This document provides guidance on creating a professional midwifery portfolio, including choosing between a commercial or do-it-yourself portfolio, recommended contents, and formatting. It recommends including personal and employment history, qualifications, continuing education, reflections on practice, critical incidents, professional activities, and a professional development plan. Examples and templates are provided for many of the sections. The portfolio should demonstrate meeting competency standards and be used to facilitate professional development.

1. Professional Portfolio:
putting your midwifery portfolio together
Sarah Stewart 2008
sarahstewart07@gmail.com
Image: 'Be seeing you'
www.flickr.com/photos/19487674@N00/58499153

2. Commercial or do-it-yourself?
A commercial portfolio
provides a concrete framework
to follow
Image: '"Dear Flickr..."'
www.flickr.com/photos/23400852@N08/2609262521

3. 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

4. Use loose leaf A4 binder so you
can move sections around
Image: '
20080724-DSC_8035'
www.flickr.com/photos/220
38283@N02/2738228614

5. Provide evidence
Image: 'Thank You Note Letterpress'
www.flickr.com/photos/24566159@N00/2451480923

6. 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

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

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

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

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

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

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

13. Typed text is easier to read &
‘smarter’ than hand written text
Image: 'remington keys'
www.flickr.com/photos/68084379@N00/50212307

14. Think about alternative medias to
present your work
www.flickr.com/photo
s/26572975@N00/1
346068786
www.flickr.com/pho
tos/86533050@N0
0/362732167
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tos/83727590@N0
0/494149018
www.flickr.com/photos
/63574695@N00/204
274302
www.flickr.com/ph
otos/46944516@N
00/190673196

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

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

17. Personal details
• Name, address, employer, contact
details
• Midwifery qualifications
• Midwifery philosophy
• Personal reflection. What are your
strengths and weaknesses?
• Interests and personal information

18. 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?
www.flickr.com/p
hotos/25506969
@N00/15486434
9

19. • Level of skills acquired
• Innovations of practice you have
implemented
• What were least enjoyable aspects of job
and why did you leave?
www.flickr.com/ph
otos/40954787@
N00/242486104

20. 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

21. 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

22. Evidence of reflection
• Name of activity
• Date
• Location
• Your objectives for the activity
• A summary of content
• Learning outcomes and implications for
practice
www.flickr.com/photos/41754875@N00/233508614

23. 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
www.flickr.com/photos/84362437@N00/2108094704

24. • 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?

25. 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

26. • 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?
www.flickr.com/photos/84362437@N00/249479508

27. 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

28. • 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
www.flickr.com/photos/47404211@N00/2113599630

29. 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

30. Professional development plan
• Developed as part of MSR process
• May be specific short term aims or long
term aims
• Reviewed at regular intervals
www.flickr.com/photos/64251830@N00/364312031

31. • 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

32. 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
• Stewart, S. 2000. Professional Portfolios: anecessary
evil? New Zealand College of Midwives Journal, June,
22: 23-24.
and
• New Zealand College of Midwives. Professional Portfolio:
www.midwife.org.nz