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Abstract
Background: Portfolios are widely used for meeting new accreditation standards in the age of competency-based medicine. However, the method of learning through portfolio has been suggested to be vulnerable.
Aim: The aim of this study was to explore conditions affecting the experience of teaching and learning from the perspective of both students and mentors in a reflective writing-based portfolio initiative.
Method: Using mixed-methods rooted in grounded theory, 139 students and 13 mentors completed questionnaires, 23 students participated in four focus groups and 9 mentors in individual interviews.
Results: The overarching theme in our data was student–mentor engagement. Our results confirm previous literature describing portfolio as a vulnerable method of learning, extend this concept by identifying and categorizing specific points of vulnerability, and contribute new knowledge regarding acts of adaptability, which serve to strengthen the student–mentor relationship.
Conclusion: Engagement is central to the success of portfolio and is shaped by a dynamic interaction between points of vulnerability and acts of adaptability. We propose a model of engagement in portfolio that can be used for faculty development to optimize student–mentor engagement.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank Dr. Bethany Joose for her help with student recruitment and data collection; Kristina Miller for her help with copyediting; Dr. Erik Driessen for his thoughtful feedback on an earlier version of the manuscript; and the AMS Phoenix Project, which endeavors to imbue medicine with compassion and care.
Declaration of interest: Grant support for this project was generously made possible by the AMS Phoenix Fellowship.
Supplementary material available online
Appendix A–G.