Work based, lifelong learning through professional portfolios: Challenge or reward?
Keywords:
Continuing professional development, work based learning, professional portfolios, pharmacistsAbstract
As the world of work changes, UK pharmacists are increasingly required to recognise and articulate lifelong learning. College of Pharmacy Practice (CPP) portfolios were made available to 25 pharmacists in a single Workforce Development Confederation area. The evaluation reported here formed one strand of a larger study exploring CPD activity in the NHS. This strand aimed to describe and consider the ways in which pharmacists used the CPP portfolio as a vehicle to articulate their acquisition and use of practice based knowledge. Data were obtained through semi-structured interviews with nine pharmacists before and after using the portfolios (n = 18 interviews) and were analysed using “framework technique”. Key emergent themes were “socialised learning” and “learning amplification”, in particular the findings emphasised the importance of recognising:
. the advantages/disadvantages of work based (socialised) learning approaches; and
. the environment in which learning takes place and ensuring that learning can be “amplified” for the individual and the
organisation.
References
Alsop, A. (1995a). The professional portfolio—purpose, process and practice, Part 1: Portfolios and professional practice. British Journal of Occupational Therapy, 58(7), 299–302.
Alsop, A. (1995b). The professional portfolio—purpose, process and practice, Part 2: Producing a portfolio from experiential learning. British Journal of Occupational Therapy, 58(8), 337 – 340.
Anderson, S. (2002). The state of the world’s pharmacy: A portrait of the pharmacy profession. Journal of Interprofessional Care, 16(4), 391–404.
Argyris, C., & Schon, D. A. (1996). Organizational learning. 11 Cambridge: Addison Wesley.
Barnett, R. (1994). The limits of competence: Knowledge, higher education and society. Buckingham: Society for Research into Higher Education and Open University Press.
Beckett, D. (1999). Past the guru and up the garden path: The new organic management learning. In D. Boud, & J. Garrick (Eds.), Understanding learning at work. London: Routledge.
Boreham, N. C. (1994). The dangerous practice of thinking. Medical Education, 28, 172–179.
Boud, D., & Garrick, J. (Eds.) (1999). Understanding learning at work. London: Routledge.
Boud, D., & Solomon, N. (2001). Work based learning: A new higher education. Buckingham: The Society for Research into Higher Education. Open University Press.
Boud, D., Keogh, R., & Walker, D. (Eds.) (1985). Introduction: Understanding learning from experience. In Using experience for learning. Buckingham: Society for Research into Higher Education and Open University Press.
Brackley, K., Evans, D., Haria, M., Gifford, A., John, C., & Ashton, C. (2003). Developing CPD in the workplace: The implemen- tation of a regional support strategy. The Pharmaceutical Journal, 268, 726–729.
Carpentino, J. (1991). A lifetime of commitment. Nursing Times, 87(48), 53–55.
Casey, C. (1999). The changing contexts of work. In D. Boud, & J. Garrick (Eds.), Understanding learning at work. London: Routledge.
Cervero, R. (1988). Effective continuing education for professionals San Francisco. San Francisco: Jossey Bass.
Challis, M. (1999). AMEE medical education guide no 11(revised): Portfolio based learning and assessment in medical education. Medical Teacher, 21(4), 370–386.
Clarke, C., Reed, J., Wainwright, D., MCClelland, S., Swallow, V., Harden, J., & Walsh, A. (2004). The discipline of improvement: Something old, something new?. Journal of Nursing Management, 12, 85–96.
Clarke, C. L., & Wilkinson, J. (2001). Professional and organisational learning: Analysing the relationship with the development of practice. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 34(2), 264 – 272.
Clarke, C. L., Swallow, V., Harden, J., & Iles, S. (2003). Continuing professional development education and training: Three models of provision in county Durham, Northumbria University, Research Report.
Clyde, N. (1998). CPE is broke; let’s fix it. Journal of Accountancy, 186(6), 77.
Coates, M., & Mellon, A. (2004). Education for multi-professional working. In V. Swallow, H. Chalmers, & J. Miller (Eds.), Partnerships in work based learning. Newcastle upon Tyne: Northumbria University Press.
Coffield, F. (2000). The necessity of informal learning. Bristol: The Policy Press.
College of Pharmacy Practice. (2001). The College of Pharmacy Practice, (www.collpharm.org.uk/main)
Cook, G., Forster, S., & Clarke, C. L. (2003). Appraising demand with the non-professionally qualified staff to access and use development funds, Research Report, Northumbria University.
Department of Health. (2000). A health service of all the talents: Developing the NHS workforce. Consultation document on the review of workforce planning. London: DOH.
Department of Health. (2001a). The NHS plan. London: DOH.
Department of Health. (2001b). “Working together–learning together” a framework for lifelong learning for the NHS. London: The
Stationary Office.
Dreyfus, H. L., & Dreyfus, S. E. (1986). Mind over machine; the
power of human intuition and expertise in the era of the computer.
Oxford, UK: Blackwell.
Driscoll, J., & Teh, B. (2001). The contribution of portfolios and
profiles to continuing professional development. Journal of
Orthopaedic Nursing, (5), 151–156.
Earnshaw, G. J. (1995). Mentorship: The students’ view. Nurse
Education Today, 15(4), 274–279.
Easen, P., & Wilcockson, J. (1996). Intuition and rational decision
making in professional thinking: A false dichotomy? Journal of
Advanced Nursing, 24(4), 667–673.
Eraut, M. (1994). Developing professional knowledge and competence.
London: The Falmer Press.
Eustace, L. (2001). Mandatory continuing education; past, present
and future trends and issues. Journal of Continuing Education in
Nursing, 32(3), 133–137.
Fish, D., & Coles, C. (Eds.) (1998). Developing professional judgement
in health care. Oxford, UK: Butterworth Heinemann.
Furze, G., & Pearcey, P. (1999). Continuing education in nursing; a review of the literature. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 29(2),
– 363.
Gillson, J., & Brooksbank, M. (2004). Emergency nurse practitioner
role development through accredited work based learning. In V. Swallow, H. Chalmers, & J. Miller (Eds.), Partnerships in work based learning. Newcastle upon Tyne: Northumbria University Press.
Hull, C., & Redfern, L. (1996). Profiles and portfolios. London: Macmillan.
Klenowski,V.(2002).Developingportfoliosforlearningandassessment. London and New York: Routledge Falmer.
Lawton, S., & Wimpenny, P. (2003). Continuing professional development: A review. Nursing Standard, 12(24), 41–44.
Liaschenko, J., & Fisher, A. (1999). Theorising the knowledge that nurses use in the conduct of their work. Scholarly Inquiry for Nursing Practice, 13(1), 29–41.
Meerabeau, L. (1995). The nature of practitioner knowledge. In J. Reed, & S. Proctor (Eds.), Practitioner research in health care the inside story. London: Chapman and Hall.
Neades, B. L. (2003). Professional portfolios: All you need to know and were afraid to ask. Accident and Emergency Nursing, 11(1), 49–55.
Neary, M. (2000). Supporting students’ learning and professional
development through the process of continuous assessment and
mentorship. Nurse Education Today, 20(6), 463–474.
NHS Executive. (1999). Continuing professional development: Quality in the new NHS. HSC 1999/154. Available at: http://www.open.
gov.uk/doh/coinh.htm London: The Stationery Office.
Nuttley, S. M., & Davies, H. T. O. (2001). Developing organisational learning in the NHS. Medical Education, 35(1),
–42.
Piercy, C. (2004). Collaborative working-the service perspective. In V. Swallow, H. Chalmers, & J. Miller (Eds.), Partnerships in work based learning. Newcastle upon Tyne: Northumbria University Press.
Polanyi, M. (1967). The tacit dimension. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul.
Raferty, A., Allcock, N., & Lathlean, J. (1996). The theory/practice gap: Taking issue with the issues. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 23, 685–691.
Ritchie, J., & Spencer, L. (1994). Qualitative data analysis for applied policy research. In A. Bryman, & R. G. Burgess (Eds.), Analysing qualitative data. London: Routledge.
Sadler-Smith, E., Allinson, C. W., & Hayes, J. (2000). Learning preferences and cognitive style—some implications for continu- ing professional development. Management Learning, 8(4), 66–75.
Schon, D. (1983). The reflective practitioner: How professionals learn in action. New York: Basic Books.
Smith, A. (1998). Learning about reflection. Journal of advanced Nursing, 28(4), 891–898.
Spouse, J. (1996). The effective mentor: A model for student- centred learning in clinical practice. NT Research, 1(2), 120 – 134.
Storey, L., & Haigh, C. (2002). Portfolios in professional practice. Nurse Education in Practice, (2), 44–48.
Swallow, V., Newton, J., & Van Lottum, C. (2003). How to manage and display qualitative data using “framework” and Microsoft Excel. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 11, 1–3.
Swallow, V., Chalmers, H., & Miller, J. (Eds.) (2004). Partnerships in work based learning. Newcastle upon Tyne: Northumbria University Press.
Swallow, V., Chalmers, H., & Miller, J. (2004). Learning from the journey: A triangulated approach. In V. Swallow, H. Chalmers, & J. Miller (Eds.), Partnerships in work based learning. Newcastle upon Tyne: Northumbria University Press.
Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in Society: The development of higher psychological processes. MA: Harvard University Press.
Waddell, D. L. (2001). Measurement Issues in promoting continued competence. Journal of Continuing Education in Nursing, 32(3), 102 – 106.
Yerxa, E. (1998). Duties and responsibilities of fieldwork educators in the educational process. In Guide to fieldwork education. Rockville, MD: American Occupational Therapy Association.
