title: The use of professional portfolios and profiles for career enhancement.
abstract: Since 1995, registered nurses and midwives have been obliged to develop and maintain a professional portfolio of evidence reflecting the learning activities that they have undertaken and how these have informed and influenced their practice. The aim of this article is to demonstrate that rather then just a retrospective account of continuing professional development activities, a portfolio can be used as a vehicle for engaging in self-assessment and personal development planning. Possible structures and type of evidence are explored and portfolios in the context of gaining accreditation for prior experiential learning, and in particular for those nurses in advanced clinical roles, are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Health, Leeds Metropolitan University. D.E.Casey@leedsmet.ac.uk
authors.forename: Deborah C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Casey
authors.forename: Dominic
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Egan
mesh_terms: D057179:Advanced Practice Nursing; D002322:Career Mobility; D002983:Clinical Competence; D003152:Community Health Nursing; D004509:Education, Nursing, Continuing; D006801:Humans; D011996:Records; D006113:United Kingdom