CMHP Portfolio and viva

We are delighted to be able to share with you the new College of Mental Health Pharmacists admission portfolio. This new portfolio represents the greatest change in applying for the college since its inception and hopefully will appeal to both practicing clinical pharmacists and those working at a more strategic level.  This streamlined portfolio gives many more examples of evidence which can be submitted and even gives applicants the opportunity to submit work they feel meets the competencies.

Anyone with an outstanding portfolio is welcome to send it back to me at the below address and I will switch it for the new portfolio or alternatively the old portfolio is valid until the end of this year. The next viva dates are 9th and 10th October 2008 at Wokefield Park. To be considered for this viva I will need completed portfolios back by 15 August 2008 at the latest (earlier if possible).

To apply for a portfolio pack please fill out the application and return to Stephen Bleakley. We would welcome any questions or comments on the new portfolio or any concerns preventing you applying for College membership.

The portfolio and application form can be found here:

In addition, there are a number of drug history and patient profile-type sheets that may be useful in the portfolio. Aston University (via Celia Feetam) has kindly donated some of the Certificate and Diploma proformas for your use, should you wish to use them:

What each person needs for the portfolio is a record of:

You will also need short statements on:

Once compiled, you should send three copies to:

Steve Bleakley
Principal Pharmacist
The Beeches
St James' Hospital
Locksway Road
Portsmouth
PO4 8LD
stephen.bleakley@ports.nhs.uk

Keep a copy for yourself. The registrar will reply to you with details of the viva. If not appropriate yet, he will advise applicants, and provide details of mentorship, areas needed further work etc. The current portfolio requirements will remain the same for 2007. The council will be revising the portfolio in 2008.

Viva

The intention of the viva is assure the Board that the person submitting the portfolio is actually the person who did it. There are some clinical questions and discussion. For a 4 minute clip of the viva, follow the link below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xz3STtb9Oew

 

Re-accreditation

The re-accreditation process is relatively simple and estimated to take around 2-3 hours. No viva is required but evidence of continuous CPD and reflective practice is essential. Below is an outline of the evidence needed by the Council to confirm you are still worthy of accreditation. A letter will be sent to individuals one month before expiry of College membership inviting them for re-accreditation.

  1. A brief summary of your current job description.
  2. Your CPD record for the past three years including evidence of reflective practice where appropriate
  3. Details of what you consider to be your three greatest professional achievements during the past 5 years (max 500 words).
  4. Details of what you consider to have been less than successful, accompanied by information as to how you might revisit the challenge in the future with a greater chance of achieving the desired outcome. We would be happy to support you in this if necessary (max 500 words).
  5. Brief details of your professional aspirations for the next 5 years (max 500 words).

The information you provide will be reviewed by Council and kept on file. You will be notified within six weeks as to the outcome of your re-accreditation review.

Click here for a word version of the re-accreditation process.