Since July 2008, the Royal College of Radiologists (the College) has been working to develop and introduce an e-portfolio to be used by specialty trainees in clinical oncology, clinical radiology and dental radiology in order to replace the current paper-based system.
From the start of the project, the College has opted to work with NHS Education for Scotland (NES) to develop their existing ePortfolio system into a model that suits the needs of its specialty trainees. The NES ePortfolio system is widely used across medical education with a number of other Royal Colleges, including the Joint Royal Colleges of Physicians Training Board and the Royal College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology amongst others
The introduction of ePortfolio is only one area within the ongoing educational development work being undertaken by the College. Along with the new 2010 specialty training curricula and the introduction of the new Workplace-based Assessment tools, the ePortfolio will help deliver a new approach to specialty training from the College.
Background
The College has been working on the delivery and implementation of an e-portfolio since July 2008. Currently, ePortfolio is being piloted at a number of sites across the UK, by both clinical oncologists and clinical radiologists.
For more information on the background of the ePortfolio Project, please click here.
The ePortfolio Pilot
Between November 2009 and August 2010, nine training programmes for each of clinical oncology and clinical radiology have been piloting ePortfolio. The feedback they provide will help the College to update and improve ePortfolio and ensure that all aspects of the national rollout will be fully considered to make the transition from the current paper-based system run as smoothly as possible.
Participants were contacted at the end of April with a request to complete a survey based on their experiences with ePortfolio so far. Results from this survey will be published shortly. In addition, further surveys will be carried out in June and September 2010.
Implementing ePortfolio Nationally
The College will launch ePortfolio nationally on Wednesday 4 August 2010, with training programmes expected to start using ePortfolio from the start of their 2010/11 training year.
As one of the key drivers for the development of an e-portfolio was the introduction of Workplace-based Assessments, only trainees on the 2007 specialty training curricula have been involved with the pilot. This is because Workplace-based Assessments have only been part of the curricula from 2007 onwards.
This strategy will be continued forward in the national rollout, with the same trainees in all training programmes being provided with ePortfolio access, along with any new trainees starting on the 2010 specialty training curricula.
National Implementation
Using ePortfolio - Training and Resources
The introduction of ePortfolio is a big change for the College and to help manage this transition, a number of resources are being provided. These include guidance documents for each of the three main groups of role - trainee, supervisor and administrator.
Training and Guidance
In addition, the College, in partnership with the Royal College of Physicians (RCP), is currently delivering a series of workshops relating to Workplace-based Assessments, Supervisory Skills and ePortfolio. Information on these workshops can be found here for clinical oncology. Details for clinical radiology workshops can be found here on the RCP events page, by searching for ‘Other non-clinical workshops' and then by date and location.
The College will also be providing materials that can be used by those who have attended the workshops to deliver training on the use of ePortfolio locally. These will be in the format of presentations, exercises using the current ePortfolio test system and educational videos covering a variety of subjects.
Contact Details
If you have any queries or comments regarding the ePortfolio Project, then please contact:
ePortfolio
The Royal College of Radiologists
38 Portland Place
London, W1B 1JQ
Tel: 020 7636 4432
E-mail eportfolio@rcr.ac.uk