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PROFESSIONAL PORTFOLIO GUIDELINES: RN to MSN with Portfolio

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Newly Admitted Students

The following information should be assembled in a notebook or folder:

1. Vita including:

  • Formal education, degree(s) obtained and major, school attended dates
  • All nursing and other positions held
  • Any relevant CE programs/courses taken
  • Any published professional articles (in journals, hospital/agency publications, school newspaper, etc.) title, date, journal, page number, etc. Attach copies.
  • Presentations before staff, patient/family and other groups (including educational seminars presented to peers as part of job responsibilities) date, title, location
  • Honors/awards received
  • Membership in professional and other organizations – offices held, dates of membership
  • Community services: Names of organizations, description of activities


2. A formal paper divided into six sections.

  • This paper is an essential aspect of the admission process and will be carefully evaluated in order to make a decision on your admission. Follow the guidelines carefully, speaking to all items. The paper will be evaluated for:
    • Content
    • Clarity of presentation
    • Grammar, punctuation, etc
  • Section 1. A description of the theoretical basis of your practice.
    • This description may be eclectic, drawing on knowledge from behavioral, biologic and other theories, or may be based on a nursing model such as Orem, Roy, etc.
    • Give two examples of application in practice.
    • How does this theory relate to your personal philosophy of nursing?
  • Section 2. A description of teaching and counseling aspects of your practice.
    • Give three principles of teaching and describe how these have been applied using three examples of patient, family, or group teaching activities.
    • Give three principles of counseling and describe how they have been applied in your work with patients/clients or staff, or groups. Give at least three examples.
  • Section 3. How do you keep current with the rapidly advancing changes in medicine and health?
    • Give two examples.
    • Give two examples of how you use technology in your nursing practice.
  • Section 4. A description of leadership and change.
    • Define and describe leadership and change.
    • Give three examples of how you have functioned as a leader in your position (you do not need to have had a “formal” leadership position, a staff nurse can be a leader).
    • Describe inhibitors and facilitators of change. Describe how you have participated in change giving two examples.
  • Section 5. A description of research knowledge/activities.
    • Describe content related to research that you have had in your nursing program and in your other collegiate programs. This can include courses in research or content related to reading and evaluating research that was incorporated into the courses such as sociology/biology, etc. Identify one example.
    • Describe how you incorporate research findings into your practice, give one example.
    • Describe any clinical research activities in which you have participated or which you have facilitated.
  • Section 6. Define public health nursing.
    • Give one example describing how you have promoted population-based health promotion.
    • Describe primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention and give one example of each in your nursing practice.


If you have questions, contact us at 216-368-2529 or 1-800-825-2540 x2529 or admissions@fpb.cwru.edu.

NOTE: All materials submitted become the property of the School of Nursing and cannot be returned to the applicant. Any information about race, ethnicity, gender, color, national origin, religion, age, marital status, physical or mental disabilities is confidential and not used as criteria for admission decisions.