CPD Portfolio and Personal Development Plan

What is a CPD portfolio and why is it important?

A CPD portfolio allows you to store and evidence your learning experiences throughout your health and social care career. It is an essential resource when preparing for applications and interviews, both for post-graduate education and employment opportunities. A vast range of experiences and activities can be included within a CPD portfolio, however each requires some element of reflection to establish the learning you have gained from the activity and the value it has to your ongoing development. An important inclusion within the CPD portfolio is a Personal Development Plan (PDP) which allows you to draw upon your reflections to identify yourstrengths, set goals for your furtherdevelopment and career planning.

This assignment has two tasks which should be submitted as a single document. Guidance of the approximate word count for each task has been provided, although the overall word count should not exceed 3000 words. One Harvard- formatted reference list should be included at the end of the submission, which incorporates citations from both tasks.

Task 1:

Points to consider:

You should complete all sections of the PDP template. When creating your PDP, you should consider the following questions which can help you to develop your responses:

• What are my ambitions and goals?
• What are the standards, skills and knowledge needed to achieve my goals and do I have any gaps?
• What are the learning and development opportunities needed for me to achieve my goals?
• Am I making the best choices to allow me to achieve my ambitions?

Task 2:

Using the Gibbs’ reflective cycle, undertake a critical reflective analysis of your learning and development based on one of the following classroom activities you have engaged with during the delivery of this module:

• Roles and responsibilities activity
• Codes of conduct activity
• Culture and Diversity activity

Points to consider:

Your reflection should be based on one of the above classroom activities. You should select the activity which has the most significant learning experience related to your career ambitions outlined within your PDP in Task 1.

You should apply the Gibbs’ reflective cycle when undertaking your reflection, ensuring that you address all aspects of the reflective cycle and clearly label each section accordingly:

• Description
• Feelings
• Evaluation
• Analysis

The analysis and action plan sections should be supported with relevant evidence and literature. Within your action plan, you should explain how reflecting upon this learning event relates to your career ambitions and goals identified in the PDP created in Task 1.

Overall career aspirations - Explain what your specific career goal is and how your university study will help you to achieve your goal

SWOT – Identify three of your strengths and explain how they can help you achieve your career aspirations (approximately 300 words)

SWOT – Identify three of your areas of weakness that are necessary for development to achieve your career aspirations. Explain why they are needed to achieve your career aspirations

Develop 5 goals in your action plan that will help you progress in achieving your career aspirations (approximately 500 words)