User Experience Evaluation of the EPAs-Based e-Portfolio System and an Analysis of Its Impact

Background To carry out competency-based medical education, this study has established five Entrustable Professional Activities (EPAs) for the emergency medicine residents. The EPAs involve substantial data collection, which requires integration and analysis for the fi nal interpretation. Therefore, the “EPAs-Based e-Portfolio System” has been developed for assisting users to perform ad-hoc assessment, recording of a discussion, teaching, and feedback. The purpose of this study is to examine, from the perspective of the Technology Acceptance Model, residents and clinicians’ experience of the EPAs-Based e-Portfolio System, including the use of functions such as recording, feedback, and assessment, as well as the impact thereof. Methods This study uses in-depth interviews as a means of data collection. The interviewees are from emergency medicine training hospitals in north, central, and south Taiwan—11 resident doctors and nine medical teachers. Results The interviewees agree that (1) the EPAs-based e-Portfolio System provides users with a complete learning trajectory record through cloudization and ease of use; (2) it can assist users to gain feedback, case review, and reflection; (3) information on user status can reflect their learning progress, competencies, and performance; (4) other potential functions that can be added include shortcut keys, initiation of assessment sheets by a learner, feedback to teacher’s comment, and voice/picture input. Conclusions The results of this study indicate that the easier a system is for users to use, the more helpful they will consider it and the more positive they will be, which will then translate into greater willingness to use the system and higher frequency of actual use. The system can authentically reflect trainees’ professional capabilities if the ad-hoc teaching and feedback in the clinical setting connect strongly with the online assessment and recording.