By James X. Stobinski
The Seacrest Company, a leading consultant to certification boards, recently stated that, “Today’s workforce requires varied options to demonstrate expertise and attainment of job-related skills.” (2022).
A common method to document expertise is to earn a voluntary credential like the CNOR credential administered by CCI. A computer-based test using multiple-choice questions is commonly used to ascertain knowledge and expertise. These types of certification exams are common and familiar, but there are other methods to grant credentials. This month, I would like to speak on professional portfolios, a salient example of one option to document job-related skills.
A portfolio documents evidence of professional knowledge and practice and is commonly used in other professions such as teaching. A common misconception is that a portfolio method of assessment is less rigorous than a multiple-choice examination. That is not the case. The rigor and quality of any credential is assured by the accreditation process. The Accreditation Board for Specialty Nursing Certification (ABSNC) has a process for accrediting portfolio-based certifications and there are psychometric standards for portfolios just as there are for certification examinations (2022).
Nursing, as with other health care professions, has made some early efforts to utilize portfolios but these efforts have not been extensive or sustained. The INSÉPArable portfolio program (St-Germain et al., 2020) being one example. Khomeiran and colleagues describe the use of portfolios in their examination of factors contributing to competence in Iranian nurses (2006). The use of portfolios has gained some recent traction in the perioperative community with the Certified Registered Nurse First Assistant (CRNFA) credential administered by the National Assistant at Surgery Certification (NASC). The use of portfolios by NASC exemplifies what is possible with portfolios.
There are now 1,071 CRNFA certificants, but until very recently the CRNFA community had been shrinking and was troubled by low testing volume. NASC began using a professional portfolio as the means to earn the CRNFA credential in 2020. To date, 176 portfolios have been submitted and 142 nurses have earned the credential. The issue of low testing volume had endangered the accreditation status of this credential, but this recent growth has revived the CRNFA certification for the perioperative community.
Although there are numerous challenges to the use of portfolios this method does have some potential utility for nursing. For credentialing organizations, such as CCI, portfolios establish more diverse assessment methods to better meet the needs of stakeholders. CCI has administered examination-based certifications for over 40 years. The use of portfolios is cost efficient and allows greater reach to specialized groups of nurses such as the CRFNA community. Certifications which have low testing volumes (less than 100 per year) are challenged to earn accreditation. Portfolio programs do not have these volume related concerns.
In 2021, CCI worked closely with the Association for Nursing Professional Development to launch the Nursing Professional Development Advanced-Board Certified (NPDA-BC) credential. This certification can only be earned through a rigorous portfolio process judged by peer reviewers. As with CCI’s other certifications the program is administered by CCI staff, but the credential is not restricted to just perioperative nurses. The submission process is hosted in the CCI Learning Management System. As of July 1, 2022, we have had 102 nurses begin the portfolio submission process and 22 have earned this nascent credential. The CCI team is encouraged by the enthusiasm for the credential we saw at the recent ANPD national meeting in San Antonio. We believe that there is great potential in select circumstances for portfolios and we look forward to growing these programs.
– James X. Stobinski, Ph.D., RN, CNOR, CNAMB, CSSM(E), is CEO of the Competency and Credentialing Institute (CCI).
References
Accreditation Board for Specialty Nursing Certification (2022). Accreditation Standards: Portfolio Assessment Certification. Accessed June 28, 2022 at: https://absnc.org/certification/accreditation-standards-portfolio-assessment-certification
Khomeiran, R. T., Yekta, Z. P., Kiger, A. M., & Ahmadi, F. (2006). Professional competence: factors described by nurses as influencing their development. International nursing review, 53(1), 66–72. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1466-7657.2006.00432.x
National Assistant at Surgery Certification (NASC) (2020). About the CRNFA Professional Portfolio. Accessed June 28, 2022 at: https://nascertification.com/crnfa/about-the-crnfa-professional-portfolio/
Seacrest Company (2021). Credentialing Portfolios: Key considerations to build a credentialing portfolio. Accessed June 28, 2022 at: https://www.seacrestcompany.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/1-Building-a-Credentialing-Portfolio-6-21.pdf
St-Germain, D., Bélanger L., Coté, V., Gagnon, C. (2020). The INSÉPArable portfolio tool to sustain continued education and the professional development of nurses for a full scope of nursing practice and enhanced patient safety competencies: An ethnographic study. Volume 2. International Journal of Nursing Studies Advances, 2, Accessed June 28, 2022 at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666142X20
