How To Prepare A Portfolio

Professional Portfolio: putting your midwifery portfolio together Sarah Stewart 2008 [email_address] Image: ' Be seeing you ' www.flickr.com/photos/19487674@N00/58499153

Commercial or do-it-yourself?

A commercial portfolio provides a concrete framework to follow

Image: ' "Dear Flickr ..." ' www.flickr.com/photos/23400852@N08/2609262521

Do-it-yourself

Allows you the freedom to construct your own format and use different medias for presentation

Image: ' Drilling ' www.flickr.com/photos/35034353164@N01/548373913

Use loose leaf A4 binder so you can move sections around

Image: ' 20080724-DSC_8035 ' www.flickr.com/photos/22038283@N02/2738228614

Provide evidence Letters References Contracts Job descriptions Certificates of attendance Agendas 'Thank you' cards Meetings Skills Image: ' Thank You Note Letterpress ' www.flickr.com/photos/24566159@N00/2451480923

Do not put important original documents in your portfolio just in case the portfolio gets lost or stolen – use photocopied/certified documents only

www.flickr.com/photos/78942960@N00/184030504

Be positive… Image: ' Orange Explosion ' www.flickr.com/photos/72369970@N00/175532290

and relevant Image: ' African elephant ' www.flickr.com/photos/15745225@N00/705454064

Be interesting… Image: ' Crystal Ball ' www.flickr.com/photos/8211018@N03/1162117754

Creative… Image: ' Grazie ' www.flickr.com/photos/16552084@N00/1422144415

analytical… Image: ' microscope_head.jpg 'www.flickr.com/photos/75771631@N00/162772082

and critical Image: ' Deep in thought ' www.flickr.com/photos/13023474@N06/2342924889

Typed text is easier to read & ‘smarter’ than hand written text

Image: ' remington keys ' www.flickr.com/photos/68084379@N00/50212307

Think about alternative medias to present your work www.flickr.com/photos/26572975@N00/1346068786 Audio www.flickr.com/photos/86533050@N00/362732167 Video www.flickr.com/photos/83727590@N00/494149018 www.flickr.com/photos/63574695@N00/204274302 Poem Song Painting www.flickr.com/photos/46944516@N00/190673196

Do not be afraid to share portfolio with colleagues http://www.flickr.com/photos/92632631@N00/1897477556/ Everyone has the same apprehensions and questions

Constructive discussion will enable you to identify areas you can develop www.flickr.com/photos/76815233@N00/504413268

Personal details

Name, address, employer, contact details

Midwifery qualifications

Midwifery philosophy

Personal reflection. What are your strengths and weaknesses?

Interests and personal information

Employment history

Job title, employer or practice setting, dates, description of job/key responsibilities

How big is your caseload; how much time spent on teaching & administration?

Level of skills acquired

Innovations of practice you have implemented

What were least enjoyable aspects of job and why did you leave?

Education and professional qualifications

General education

Key events/learning – you may not want to go right back to primary/secondary education, but there may be a key event/learning that heavily influenced your life

Dates /where/provider of education

Professional qualifications

Other qualifications

Significant events or achievements

Continuing education

Provide evidence of formal and informal education

Clinical update, personal skills development

Conference or seminar attendance

Significant reading – this may be an article, poem, book that made you think and had an effect on your practice

Keep record of compulsory education eg infant resuscitation workshop

Evidence of reflection

Name of activity

Date

Location

Your objectives for the activity

A summary of content

Learning outcomes and implications for practice

Critical incident

An event that made you think about your life and practice

Incident that well or not so well

Incident where your intervention made a difference

An event that captures the essence of midwifery

Demanding incident

Where and when did it happen?

Why is it important to you?

What were you thinking about?

What were your feelings?

What did you find demanding or satisfying?

What would you have done differently?

How do you feel now?

What did you learn from the incident?

What broader issues such as ethical, political or social arise from this situation?

Professional activities

NZCOM membership and participation

Representation

Teaching

Working with consumers

Local activities

Unpublished work

Conference or seminar presentations

Published work

Research

Writing policies or guidelines

Activity

Date

Location

Description of activity

Outcomes – what went well and not so well? What did you learn and how will you apply it to practice?

Competencies for entry to register

Portfolio needs to demonstrate you have achieved that basic level for entry to Register

Self assessment

Evidence of how you maintain practice

Critical incident/exemplar

Details of specific case or episodes of care

Examples of information resources you use

Examples of documentation or care plans

Examples of how you practice in relation to evidence or research

Evidence of how you communicate or work with women, students and colleagues

Midwifery Standards Review

Analysis of statistical data

Consumer feedback

Discussion of aspects of care

Self assessment

Keep most recent information you presented, development plan and attendance certificate in portfolio

Professional development plan

Developed as part of MSR process

May be specific short term aims or long term aims

Reviewed at regular intervals

Goal/objective to be achieved

Date commenced

Planned completion date

How are you going to achieve these objectives

Key steps

Resources required

Results/outcomes and how will you evaluate these

Others involved with project

References

Hull, C., & Redfern, L. (1996). Profiles and portfolios . MacMillan: Basingstoke.

Midwifery Council of New Zealand. (2008). Recertification Programme: competence-based practising certificates for midwives. Retrieved 21 October, 2008, from http://www.midwiferycouncil.org.nz/content/library/Revised_Recertification_Programme_updated_May_2008.pdf