Is it truly necessary to have a nursing portfolio? While you may not always need it for job applications, it is a fantastic way to market yourself if any opportunities arise. I made my nursing portfolio during my last year of nursing school. I was able to market myself to some managers at the hospitals I was interested in! Here is a list of tips for what to put in your nursing portfolio. Let me know what you guys are interested in hearing from me, a new grad ER nurse! Check out my contact page and About Me page to get to know me a little better.
make physical copies and a pdf version
Start putting together your nursing portfolio in your last year of nursing school! You should always have multiple physical copies and a ready-to-go PDF version to be emailed. The most basic components of your nursing portfolio should be a resume and a cover letter.
Resume + cover letter
These are the two most obvious things to put in your cover letter. This is the portfolio/report cover that I used: https://www.staples.com/Staples-Side-Lock-Report-Covers-5-Pack-Blue-20593/product_919873 (not sponsored). The only bad thing about this portfolio cover is that it covers part of the left margin.
For the resume, I used a Microsoft word template. It doesn’t have to be fancy. As long as your resume is simple, clean, free of grammar mistakes, and legible, you have a solid resume. On your resume, you should list out your clinical experiences as well:
The cover letter should be tailored to the place you are applying to. Here I attached my personal cover letter for a new grad position at UCLA Health’s PACU/Ambulatory Surgery units:
As a general rule, you want to introduce yourself in the first paragraph. In the second paragraph, you should state why you are interested in that hospital and what they would benefit from hiring you. If you want to market yourself further, you can add more information as I did with the third and fourth paragraphs, but that is optional. Make sure to add your email and phone number as well!
Certifications and Volunteer hours
You should have your Basic Life Support (BLS) Certification at the minimum for your nursing portfolio. If you are planning on going into a specialty unit, such as the ICU, PCU, Emergency, or any critical care unit, you should have your ACLS and your PALS. Make sure your ACLS and PALS are from the American Heart Association because some hospitals only accept certifications from that association. Some other certifications you should add in if you have them are your CNA, EKG, EMT, or phlebotomy certification.
If you ever volunteered with a hospital, food bank, homeless shelter, or any volunteer organization, make sure you get proof of your hours! Having volunteer experience can make you stand out from the rest in a stack of resumes.
Letters of recommendation
You want to have your instructor’s letters of recommendation in your portfolio. This is one of the best ways for managers to see how you work with others, patients, and what your personality is like. You can also add in a page of references with your managers’ names, emails, and phone numbers to take the extra step to improve your portfolio.
Miscellaneous items
Some other items you can add if you have them, are patient thank-you letters, published academic papers, scholarships, or any significant projects related to the job you are applying to.
Thank you for reading, and check out my other blog posts for more information 🙂 Follow along with me on my new grad nursing journey as an ER nurse by following my Pinterest page!