Portfolio
A portfolio serves as a record of reflection, feedback and learning which will be useful as evidence for GMC registration, appraisal, job applications, and interviews. Maintaining a portfolio develops the skill of recording reflections on practice; improves awareness of Good Medical Practice; and promotes your independence as a learner.
Health professionals are required to show evidence of ongoing professional development throughout their career, including REACHE membership. The GMC's Good Medical Practice guidelines require that doctors reflect regularly on their standards of medical practice.
A portfolio should include:
- A PDP (Action/Learning Plan), updated at least every year
- A CV with summaries of your clinical experience in practice, both inside and outside the UK
- A SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis or other self-analysis
- Course certificates with learning reflections
- A log of the clinical conditions of patients seen
- A log of your clinical and communication skills used
Reflective pieces in the Foundation curriculum may be written on these themes:
- Relationships with patients
- Relationships with colleagues and teamwork
- Knowledge, skills and performance
- Safety
- Maintaining trust
- Resources for learning and keeping up to date
- Teaching and presentation skills
- Ethical and legal issues
- Feedback from supervisors, patients, and colleagues
The following prompts can be used to reflect on writing learning needs:
- Why am I choosing to reflect on this activity?
- How do I feel?
- Why do I think it happened the way it did?
- What did I do well?
- What could I have done differently?
- Why do I find this to be a useful learning activity?
- How does this fit into what I already know?
We encourage members to use the free BMJ Portfolio. Any health professional can register to use the portfolio. The BMJ Portfolio helps with keeping a record of Continuous Professional Development (CPD).
Personal Development Plan (PDP)
A Personal Development Plan is a plan which records targets for career development and personal achievements. All health professionals should have a PDP to show their plan for the next 6–12 months; this document should be reviewed and updated regularly to ensure that it is accurate, relevant, and up-to-date.
The General Medical Council's registration assessment teams look for evidence of regular CPD activity, especially in cases when there has been a career break. PDP documents can be submitted as supporting evidence with a GMC registration application. Once registered, doctors must undertake revalidation every five years by showing evidence of annual appraisals with a PDP review.
To get started on reflecting on your own aspirations, you may ask yourself these questions:
Where am I now?
Firstly you should think about your current situation. Consider your strengths and weaknesses, things which could help you, and things that might stop you. This can be arranged into a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis.
Where do I want to be in the next 6–12 months?
To answer this question, consider what you like to do; what motivates you; your qualifications and experience; how much time you need to develop new skills; your work/life balance and lifestyle; your finances; your support network; how you measure success; and your ultimate goals. You may have goals in the areas of language knowledge, medical knowledge, clinical skills, or new qualifications.
How can I get there?
The gap between where you are now and where you want to be is a task which can be split into smaller sub-tasks. These smaller goals should be SMART: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. Think about the short, medium, and long-term sub-tasks which form your overall objective. Remember that the plan is liable to change, and it is important to review this plan on a regular basis.