Portfolios as a novel approach for residency evaluation.

The authors describe the development process for a portfolio that programs may use for evaluating psychiatry residents. A committee carefully developed the portfolio requirements for 13 necessary skills in psychiatry. Psychiatrists were trained to rate portfolios. Review of the development and training process suggested that portfolios provided information both on individual residents and on the residency program itself. The process requires orientation of both residents and faculty, attention to time demands, and availability of examples and resources.