1. Sidhu NS. The teaching portfolio as a professional development tool for anaesthetists. Anaesth Intens Care 2015;43(3):328-334. - PubMed
    1. Goliath CL. Diffusion of an e-portfolio to assist in the self-directed learning of physicians: An exploratory study. Dissert Abstract Int Sec A: Hum Soc Sci 2010;70(10-A):3729.
    1. Izatt S. Educational perspectives: portfolios: the next assessment tool in medical education? NeoReviews. 2007;8(10):e405-e408.
    1. Thomas JV, Sanyal R, O’Malley JP, Singh SP, Morgan DE, Canon CL. A guide to writing academic portfolios for radiologists. (1878-4046 (Electronic)). - PubMed

Publication types