opportunities to implement and practice them over a period of time under the guidance of an “expert”. In addition, your qualifications build into a portfolio of evidence, in the form of assignments and exams, and questioning or proof of observation. All these factors form the basis of the types of evidence that is required to “prove it”.

Here are some pointers to think

about: n Having a qualification does not give you experience! n If you gained the qualification a year ago, you would need to show that you have been implementing your new skills to show you are current. n A CPD workshop is not a qualification.

Remember that a CPD workshop is not a qualification, mainly because workshops tend not to include any assessment. They are often intended as “taster” sessions, to introduce you to a subject, topic or practical skill, and therefore at the end of the workshop you will not be qualified to practice the knowledge gained. However a workshop can provide important evidence of CPD if you document what you have learnt from it and how you have put this learning into practice. What goes in your portfolio: Photocopies of documents and certificates with official descriptions of any qualification or awarded after a specific acheivement.

Demonstration The most appropriate way of showing your competence in a particular practical skill is by being observed in action. Although this demonstration is a prime way of showing your competence, it does not show that you know why you are applying a particular technique or skill. Additional proof is required, therefore, to demonstrate that you understand the supporting underpinning knowledge and theories behind the practical skills. Any practical observation must be carried out by a competent, practicing person in that discipline, and he or she must be up to date. It's no good getting the secretary of the football club to watch you perform sports massage – it has to be someone who knows what is expected. Practical competence can generally be assessed by comparing your practice against a number of set criteria that highlight the expected norms. If you

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meet these criteria, then you are considered competent, and will have shown that your current performance and skills are up to the expected standard.

Sometimes a single observation of performance is not enough because it may not prove competence over a period of time or throughout a range of situations. The observer may want to be sure that you can replicate the performance on repeated occasions, and in different environments or when dealing with a range of situations. What goes in your portfolio: The observer's written record of what he or she has seen in the form of a witness statement.

Questioning If you are compiling evidence as part of a course assessment, questioning can be used by the assessor to back up your performance, helping to show that you understand what you are doing and why you are doing it. The assessor will be able to get a feel for your depth of understanding from their questioning. It is also an opportunity to ask about things that haven’t been observed, for example about what might change if the circumstances or conditions were different. Questioning should never be used to back up a practical performance that is insufficient. If you missed out something important during the observation, the assessor's questioning should not “fill the gap”. For instance, if you missed an opportunity for informed consent at the beginning of a patient's treatment, it would be inappropriate for the assessor to question you about this because you should have done it. What goes in your portfolio: A written record of the assessor's questions and your answers. This must be signed by both of you.

Recording of knowledge and reflective accounts Knowledge and theory gained by attending workshops, reading articles, networking, or professional discussion are all excellent forms of CPD. Yet proving what you have actually gained

YOU EXPERIENCE

HAVING A QUALIFICATION DOES NOT GIVE

TOP 10 TIPS FOR PROVIDING AND PRESENTING EVIDENCE

1. Know your assessment dates in advance and plan for them.

2. Practise relevant procedures before you are assessed. 3. Structure your portfolio so it is logical, easy to navigate and to understand. 4. Write it with your target audience in mind. 5. Make every word count and don’t waffle. 6. Go back to it often to revise and improve it. 7. Make it obvious that your evidence is your own work. 8. Check you meet all the condidtions given in the standards or qualification. 9. Prove that you can apply yours skills across the range. 10. Top it off with a finely crafted CV.

can be quite hard to do! You need to be able to record the value of the knowledge and skills. Reflective accounts describe what you have gained from a certain situation and how this extra knowledge has changed (or is going to improve) your practice. These accounts are so much more than simple statements like “I am using new skills”. They need to be expansive, including discussion about where and how you learnt the particular skill, the circumstances in which you applied it, and how successful you were at that. And don’t just include the good stuff!! Also record the things that didn’t go so well. In this way you can show how you then went away and read up on something to improve your underpinning knowledge, then practised the skill and re-applied it until you were successful. What an an excellent demonstration of the CPD process! What goes in your portfolio: Detailed reflective accounts that are dated and

sportEX dynamics 2010;25(Jul):17-20