- E-Portfolios are being used to support individual learning at multiple levels in a number of different areas of study - Widely used by medical students in Europe and Australia - Several medical schools and residency education programs in the U.S. have developed portfolios for student use, with varying purposes and degrees of success. - At least one specialty board (American Board of Family Medicine) has created an online portfolio

-ACGME Outcome Project (1998): six general competencies that trainees must develop: patient care, medical knowledge, practice-based learning and improvement, interpersonal and communication skills, professionalism, and system-based practices - A driving force behind the development of a comprehensive electronic portfolio -Our hypothesis: today's technology-savvy trainees, in collaboration with their mentors, can use an electronic learning portfolio to actively plan, track, assess and document their progress in support the six ACGME competencies.

-We used a commercial collaboration software package (SharePoint, Microsoft, Redmond, WA) to construct a web- based E-Portfolio for gastroenterology fellows -Trainees, educators and faculty all participated in the design of the template for the E-Portfolio -The development phase occurred under the supervision of Dr. McGee - The initial rollout for use by first-year fellows was in July 2007

- An interactive web-based professional development tool that fellows can use throughout their training: - to record, organize and plan their learning - to reflect and receive feedback on their skills - to build evidence of learning that allows them to chart their own progress over time. - The portfolio also serves as a repository for fellows work products and professional documents, which ultimately will serve the needs of many groups, including licensing bodies and certification boards.

Plans to move to our own evaluation system in phase 2

-The program director meets formally with each fellow twice per year - Formative Assessment VS Summative Assessment - Review of the e-portfolio to identify strengths and areas for improvement - Set a plan for the upcoming six months

- Back to the ACGME’s competencies: - Documenting the progression and evolution over time - Practice-based learning - Professionalism - Platform for discussion

-Expand the use of the e-portfolio to the incoming first year fellows -Development of the research and evaluation sections -Additional discussions with faculty and fellows to define potential areas of expansion: as the mentors and the fellows evolve, there will be room for additional features.