The digital portfolio: a tool for human resource management in health care?

Abstract

This article discusses the current situation of human resource management (HRM) in Finnish health care and charts the views of nurse directors (ward sisters and clinical nurse managers, n = 47) on the digital portfolio as a tool of HRM. The study is part of an evaluation research project; this article reports on the findings from nurse directors' perspective. The data were collected from three organizations in eastern Finland: a University Hospital, a Central Hospital and a Social and Health Centre. The nurse directors indicated a need for information on their staff's skills and competencies, but the area on which they had most information was on staff's formal education. They did not have access to systematic tools and methods for monitoring the continuous education of staff members. The digital portfolio can be used as a tool for HRM in health care, although the nurse directors did not realize it could provide a tool for sharing expertise through the units or wards.