Nurses, doctors, physical therapists, speech pathologists, medical technicians or any individual who has developed their body of work in the field of healthcare has a professional obligation; not to mention the federal, state, institutional or unit level requirements to keep their credentials up to date and readily available. Exactly how this is executed and what is required all depends upon the specific profession, the licensing bodies and the state within which your job resides.
Now for the big question…
Where is your curriculum vitae, resume, licenses, CEs, published works, completed checklists or anything else you consider to be part of your hard-earned body of work as a care giver?
If you are like most others in your field, your answer will likely include any or all of the following; in my wallet, the file cabinet, a Word file, a CE web site, or “I really don’t know”. The problem is that if you are being audited by a licensing board or your place of work, or if you are looking to get a new job or a promotion, all of this documentation had better be close at hand.
The solution? Take the time to collect all of this valuable content and create an online portfolio. This is essentially like a resume you might keep in a Word file on your computer. The big difference is that it also includes scanned images of your licenses, uploads of your published works, evaluations, reflections and just about anything else that boards, healthcare institutions, educators or hiring managers may require to evaluate you.
If you think you are too old to learn how put it all online, you’d better consider the fact that most organizations have already gone entirely electronic, or they have clear plans to do so in the next couple of years.
Start here and take control of your healthcare career.
