The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Nursing Comprehensive Examination Requirements The Professional Portfolio will be used to meet the comprehensive examination requirement. The Professional Portfolio is a tool that can be used to integrate practice activities into ongoing professional development and lifelong learning in advanced nursing practice. It provides documentation of advanced nursing competencies and is a reflection of the growth and achievement of the student. Elements of the Portfolio All documents contained in the portfolio are required to be typed in Times New Roman 11- or 12-point font with one-inch margins. The portfolio includes the following essential elements: I. Cover Page A. Student name and advanced practice area II. Resume and Cover Letter: The goal is to write a strong resume so potential employers know who you are and what you have to offer. Elements to include in the resume: 1. Begin the resume with an objective or qualification summary for the position being sought 2. Add a detailed education history 3. Add a detailed employment history, including job responsibilities, employment dates and whether the job was a full-time or part-time position 4. Professional development activities (these may be represented in varying categories, please see the template) a. Participation in forums/conferences/peer review committees b. Certificates of attendance c. Relevant publications d. A brief description of clinical experiences completed in the MSN program 5. Download separate resume guidelines for more comprehensive details. B. Cover letter: Remember to include a cover letter that introduces you to the future employer with your resume. 1
III. Reflective Journal Entries The journal assignment is designed to help the student reflect in a systematic way on evolving professional development and competencies in advanced nursing practice. This assignment will be integrated into the student s final clinical course. There will be a minimum of two journal entries. A. NP Students 1. For each journal, reflect broadly on the student coursework and clinical experiences while attending the School of Nursing at UNC-Chapel Hill; discuss your professional growth and development into the role of an advanced practice nurse. Reflection includes one's motives, perceptions, attitudes, values and the feelings or emotions associated with patient care. Those insights influence your interactions, behaviors, and decisionmaking. How has that changed for you since you entered the NP program? 2. You may also consider (but are not limited to) the following as a basis for discussion: a. Development of clinical reasoning and critical thinking skills b. Improvement in the integration and application of advanced assessment strategies and evidenced-based practice in utilization of nursing knowledge c. Evaluation of interventions and/or management strategies to improve health outcomes for patient populations d. Discussion of what makes advanced practice nurses distinctive in their collaborative and interdisciplinary practice as a member of a health care team e. Describe approaches an advanced practice nurse might use to contribute to or advocate for safe, effective and accessible health care f. Address the continuing evolution of the advanced practice nursing role in the current social, political and economic environment B. HCS Students 1. Requirements: Typed responses should consist of a maximum of 500 words (two pages, double-spaced). A reference list must accompany each journal. 2. Focus of Journals: a. Journal 1: What theoretical framework will be most useful in your future practice as a health care systems leader? Describe the framework and use a specific example from your area of focus (i.e., administration, education, informatics, outcomes management, clinical nurse leader) to demonstrate how this framework will guide your practice. 2
b. Journal 2: Identify a central problem in nursing and health care systems or leadership practice that you see as most in need of nursing research. Provide your rationale for the selection of this problem, and specify a relevant, researchable question to address the problem. Discuss major works in the area, identify additional types of studies that are needed to address the problem, and describe how research will advance nursing practice in the identified area. IV. Area of Practice: Students should describe their specific area of focus in the Master s program, including the specific scope of practice for their advanced nursing role or health care systems role. Length should be two typed pages, double-spaced (not including references). A. NP Students: Consider: Professional work parameters including: educational preparation and credentials; client characteristics (patient population/institution served); health needs in the nurse-client relationship (e.g. individual/family/group/institution); the nature and types of common interventions employed in the provision of health care; relevant regulatory structures including credentialing, collaboration, delegation, demonstration of continuing competence, leadership and scholarship. B. HCS Students: Citing relevant theory, research and other literature, discuss the distinct contributions that health care systems leaders prepared with a master s of science in nursing can make to patient care. V. Clinical Summary of Student Experiences A. NP Students 1. Provide an overall summary of clinical encounters by course since beginning the program 2. Clinical encounter log (e.g. Medatrax) summary information should include the patient s age, gender, race and primary diagnosis. The summaries should be presented graphically using the chart option in Medatrax. For example, information may be presented in four pie charts, one for each of the criteria mentioned above. (NOTE: Do not turn in a listing of all patients seen at each clinical site). 3. Secondary diagnoses, outline of management strategies and any questions or comments about the patient are optional. 3
4. Please also include a brief paragraph describing each clinical site/experience, i.e., the types of patients you saw, challenges presented you, and what you learned from the experience about patient care, your new role, etc. B. HCS Students: Provide an overall summary of clinical, professional or practical experiences since beginning the program VI. Timetable for Obtaining Certification and/or Registration, and Approval to Practice, as relevant to the population or focus area of advanced nursing practice A. NP students: Please see link provided on the comprehensive exam web page if this link does not work Written Plan for Obtaining NP Registration. B. HCS students: Please develop a timeline based on the requirements for your area of focus VII. Practice Agreement or Position Description A. A collaborative practice agreement (for NPs) or position description (for HCS) as relevant to the desired job/practice arrangement. B. For NP students: please see collaborative practice agreement guidelines document and document with information from the NC Board of Nursing for more details VIII. Other Examples of Relevant Scholarly Product(s) (e.g., publications or course products) These may be submitted at the student s discretion. For each product submitted, provide a brief paragraph description that includes: title of product, date produced, and description of the context or purpose for inclusion in the portfolio. Organization of Portfolio There are 2 approaches to the portfolio submission: (a) traditional, and (b) electronic. The course coordinator in the final management course will inform students of which approach will be used. Traditional approach to the portfolio The portfolio should be organized and submitted as follows: o Contents should be organized in a 1 ½-inch 3-ring binder o The student s name, credentials and program area should be formatted in a professional style and displayed on the outside of the binder (e.g., in clear plastic with order specified above) o Tabs or dividers should be used to define each component of the portfolio in the order specified above 4
o Plastic cover sheets should be used for all documents Electronic submission of the portfolio Students must combine all elements of the portfolio into a single document prior to the deadline. Please use this format for naming the file: Last name First name_msn Portfolio_May 2015 (e.g. Brown Janna_MSN Portfolio_May 2015) All students should have the 7 required sections in the portfolio; number 8 is optional. All 7 required sections must be clearly defined by the use of headers in the order specified below. The order of the elements of the portfolio is as follows: 1. Cover Page_[last name first name: example Brown Sharon_Cover page] 2. Resume & Cover Letter 3. Reflective Journal Entries: 1 & 2 4. Area of Practice 5. Clinical Summary of Student Experiences 6. Timetable 7. Practice Agreement (or Position Description) 8. Other examples of Relevant Scholarly Products (optional) Evaluation Criteria Satisfactory/Pass will be awarded to portfolios that are submitted by the designated deadline (TBA at the beginning of each semester), include the components described above, and meet minimum expectations for each component as outlined above. Unsatisfactory/Fail will be awarded to portfolios that are turned in after the specified due date or are turned in on time but do not include the minimum components, or the components do not meet minimum expectations as outlined in the comprehensive examination guidelines. A student who fails the portfolio may not retake it a second time until at least three months after the first attempt. The student should work with his or her academic program to identify areas needing additional emphasis and to establish an action plan to prepare for taking the exam a second time. A student who fails an examination for the second time becomes academically ineligible to continue in The Graduate School. Upon the Student s Successful Completion of the Professional Portfolio: The course coordinator of the student s final clinical course will sign the Master s Comprehensive Exam or Approved Substitute Report: Part II: Report of Oral Examination or Approved Substitute and submit it to the Office Academic Affairs by the specified deadline. (Approved MEC 2/28/2013; 12/7/14) 5