CPD and Professional Portfolio: A Lifelong Nursing Career Guide

This essay explores the critical role of Continuous Professional Development (CPD) and professional portfolios in the nursing profession. It emphasizes the concept of lifelong learning as essential for registered nurses to maintain competence and advance their careers, highlighting the need to stay updated with new patient care methods, diagnostic techniques, and nursing interventions. The essay explains how CPD ensures nurses' ability to work safely and effectively, meeting patient health goals, and how professional portfolios document competencies and professional growth, aligning with NMBA standards. It justifies the use of portfolios as a means of showcasing lifelong learning, managing revalidation documents, identifying strengths and learning needs, and ultimately, supporting career progression. The essay underscores the benefits of these tools in enhancing patient outcomes, adapting to healthcare advancements, and promoting nurses' personal and professional development within a dynamic healthcare environment.

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Continuous learning and development is the essential tool for any employee, specifically,
in nursing, this both the above mentioned aspects are highly required. The nurses must
understand the new methods of patients care to enhance the health care quality. They must learn
and use the new and nursing skills to develop their knowledge and ability to work in a
pressurized environment (Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia, 2016). CPD or continuing
professional development targets to make sure that the nursing professionals and midwives have
the capacity to work safely, competently and effectively in order to meet the health goals already
set for the patients. A professional portfolio is a collection of carefully selected material that
certified the competencies of registered nurses and demonstration of their specialty. The
portfolio in the nursing profession is developed over time. It basically delivers a method of
monitoring professional development. Both CPD and nursing portfolio is an essential tool for
the lifelong nursing career and provides a better opportunity for the nurses to grow themselves in
the patient care field (Casey, & Egan, 2010). In this particular essay, the CPD, professional
portfolio and the importance in a nursing career will be discussed.
Learning is endless and one has to learn throughout his or her life in order to develop
their abilities in a particular profession to achieve the career goals. Health care systems are
growing day by day and new opportunities are there to enhance the patient outcome. New
methods of treating the patient, diagnostic methods and improved nursing interventions strategies
are there the help the nurses (McCormack, Manley, & Titchen, 2013). Therefore the nurses must
learn throughout their career. Lifelong learning is the term that is specifically being used around
these last two decades in the healthcare sector and other fields. The degree of progress in the
technology is developing at an increasing rate the more things nurses discover the faster they
perform their tasks. What nurses understand or learned in their school some years before is not

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essentially be the same now and not remain the same after ten years. As a health care
professional the nurse is always at the risk of endangering their patient's life if their skills
become old or outdated. Lifelong learning to the nurses' means that the learning and education
does not stop at the academic standard upon the graduation, it also means that novel abilities,
skills, information, knowledge, and exercises or practices are always there to be learned to
enhance the nurse's role in healthcare (Chang, & Daly, 2016).
Professional development is an essential part of the nursing career. New registered nurses
usually have the inadequate experience therefore; they might have problems in their initial
permanent nursing post. Experienced nurses or nurses with enhanced skills, on the other hand,
have a better understanding of their occupational responsibilities (Glen, 2017). Professional
development is considered as the critical task to the nursing occupation as it focuses on the
significance of lifelong learning, Measuring learning requirements, and Maintenance
competency. Nurses must endure learning during their careers. They require staying informed on
patient upkeep, healthcare developments, cures and practices (Ryan, 2011). NPD experts are
obtainable to counsel nurses about accreditation and certifying necessities, and they can similarly
deal with the nurse’s requirements for extra instruction. Additionally, NPD experts can help the
nurses in lifelong learning and they can make sure that the registered nurses under their direction
always establish competency (Jones, 2010).
Lifelong learning is the main issue for the nurses, they must be educated throughput their
nursing career in lifelong learning opportunities. According to ANA (American nurses
association), learning does not stop after or with a diploma or degree. Lifelong learning includes
knowledge of the evidence-based health can the serious appraisal, awareness of the informatics
and the literature exploration, and recovery approaches (Casey, & Egan, 2010). It also includes

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the practice-based education and the enhancement approaches, self-reflection and examination or
examination, and other skills or abilities associated with the knowledge management. As the
health upkeep professionals nurses work in an active atmosphere where the expectation to them
is that they should be able to respond to several and altering requirements. To fulfill these
expectancy, nurses needs to develop some strong skills and the positive mindset in which the
nurse is capable to recognize opportunities and diverse resolutions, alterations and adaptations to
encounter new tasks. Enduring learning provides a method or way of enabling the nurse
professional to continue to grow or develop. The skills associated with lifelong learning
comprise the capability to recognize the requirement, access, and the recover the information,
filter in order to gain excellence in relation to the particular patient's issue and after that using
this information to deliver the most proper upkeep required (Nursing and Midwifery Board of
Australia (2017).
As mentioned before, socialization might well inspire permanent learning abilities, but to
continue this ability, nurses need to be displayed and reminded how to endure these skills.
Continuing learning events are huge and are able to incorporate in-service learning, specialized
growth courses, and self- directed education, the multiplicity of health care, personal
organizational aspects, context of care, and the constraints nurses might require to avail
themselves of complex or manifold learning approached and the chances to encounter personal
education goals (Davis, Taylor, & Reyes, 2014). There is more evidence of that as the new
advancements in the technology emerging there are additional ways that the nurse can help the
patient to improve the mortality and the quality of life. Lifelong learning provides the nurses a
fresh knowledge that can be used or implemented to enhance the patient outcome. For example,
previously the focus of care for the patients with diabetes was only the physical care, but

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nowadays it is well understood to the nurses that the psychological support is also necessary for
the diabetic patient along with the physical care. The nurse must provide them emotional support
so that they feel comfortable and discuss their actual situation easily (Eason, 2010).
A professional portfolio is the collection of prudently chosen materials that document the
registered nurse's competencies and demonstrates the specialty of a nurse. Meanwhile, a portfolio
is advanced over time; it likewise delivers a method of controlling professional growth. By
occasionally rereading the portfolio, registered nurses can measure their development in getting
personal and specialized goals and an improved plan for their profession in nursing (Taylor,
Stewart, & Bidewell, 2009). A professional portfolio is a positive approach in order to illustrate
the lifelong education and to encounter the standard of NMBA registrations for CPD. This
standard of registration provided the minimum requirements of Nursing and Midwifery Board of
Australia’s (NMBA) for enduring professional development for registered nurses, registered
nurses and midwives (Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia, 2016). The CPD is the terms
by which the associates of the profession uphold, recover and widen their information,
proficiency, and capability, and grow the individual and expert potentials necessary during their
professional period. Nurses and midwives listed to exercise in Australia are supposed to
commence a minimum number of continuing or enduring professional development (CPD) hours
straight pertinent to your setting of practice (Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia, 2016).
Registered nurses are nowadays gradually using the specialized portfolios as the way to
sustain the evidence if their education, education, reflection and to determine that they have
encountered or met their specialized needs. A portfolio can help the registered nurses to collect
and manage the revalidation of the reregistration documents in single place, in order to easily
update and produce whenever required, for instance, in the performance assessments and the

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work application (Taylor, Stewart, & Bidewell, 2009). The nurses require to undertaking the
lifelong professional growth activities to sustain, modernize and enhance their practices and
knowledge, and the nurses can likewise use the portfolio to write these types of actions.
Generating and managing the portfolio can likewise enable the registered nurses to recognize
their strength and learning requirements, and to progress a learning strategy to deal with the
requirements (Andre, & Heartfield, 2011).
In Australia, the nurses are expected to determine their enduring capability for the yearly
re-registration, each three years for the revalidations in the United Kingdom. Before the
application of portfolios, the nursing ability was generally documented by using the informal
assortment of present diplomas or documentations for CPD. Generating and managing the
professional portfolio has various benefits (Patrick-Williams, & Bennett, 2010). Preserving the
evidence of the nursing practice, training, reflection, and CPD in single place allow efficient
management and means that a portfolio with a structure set can improve the organization and are
stress-free or easy for the readers to navigate. Though it needs time and efforts to generate and
manage the professional portfolio, doing this delivers a chance or learning opportunities. The
professional support helps the nurses for personal empowerments, by allowing the nurses to
connect their own development and knowledge to evidence. By the approach of collecting the
evidence to add into the portfolio, the nurses can recognize their strength, holes in the
knowledge, abilities or skills or competence and the aspects for enhancements. And plan proper
CPD exercises based on the collected information (Cope, & Murray, 2018).
A portfolio can also be used as the career ladder promotion inside the hospital setting and
to seek a fresh position in the field of nursing. The portfolio delivers the justification for the
career ladder advancements in the medical setting and includes documents that help it (Patrick-

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Williams, & Bennett, 2010). The registered nurses can also use the professional portfolio for the
accreditation surveys as the means of performance documentations top provide the additional
information to support the standard of accreditations (Cope, & Murray, 2018).
Lifelong or continues learning and growth is the requirement of the nursing profession,
the nurses must understand and apply the new skills essential for providing a goal oriented
interventions. Learning is an endless process that can be used to enhance the up to date
knowledge about what happening in the world of health care. Professional development is the
most important part of the nursing profession or any other profession. It is the critical task of
nursing profession that emphasizes on the importance of lifelong nursing. Being informed and
updated about the new technology can provide nurses the new ways to improve quality of life
and mortality. To keep the evidence of the lifelong learning, experience and learned skills nurses
should use professional portfolio. The professional portfolio helps the nurses to maintain
professional growth, to measure the development. It can be used as the career ladder promotion
within the hospital or clinic. It helps to store the professional evidence of practice; learning and
CPD in one place enable the registered nurses to manage the things efficiently. With the help of a
professional portfolio, nurses can identify their skills, strength and lacks in the knowledge they
have.

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References
Andre, K., & Heartfield, M. (2011). Professional Portfolios-E-Book: Evidence of Competency
for nurses and midwives. Elsevier Health Sciences.
Casey, D. C., & Egan, D. (2010). The use of professional portfolios and profiles for career
enhancement. British journal of community nursing, 15(11), 547-552.
Chang, E., & Daly, J. (2016). Transitions in nursing: Preparing for professional practice (4th
ed.). Chatswood, Australia: Elsevier Australia
Cope, V., & Murray, M. (2018). Use of professional portfolios in nursing. Nursing Standard
(2014+), 32(30), 55.
Davis, L., Taylor, H., & Reyes, H. (2014). Lifelong learning in nursing: A Delphi study. Nurse
education today, 34(3), 441-445.
Eason, T. (2010). Lifelong learning: Fostering a culture of curiosity. Creative Nursing, 16(4),
155-159.
Glen, S. (2017). Problem-based learning in nursing: A new model for a new context. Macmillan
International Higher Education.
Jones, E. (2010). A professional practice portfolio for quality learning. Higher Education
Quarterly, 64(3), 292-312.
McCormack, B., Manley, K., & Titchen, A. (Eds.). (2013). Practice development in nursing and
healthcare. John Wiley & Sons.

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Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (2017). Continuing professional development.
Retrieved from:
https://www.nursingmidwiferyboard.gov.au/registration-standards/continuing-
professional-development.aspx
Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia. (2016). Guidelines: Continuing professional
development. Retrieved from:
https://www.nursingmidwiferyboard.gov.au/codesguidelines-statements/codes-
guidelines/guidelines-cpd.aspx
Patrick-Williams, I., & Bennett, R. (2010). The effectiveness of the professional portfolio in the
hiring process of the associate degree nurse. Teaching and Learning in Nursing, 5(1),
44-48.
Ryan, M. (2011). Evaluating portfolio use as a tool for assessment and professional development
in graduate nursing education. Journal of Professional Nursing, 27(2), 84-91.
Taylor, C., Stewart, L., & Bidewell, J. (2009). Nursing students' appraisal of their professional
portfolios in demonstrating clinical competence. Nurse Educator, 34(5), 217-222.