Professional Portfolio - West Aussie Nurses

pmchap · Mar 15, 2005

Hi to any WA nurses. I am wondering about the professional portfolio we now have to keep for the Nurses Board audit. I read the info on the nurses board web site and alot of the stuff in the template made little since.
There is no set criteria I can see such as how many contact inservice/education hours are to be completed. All it says is mandatory - which refers to CPR and Manual Handeling.
Also, the template is 28 pages long. Obviously, not everything applies to everyone (I hope) so how do you work out what you should be aiming for.
Lastly, what are agency nurses doing for the portfolio?

While not in WA I must say that if portfolios are in - then just remember to keep documentation of EVERYTHING you do.... including that incidental little chat with the new team member about the ward proticol or thath 15minute refresher from pharmacy.... In terms of portfolios you can never have too much documentation - the next challange is how you sift through it all - but I would quess thats why there is a templet.....

Cheers and good luck - can I ask how many extra staff the Board is employing to go through everyones portfolios?

Peter

sandgroper · Mar 15, 2005

Would you believe it?

5% of nurses in WA will be audited each year. We have 22 on our roster in ED and 2 have been selected already!

Our hospital has adapted the portfolio to suit us but I haven't had a close look at it yet. (The lucky pair are getting very intimate with it)

medsurgnurse, RN · Mar 15, 2005

Is there anyway you could post a link or file with your template. I'm interested in seeing it.

bulletproofbarb · Mar 16, 2005

Is there anyway you could post a link or file with your template. I'm interested in seeing it.

I have no direct link as it is a .pdf download but it is on our nurses board site

http://www.nbwa.org.au/

You will find alot of stuff about it on there but you really need acrobat reader to be able to use the site.

When you open it, enjoy reading all 28 pages of the template :rolleyes:

I'm an agency nurse at the moment, (previously worked in permanet jobs) but I have always kept my CV up to date and recorded my certificates from study days but no inservice!! So, I'm not sure what I am going to do about that.

From what I understand, the portfolio is to be backdated to include your previous years work. How many years it doesn't say but gee, I was under the impression that back dating documentation was illegal!

I can see the relevance of a portfolio but it really needs some parameters set. At the moment it is open ended. Also, one job I did was very specific. The only criteria you needed was RN. This was because everything about this job was learnt on the job and none of it is relevant to any other nursing position. None of the skills we learnt will crop up in hospital/nursing home/community nursng work. So when I list this stuff, I doubt the nurses board will know half of what it means. It was not a hospital job.

As to how many staff at the nurses board they employed, probably none. I have a comment as to why it's none but think it may be wise to withhold it!! It's not polite you see

gwenith, BSN, RN · Mar 16, 2005

Barb - write a letter to your state minister outlining your concerns. From my dealings with the Qld Board here in the past (as a Nurse Ed) the one thing that they REALLY HATE is a ministerial enquiry.

medsurgnurse, RN · Mar 16, 2005

I have no direct link as it is a .pdf download but it is on our nurses board site
http://www.nbwa.org.au/
You will find alot of stuff about it on there but you really need acrobat reader to be able to use the site.
When you open it, enjoy reading all 28 pages of the template
I'm an agency nurse at the moment, (previously worked in permanet jobs) but I have always kept my CV up to date and recorded my certificates from study days but no inservice!! So, I'm not sure what I am going to do about that.
From what I understand, the portfolio is to be backdated to include your previous years work. How many years it doesn't say but gee, I was under the impression that back dating documentation was illegal!
I can see the relevance of a portfolio but it really needs some parameters set. At the moment it is open ended. Also, one job I did was very specific. The only criteria you needed was RN. This was because everything about this job was learnt on the job and none of it is relevant to any other nursing position. None of the skills we learnt will crop up in hospital/nursing home/community nursng work. So when I list this stuff, I doubt the nurses board will know half of what it means. It was not a hospital job.
As to how many staff at the nurses board they employed, probably none. I have a comment as to why it's none but think it may be wise to withhold it!! It's not polite you see

Thank You. I have a 'portfolio' of sorts. Bascially all my license, certifications, CEU's, and things in a binder. Having a something more organized would be good for me.