Learner portfolios and hands-on workshop to facilitate and evaluate nurses' learning in obstetric ultrasound.

Over the past three decades, ultrasound has played an increasing role in perinatal nursing. In obstetric triage, many clients present with indications for ultrasound. In one institution's triage unit, restrictive policies, lack of opportunities for learning skills, and an unstructured method of verifying competence created barriers to nurses learning ultrasound. A revised approach using learner portfolios and a hands-on workshop resulted in improved acquisition of skills, learner confidence, and increased accessibility of ultrasound to clients.