PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Fida, Nadia M.
AU  - Shamim, Muhammad S.
TI  - Portfolios in Saudi medical colleges
AID  - 10.15537/smj.2016.3.12937
DP  - 2016 Mar 01
TA  - Saudi Medical Journal
PG  - 245--248
VI  - 37
IP  - 3
4099  - http://smj.org.sa/content/37/3/245.short
4100  - http://smj.org.sa/content/37/3/245.full
SO  - Saudi Med J2016 Mar 01; 37
AB  - Over recent decades, the use of portfolios in medical education has evolved, and is being applied in undergraduate and postgraduate programs worldwide. Portfolios, as a learning process and method of documenting and assessing learning, is supported as a valuable tool by adult learning theories that stress the need for learners to be self-directed and to engage in experiential learning. Thoughtfully implemented, a portfolio provides learning experiences unequaled by any single learning tool. The credibility (validity) and dependability (reliability) of assessment through portfolios have been questioned owing to its subjective nature; however, methods to safeguard these features have been described in the literature. This paper discusses some of this literature, with particular attention to the role of portfolios in relation to self-reflective learning, provides an overview of current use of portfolios in undergraduate medical education in Saudi Arabia, and proposes research-based guidelines for its implementation and other similar contexts.