Do You Have A Portfolio?

A career portfolio is a compilation of documentation of a nurse practitioner's education, training, and experience. A portfolio often is a binder containing pages which may be removed and copied as needed. There are at least two good reasons to keep a portfolio. First, in states where a nurse practitioner must submit to the Board of Nursing a written agreement stating the services the nurse practitioner is authorized to perform, nurse practitioners will want to have documentation of their qualifications to perform procedures such as suturing. Qualifications might include formal course work, informal course work, or formal or informal one-to-one preceptorship experience. If the nurse practitioner documents the teaching or experience at the time it is completed, through a letter or form signed and dated by the instructor, and adds the documentation to the portfolio, the nurse practitioner easily can produce the document as needed many years later, if questioned. Second, some nurse practitioners use their portfolios in place of resumes when interviewing for jobs or applying for awards.

Source: Carolyn Buppert, NP, JD www.buppert.com