We are regularly asked whether it is mandatory to collect accreditation points and whether it is advisable to collect them. No, it is not mandatory. It is also the case that not only professional associations may award accreditation points. It is mandatory that you and your employer or client have mastered the knowledge, skills and materials that you use to provide care and that you can demonstrate this. Controlling bodies can request to see a paper or digital portfolio. This is described in the covenant for the safe application of medical technology and applies to all employees in healthcare.

Different components

With such a portfolio, accreditation points can provide insight into how you are doing. You will then receive a kind of score list. This should consist of different components. Because at a symposium, for example, you gain a different type of knowledge than when training a reserved act. For that reason alone, you should not add these points together.

No insight into quality

If you add them up, it can happen that someone who, in addition to a number of mandatory training courses, mainly visits a lot of symposia, will get more than enough points. But that person will still not be able to sufficiently demonstrate that he is competent to be on the work floor. For example, what is the situation for this person in terms of reserved actions? Have they been trained and tested on time? And what is his knowledge of disease patterns? And materials that he works with, have they been trained and tested? In short, simply adding up points does not provide any insight into the quality.

Portfolio

So what is recommended: Keep a good record of your (additional) training courses, symposium visits, etc. in a portfolio. Take a good look at which (additional) training courses are mandatory for you. And what is also recommended; do not leave the maintenance of a portfolio to the employer alone. Because if you are going to switch employers, it is very useful to be able to demonstrate what you have already done, so that you do not have to start building a list again.

Taking matters into your own hands

And once you have a good overview for yourself, you can show your employer what training you need and would like. That way you take matters into your own hands. Smart, right?