The award winning ePortfolio program is a system allowing nursing students to present their university assignments, practicums and results in a portfolio format suitable for showcasing to future employers. The recorded activities and assessments are linked to the course learning outcomes and aligned with industry practices, protocols and standards. Students using the ePortfolio program graduate are ready for professional practice with a clear advantage in a competitive job market.

A key point of difference in a competitive job market

We spoke to Murdoch graduate Darren McKie, who used the ePortfolio as part of his nursing degree, to find out how the program has helped him after graduation. Darren is now a registered nurse as part of the Royal Perth Hospital graduate program.

“The ePortfolio significantly contributed to my preparation to professional practice. It provided a basis for me to organise my professional portfolios, which came in particularly useful when it came to graduate program interviews. It was easy to access your information, selection criteria, clinical prac details and reflective work for use in preparation for your interview.

I think it is important to have ePortfolio, as GradConnect (the centralised online recruitment system used by the majority of employers offering graduate programs) process starts through a technological platform to submit your application. Habituating yourself to this technology provides a big advantage.”

I cannot emphasise enough how important it is for students to embrace this technology."

Strengthening your professional skills

For Darren, using the ePortfolio allowed him to strengthen skills that have been particularly useful in the workplace.

“The development of my professional and academic writing has been one of the many benefits to my current role. During my degree at Murdoch, our lab-based sessions had written components to the clinical scenarios and this form of education actually reflects the sort of thought processing you have to do in the wards.

You need to be able to rationalise the care you give, why you are giving it and even assess if it is the best available option. You also need to be able to communicate your interventions and how they are relevant to the care outcomes expected. Effective and quality written communication is integral to the delivery of patient care.

At Royal Perth Hospital, the ability to write well is highly valued by your peers, senior nursing staff and medical officers.  There are frequent inter-ward transfers and external transfers to external allied health agencies – these are vulnerable points of care where the quality of notes can have significant impact on future care delivery.” 

An opportunity for professional development

What’s more, the ePortfolio has also given Darren the opportunity to continue his development as a professional.

“As an alumnus of Murdoch I am still able to access the ePortfolio and use it as part of my professional development and ongoing AHPRA registration requirements.

The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency do audit personal records to ensure you are keeping upskilled, so I use ePortfolio to record my training and PD hours.

Should I be asked to provide evidence of my PD, it will be easy to send the link to my PD to the professional body. As I know ePortfolio so well now, it is the easiest way for me to continue to organise my professional life.”

As a result of the ePortfolio program, Murdoch have recently won the Innovation in Curriculum Design and Pedagogy Practice category award at the prestigious Australian Awards for University Teaching in Canberra.     

Caroline Nilson, Associate Professor at Murdoch University, says the award is richly deserved.

“It recognises the hard work and commitment that the team have devoted to embedding ePortfolio learning across the whole of the Bachelor of Nursing course,” she says.

“E-portfolio learning allows students to own their learning, reflect on what they’ve learned and to set new goals for further knowledge development. This learning program gives Murdoch nurse graduates a real point of difference, particularly in a very competitive job market.”