The portfolio is a compilation of materials needed for job interviews and for professional negotiations, including resume, job description, position statements, practice protocols, publications, unpublished patient teaching and work-related materials, formal performance evaluations, and letters reflecting performance. Other materials you may want to develop for your portfolio include:

• Mission statement
• Description of patient population you wish to serve
• Logistics of practice urban, rural, suburban; hospital, clinic, private
• Administrative hierarchy including those to whom you are responsible and those for whom you are responsible
• Collaborative practice agreement (legal requirement vs agreement)
• Prescriptive privileges
• Hospital privileges
• Consultation guidelines for self and others
• Reimbursement contract (sample contract)
• Referral sources and professional/lay organizations
• Preliminary business plan
• Practice brochure & business card (sample flyer)
• Business card (www.bizcardpro.com)

You have been working to develop parts of your portfolio. In this module, you will put the finishing touches on your portfolio materials.

Some portfolios begin with an introductory page offering philosophy, nursing role (also called scope of practice or professional objective), collaboration statement, and contract overview. Review a sample portfolio.

Your Philosophy Statement

In order to communicate what you believe professionally, you will now develop a philosophy statement. Think back to the time you knew you wanted to become a nurse—what were your beliefs about people and nursing then? Now think about when you decided to go back to school to seek an advanced degree—why do you need the degree you’re seeking now? Write in the space below a short philosophy statement.>

Elevator Response to "What's An Advanced Practice Nurse?" 

In your interviews with nurses in advanced practice roles, many of you found that the general public (and other health professionals, for that matter) lacks understanding about what APNs do. (Review Hamric:Chapter 3 for differences among roles.) Examine a table comparing different APN roles and subroles. Now, picture yourself in an elevator when an individual notices your nametag and asks, What exactly is a (CRNA, NP, CNM, CNS, NA [nurse administrator])?  In the next space:

• Write a 30-second script of your role that you could easily say to describe your role. 

• Add a response to that individual’s second question, How are you different from a physician? different from a physician’s assistant? Read a fellow student’s response to these questions. 

Your Scope of Practice Statement

Finally, you have the responsibility of knowing the legal boundaries of your APN practice. Here are several Websites to explore legal aspects of practice. The first site from the state of Ohio is offered as a clear example listing legal boundaries.

State of Ohio nursing site
Kansas State Board of Nursing
Kansas Association of Nurse Anesthetists
Association of Certified Nurse Midwives
American Association of Physician’s Assistants
American Association of Nurse Anesthetists
American Academy of Nurse Practitioners
Nurse Practitioner Certification Review programs  

Review Excerpts from the ANA Scope Practice for APNs

From these sites you will find latest legal changes, scopes of practice, standards of practice, position statements, Medicare and Medicaid regulations, career information (including some NP salary ranges www.nurse.net/salary/ ). Be sure to bookmark these and other sites for future use. The work you are doing in groups will serve as reference to develop the following statement for your personal portfolio. In the space provided, write your ideal scope of practice statement.  

In the space below, provide 3 responses: 

1. Your philosophy statement
2. Elevator response to "What's an Advanced Practice Nurse?"
3. Your scope of practice statement