What it does
Learners document their learning as portfolio entries: a titled narrative classified by entry type and tagged with domains or competencies. An entry can stay private while drafting, be shared so a mentor can see it, and then be submitted for validation or faculty review.
Who it's for
Learners writing up their own work in the personal portal: reflections after a rotation, procedures performed, cases seen, research projects, teaching activities, or anything else worth keeping as evidence.
How it works
Programs run one of two modes: competency-evidence review or formation-identity validation. Either way, an entry moves through draft, submitted, reviewed, and needs-revision status.
You add and edit entries from an editor sheet that opens over the My Portfolio page — you never leave the page to write an entry. The sheet asks for:
Title — required; nothing can be saved without one.
Entry Type — one of six: Reflection, Procedure, Case, Research, Teaching, or Other.
Activity date — optional calendar date for when the work happened.
Source — Required (prescribed) when the entry fulfills a program requirement, or My own for learner-driven work.
Privacy — Private — you and program admins, or Mentor can see. Mentors never see private entries. Switching from Private to Mentor can see asks you to confirm first.
Narrative — free-text description of what you learned, did, or observed. Optional, but required to submit.
Domains — optional competency or framework tags. Competency-evidence programs typically use the six core competencies; formation programs use the program's adopted framework tags when configured.
Two buttons finish the sheet. Save as Draft stores the entry for further editing. Submit for validation sends it to mentors or faculty and changes its status to Submitted. Entries sit in a Working folder until validated, then move to Validated and become institution-vouched (read-only).
Reopening an entry from your list loads the same sheet while it is still Working. If a reviewer requests changes, it returns as Needs Revision — revise and resubmit. Validated entries show a sealed banner ("This entry is institution-vouched and can't be edited.") and their fields become read-only.
Before you start
You need a portfolio for the program — it's created the first time you open My Portfolio, so there's nothing to set up first.
Submitting requires Mentor can see privacy and a narrative — a private draft or a blank narrative blocks the Submit for validation button.
Decide domain tags before submitting if your program tracks competency coverage — untagged entries don't count toward it.
Do this
Open My Portfolio (
/my-portfolio) → you should see the Portfolio entries card on the page.Select New portfolio entry on the card, or the matching button in the page header → the entry editor sheet opens with New portfolio entry as its title.
Enter a Title in the title field, choose an Entry Type, and optionally set Activity date, Source, and Domains tags → the fields fill in as you go; no confirmation needed yet.
Write your Narrative, then set Privacy to Mentor can see if you plan to submit → if you were on Private, a Share with mentor? dialog confirms the switch.
Select Save as Draft → the sheet closes and the entry appears in the Portfolio entries card with status Draft.
To submit, reopen the entry in the editor sheet, confirm Mentor can see is set and the narrative is filled in, then select Submit for validation → the entry's status changes to Submitted and it leaves your editable Working list until a reviewer acts.
You're done when
✓ The entry shows in the Portfolio entries card with the status you expect (Draft, Submitted, or Needs Revision).
✓ A submitted entry no longer opens for free editing — it becomes editable again only if a reviewer requests changes.
✓ A validated entry shows the institution-vouched banner and its fields are read-only.
Boundaries and limits
Only the portfolio owner can create or edit Working entries in it; this is enforced at the data level, not only in the interface.
A title is required. Save as Draft and Submit stay disabled until you enter one.
Submitting requires privacy set to Mentor can see. Private drafts cannot be submitted until privacy is changed.
Submitting is one-way from the learner's side: once an entry is Submitted, its status only changes when a reviewer validates it or requests changes.
Validated (institution-vouched) entries cannot be edited or archived by the learner.
File attachments are not supported on entries. The narrative is text only.
Domain tags follow the program’s portfolio settings (adopted framework or default competency list).
There is no delete button for validated entries; permanent hard-delete is blocked at the data level.
The narrative field is plain text; there is no rich-text formatting toolbar.
Common questions
Q: Can I edit an entry after submitting it? A: You can open it, but it won't re-enter review unless a reviewer requests changes. Once validated, it's sealed and read-only.
Q: Do I have to tag domains or competencies? A: No. Tags are optional, but untagged entries don't count toward competency coverage in competency-evidence programs.
Q: Can I attach a file, photo, or certificate to an entry? A: No. Entries hold a written narrative only. Keep supporting files in your document storage and reference them in the text.
Q: What does "Needs Revision" mean? A: A reviewer asked for changes and attached feedback to the entry. Update it and submit again.
Q: Who can see a Private entry? A: You and program administrators (for duty-of-care). Assigned mentors cannot see private entries — switch to Mentor can see before submitting.
GME programs
Applies to: gme. Differences from the base article only.
How it works
Competency-evidence programs (typical GME) keep the six ACGME Core Competency tags. In filters and on entry badges they appear by their standard abbreviations: PC, MK, SBP, PBLI, PROF, and ICS.
For residents and fellows, the Research and Teaching entry types are the natural home for scholarly activity write-ups — presentations, projects, and teaching sessions — while Procedure and Case entries capture clinical experience narratives.
Faculty review usually uses the Assess Awaiting Review panel (permission + supervision), not the advising-group mentorship queue, unless the program explicitly switches validators to advising-group mentors.
Boundaries and limits
The portfolio records and reviews the evidence; it does not track scholarly activity counts against program or ACGME requirement thresholds by itself. Programs can configure prescribed portfolio requirements (entry type + minimum count) separately on Assess → Portfolio pulse when enabled.
Requirement tracking outside portfolio (case logs, duty hours, etc.) remains in those modules.
Common questions
Q: Does the competency coverage bar mean I've met ACGME expectations? A: No. It only shows which of the six Core Competencies at least one of your entries is tagged with. Milestone ratings and program requirements are assessed separately by your program.
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