TRANSITIONAL PORTFOLIOS - ORCHESTRATING OUR PROFESSIONAL COMPETENCE

Reflective professional development results from thoughtful planning o f goals and meeting learning objectives. With rapid changes in health care resulting in major reevaluation and even modification of the role and functions of an occupational therapy practitioner; producing a hi storical record of competencies in order to learn from one's own exper ience and to plan for change is essential A new use of the portfolio i s presented to show that a portfolio can be more than the typical repo sitory of completed projects. The transitional portfolio is introduced as a tool for one to self-direct professional development through tho ughtful engagement with artifacts created during one's career in relat ionship to professional goals and desired roles. The transitional port folio process is holistic, flexible, and reflective. It can serve as a way to document accumulated knowledge and skill acquisition as well a s facilitate thoughtful, planned reflection on one's career developmen t in occupational therapy This article describes the use of transition al portfolios to connect professional development learning experiences , accomplishments, and future opportunities for occupational therapy p ractitioners.