The Effect of Portfolio-Based Education and Evaluation on Clinical Competence of Nursing Students: A Pretest–Posttest Quasiexperimental Crossover Study

PURPOSE: Currently, revisions in education and evaluation in the nursing domain are necessary to increase the clinical competence of graduates. The aim of this study was to compare nursing students’ clinical competence using the portfolio method with conventional education and evaluation methods in clinical education. METHODS: In this pretest–posttest quasiexperimental crossover study, all six-semester undergraduate nursing students of Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences were classified into four groups. They were selected based on the use of portfolio and conventional methods during their apprenticeship. Then, they were educated using conventional and portfolio methods. Their clinical competence was measured by a self-appraisal questionnaire. Data were statistically analyzed with independent and paired t-tests. RESULTS: There were significant differences between average scores of clinical competence in all three domains before and after study in portfolio-based education method (P=0.0001). Furthermore, the average difference in scores before and after internship between the two educational groups in all three domains — cognitive (P=0.002), affective (P=0.0001), and psychomotor — (P=0001) was significant. Similarly, there was a significant difference in total average scores of clinical competence between the two methods (P=0.0001). CONCLUSION: The results showed the effect of educational method on increasing the clinical competence of nursing students in a clinical unit. This new method can be used as a combination of education, evaluation and student-centered methods.