Starting Early: Using ePortfolios to Prepare First Year Midwifery Students for Professional Practice

Increasing accreditation demands for evidence of student competency and logistical challenges with paper-based portfolios have driven the shift towards ePortfolio use in midwifery curriculum. The use of the ePortfolio for assessment and learning in clinical settings provides students with flexible and immediate access to relevant information which can be instantly applied to learning. Using ePortfolios to prepare first year midwifery students for professional practice is an important contribution to the current trend in the move towards digital technologies. From a student perspective, early experiences of using an ePortfolio provides a foundation for their practice and career progression planning as well as meeting professional competency requirements