Embedding Employability Attributes into the Nursing (and Midwifery) Portfolio Deborah Isaac Senior Lecturer Family Care & Mental Health 20/03/2015 Deborah Isaac Senior Lecturer Family Care & Mental Health 20/03/2015 Deborah Isaac Senior Lecturer Family Care & Mental Health 20/03/2015

Abstract There are many valuable attributes that student nurses (as well as midwives) acquire and develop over their three year training which can enhance their chances of employment. It is important that student nurses adopt the mindset of becoming of Becoming a Greenwich Graduate from the onset. These employability attributes can be demonstrated throughout their training and recorded in their portfolio. This will enable students to make the connection between career planning and learning. The model used is Dacre, Poole and Sewell (2007) whose illustration is themed under the following headings: 1.Career Development & Learning 2.Experience, Work & Life 3.Degree subject, knowledge, skills and understanding 4.Generic Skills 5.Emotional Intelligence Abstract

Portfolio contents for Pre-Registration Nursing SECTION A – personal details and self-awareness Biography Previous experience and transferable skills Personal awareness Outline of expectations Portfolio contents for Pre-Registration Nursing

SECTION B Reflections on nursing practice and Professional Development SECTION C Summative assessment feedback sheets Portfolio contents for Pre-Registration Nursing

SECTION D Other related reflections, testimonials, certified workshops SECTION E Personal, professional and academic action plans Portfolio contents for Pre - Registration Nursing

SECTION F Verification of progress: Comments on progress from personal tutor Verification of progress at the end of year 1 Verification of Progress at the end of year 2 Verification of progress at the end of year 3 Portfolio contents for Pre- Registration Nursing

SECTION G Graduate Employability Employability is not just about getting a job. Conversely, just because a student is on a vocational course does not mean that somehow employability is automatic. Employability is more than about developing attributes, techniques or experience to enable a student to get a job, or progress within a current career. It is about learning and the emphasis is less on ‘employ’ and more on ‘ability’. In essence, the emphasis is on developing critical, reflective abilities, with a view to empowering and enhancing the learner. (Harvey 2003) Portfolio contents for Pre- Registration Nursing

SECTION G Graduate Employability is… A set of achievements – skills, understandings and personal attributes that makes graduates more likely to gain employment and be successful in their chosen occupations, which benefits themselves, the workforce, the community and the economy. (ESECT based on Yorke 2006) Portfolio contents for Pre- Registration Nursing

SECTION H Greenwich Graduate Attributes Portfolio contents for Pre- Registration Nursing

Greenwich Graduates WHAT is a Greenwich Graduate? Greenwich Graduate is an initiative promoting development of specific attributes as soon as you become a University of Greenwich student. There are three distinct aspects that Greenwich Graduates strives to encompass: Greenwich Graduates

1. Scholarship and Autonomy Building you into an independent thinker to better understand the link between your academic discipline in the classroom and the post-study world. 2. Creativity and Enterprise Making you a clear communicator, confident to utilise communication technology and encounter unfamiliar situations openly. 3. Cross Cultural and International Awareness Fostering self-confidence to comfortably work with diverse groups and create a willingness to embrace diverse cultures. Greenwich Graduates

Dacre Poole & Sewell (2007:5-6 ) EMPLOYABILITY Self-EfficacySelf-ConfidenceSelf-Esteem Reflection and Evaluation Career Development Learning Experience (Work and Life) Degree subject, knowledge, skills & understanding Generic Skills Emotional Intelligence Dacre Poole & Sewell (2007:5-6 )

Career Development Learning The purpose of this section is to provide an example or two (in each year and each semester) of how you are meeting and reflecting upon your ‘Career Development Learning’. Year 1 Semester 1 Year 1 Semester 2 Year 2 Semester 3 Year 2 Semester 4 Year 3 Semester 5 Year 3 Semester 6 Career Development Learning

Experience (Work and Life) The purpose of this section is to provide an example or two (in each year and each semester) of how you are meeting and reflecting upon your ‘Experience (Work and Life)’ Year 1 Semester 1 Year 1 Semester 2 Year 2 Semester 3 Year 2 Semester 4 Year 3 Semester 5 Year 3 Semester 6 Experience (Work and Life)

Degree subject, knowledge, skills and understanding The purpose of this section is to provide an example or two (in each year and each semester) of how you are meeting and reflecting upon your ‘Degree subject, knowledge, skills and understanding’ Year 1 Semester 1 Year 1 Semester 2 Year 2 Semester 3 Year 2 Semester 4 Year 3 Semester 5 Year 3 Semester 6 Degree subject, knowledge, skills and understanding

Generic Skills The purpose of this section is to provide an example or two (in each year and each semester) of how you are meeting and reflecting upon your ‘ Generic Skills’ Year 1 Semester 1 Year 1 Semester 2 Year 2 Semester 3 Year 2 Semester 4 Year 3 Semester 5 Year 3 Semester 6 Generic Skills

Emotional Intelligence The purpose of this section is to provide an example or two (in each year and each semester) of how you are meeting and reflecting upon your ‘Emotional Intelligence’ Year 1 Semester 1 Year 1 Semester 2 Year 2 Semester 3 Year 2 Semester 4 Year 3 Semester 5 Year 3 Semester 6 Emotional Intelligence

Reflections and Evaluations This section enables you to document your reflections by evaluating your attributes and acquired skills, so that you may maximise your employment chances as a graduate. Reflections and Evaluations

Reference List Becoming a Greenwich Graduate: A guide for students by students – University of Greenwich Dacre, Poole and Sewell (2007: 5-6) in Pedagogy for Employability (2012) Peg, A. Waldock, J. Hendy-Isaac, S. Lawton, R. Higher Education Academy. Harvey, L. (2003) Transitions from Higher Education to Work: A briefing paper prepared by Lee Harvey (Centre for Research and Evaluation, Sheffield Hallam University), with advice from ESECT and LTSN Generic Centre colleagues. Available from: The Greenwich Graduate: our vision for the institution and its students – University of Greenwich Yorke, M. (2006) Employability in higher education: what it is – what it is not. Learning and Employability Series One. York: ESECT and HEA. Available from: 16_ employability_in_higher_education_336.pdf Reference List