Twelve tips on how to compile a medical educator’s portfolio

Abstract

Medical education is an expanding area of specialist interest for medical professionals. Whilst most doctors will be familiar with the compilation of clinical portfolios for scrutiny of their clinical practice and provision of public accountability, teaching portfolios used specifically to gather and demonstrate medical education activity remain uncommon in many non-academic settings. For aspiring and early career medical educators in particular, their value should not be underestimated. Such a medical educator's portfolio (MEP) is a unique compendium of evidence that is invaluable for appraisal, revalidation, and promotion. It can stimulate and provide direction for professional development, and is a rich source for personal reflection and learning. We recommend that all new and aspiring medical educators prepare an MEP, and suggest twelve tips on how to skillfully compile one.

A Systematic Scoping Review on Portfolios of Medical Educators

“…MEPs are defined as a collection of documents spanning a period of time 4,5,7,14,17,20,70,71 seeking to demonstrate developing competencies, [1][2][3][4]8,[17][18][19][20]72 desirable character traits, 8 learning, 4,8 challenges and improvements made 3,8,14 in the field of medical education. Curated by the individual, these documents reflect the medical educator's perspective of their development [1][2][3][4]8,[17][18][19][20]72 and contains elements of feedback 73 and reflection on good and bad experiences. [1][2][3][4]8 Functions of MEPs.…”

“…Portfolios provide a holistic and longitudinal self-portrait of a medical educator's professional identity formation and career development. [1][2][3] Using self-selected material and reflections, portfolios [3][4][5][6][7] differ sharply from logbooks, curriculum vitae, course logs, and training folders as a better means of evaluating a professional holistically and longitudinally. 1,3,4,8,9 These selfportraits have even been used by medical educators as a means of illustrating their many roles [10][11][12][13][14][15] for employment and promotion purposes.…”

“…[1][2][3] Using self-selected material and reflections, portfolios [3][4][5][6][7] differ sharply from logbooks, curriculum vitae, course logs, and training folders as a better means of evaluating a professional holistically and longitudinally. 1,3,4,8,9 These selfportraits have even been used by medical educators as a means of illustrating their many roles [10][11][12][13][14][15] for employment and promotion purposes. [16][17][18] Indeed, medical educator portfolios (henceforth MEPs) circumnavigate the limitations posed by conventional assessment methods that often focus upon research grants and publications [5][6][7]15,[18][19][20] and to the detriment of appreciating the quality, breadth, depth 19,21 , and impact 11 of a medical educator's role amongst other things a 'Professional Expert', 'Facilitator', 'Information Provider', 'Enthusiast', 'Faculty Developer', 'Mentor', 'Undergraduate and Postgraduate Trainer', 'Curriculum Developer', ' Assessor and Assessment Creator', 'Influencer', 'Scholar', 'Innovator', 'Leader' and 'Researcher'.…”

“…[16][17][18] Indeed, medical educator portfolios (henceforth MEPs) circumnavigate the limitations posed by conventional assessment methods that often focus upon research grants and publications [5][6][7]15,[18][19][20] and to the detriment of appreciating the quality, breadth, depth 19,21 , and impact 11 of a medical educator's role amongst other things a 'Professional Expert', 'Facilitator', 'Information Provider', 'Enthusiast', 'Faculty Developer', 'Mentor', 'Undergraduate and Postgraduate Trainer', 'Curriculum Developer', ' Assessor and Assessment Creator', 'Influencer', 'Scholar', 'Innovator', 'Leader' and 'Researcher'. 13 Increasing use of electronic portfolios 22 have further boosted the visibility of MEPs, 2,3,6,14,[16][17][18]23,24 and expanded its use in collaborative work and mentoring, making MEPs a valuable tool to assess medical educators, 1,17 and underlining its increasing footprint in the medical education landscape. 1,4,25…”

“…13 Increasing use of electronic portfolios 22 have further boosted the visibility of MEPs, 2,3,6,14,[16][17][18]23,24 and expanded its use in collaborative work and mentoring, making MEPs a valuable tool to assess medical educators, 1,17 and underlining its increasing footprint in the medical education landscape. 1,4,25…”