E-portfolios for the aspiring professional

The introduction of the ANMC's Continuing Competence Framework means that an increasing number of Australian Registered Nurses and Registered Midwives will be required to submit a portfolio if audited in order to maintain their registration. As several professional organisations and State regulatory authorities have already demonstrated, nurses and midwives will be supported to do this. However there is a risk that individuals commencing a portfolio for the first time will attempt to deal with the requirement by focussing on the minimum standards set by the regulatory authorities. Critics of the use of professional portfolios are quite correct, compiling and managing a portfolio can be a time consuming and irrelevant process if not well implemented. As this article will elaborate, e-Portfolios have a range of potential professional benefits including supporting individuals through a critical reflective approach to competency development, supporting professional collaboration and providing a structure for planning their career progression. This article provides an overview of the potential benefits of e-Portfolio platforms including detailing the capacities for information storage and recall and the provision of tools to support structuring and reporting information to further develop and communicate professional achievements. The objective is to entice the ambitious professional and their employers/professional associations to consider utilizing the extended capacities of e-Portfolios.