I Can’t Figure Out the Points!

Helpful hint regarding points: Stop thinking about them!

Yes, there are numbers assigned to the competencies, the indicators, and the professional development activities. What would our world be like without numbers! While we can explain what they mean, the probability is that they won’t ultimately matter if you approach the application correctly. Here’s what I mean…

If you select your 1 best activity for each indicator in each competency, it is highly likely that when you are done assigning activities to every indicator (without even having thought about points) you will have reached your total point requirement. If you actually don’t have enough points, then you can go back and pick your 2nd best activity for 1 or 2 (whatever it takes) indicators in the competency where you are short.

That’s it…don’t think any more about it!

Okay, realizing that there are still some folks out there who need to understand the nitty-gritty, here you go…

• Each competency has been weighted in relationship to the other competencies, which is ultimately translated to the total number of required points for that competency. All competencies combined equal 100 points.
• Likewise, within each competency all the indicators have been weighted relative to each other. So indicators may be worth .5, 1, 1.5, or 2. The total value of all indicators within any given competency is 10.
• When you assign a professional development activity to an indicator, the points that you receive for that activity (let’s say the 2 points you get for a “Case Study” being applied to a Knowledge indicator) are multiplied times the value of the indicator. If the indicator was valued at .5 points, you would get 1 point. If the indicator is valued at 2 points, you would get 4 points.
• There is no minimum point requirement for each indicator, only a total point requirement for each competency. As long as you have 1 activity for each indicator, you are fine, regardless of how many points you have attributed to that particular indicator.

Don’t let the numbers be the focus of how you approach the application, though. That method can really prevent you from putting your best application forward! The best applications represent a thoughtful appraisal and reflection on the activities that best represent how the applicant met the requirements of a particular indicator – regardless of how many points were assigned!

Maria Elena E. Louch, Professional Development Program Manager

How Many Activities Do I Need?

How do you determine if you have the "right" number of activities represented in your application? From a purely numbers perspective:

• You must have a minimum 5 of the 32 activity categories represented in your application. For example, you may have (1) Case Study, (2) Fieldwork Supervision, (3) Learning - Formal, (4) Presentations - Live, and (5) Quality Improvement. You may certainly have more than 5 activity categories represented.
• You can use as many different individual activities within a single category as you want. For example, your application might have 7 case studies in it.
• Each single activity (e.g., each unique case study) may be used to address up to 4 indicators. It does not matter which competencies those 4 indicators represent; they can all be from 1 competency…or you can use the activity for 1 indicator in 4 different competencies…or any other combination of 4 indicators you can come up with.
• All indicators for all competencies must be addressed. You may use as many different activities as needed to meet that requirement and support the application.

Having the "right" numbers alone isn't enough, though. The goal is to select the best activity for each indicator. It is certainly possible that 1 activity may be used for only 1 indicator and nothing else. An applicant could have a uniquely different activity assigned to every indicator; resulting in 31 different pieces of evidence (in the case of peds, for example) if that's what they felt gave them the best application.

As you are choosing activities to assign to indicators ask yourself, "Does this activity best represent my ability to meet the requirements represented in this particular indicator relative to this competency? As you answer that question for yourself, jot your thoughts down and use them to guide your response to the reflection for that competency later!

Maria Elena E. Louch, Professional Development Program Manager