Background
eFolio is the online professional portfolio platform that has been designed in house and implemented throughout the University. The students can use their eFolio to store electronic copies of important documents such as certificates or records of attendance. They can also use the journal section to record experiences, learning objectives or reflective accounts. The journal section of eFolio is confidential and can not be seen by anyone else (even if your student is a tutee) unless the student “publishes” it. Even then it can only be viewed by a limited number of individuals.
For medical students eFolio forms an important part of their training and professional development. It is a GMC requirement that all medical students must demonstrate competence in 32 clinical skills and show evidence of reflective practice before progressing to Foundation training. All of the evidence of clinical competence will be gained by students in the final two years of their course. However students are required to complete specific tasks in the early years which will help them develop the skills that will be essential to complete their eFolio by the end of Final Year.
In addition to uploading evidence of clinical experience each year we ask students to undertake an increasing number of reflective writing tasks. This is to give the students experience in reflective practice, making their accounts more meaningful, and promote a deeper understanding of clinical and professional practice. It is important to encourage students to reflect on both positive and negative experiences so that they are able to critically appraise situations and learn from them. Students may feel uncomfortable about describing a situation in which they showed a lack of understanding or practical skill but these reflections are usually lead to important and deeper learning. For Personal Tutors and academic staff it is essential that students feel that they are able to reflect on a poor experience without fear of ridicule and that these type of reflections are viewed as a very positive learning achievements.
List of student requirements for academic year 2019/20: