Portfolio · 6 min read
ARCP Portfolio Guide for EM Trainees
A practical guide to keeping emergency medicine portfolio evidence organised, mapped, and ready before ARCP.
By EM Gurus Editorial Team
Last updated 2026-07-05
Direct answer
An ARCP-ready portfolio is built through small, regular evidence capture: record workplace activity, map it to curriculum or capability areas, write a concise reflection, and keep supervisor-ready summaries visible before the deadline. Portfolio Guru is designed to support that workflow without inventing evidence.
What does ARCP portfolio preparation involve?
ARCP portfolio preparation means keeping evidence, assessments, reflections, teaching, quality improvement work, feedback, and supervisor summaries organised enough for review. The useful habit is not polishing everything at the end; it is capturing evidence early, naming what it proves, and checking gaps while there is still time to fix them.
What should an EM trainee capture each week?
A practical weekly capture list includes WPBAs, procedures, teaching delivered, teaching attended, feedback, leadership activity, QI work, audit activity, significant cases, and learning reflections. The entry does not need to be perfect at capture; it needs enough context to become a clean portfolio entry later.
How Portfolio Guru should help
Portfolio Guru should reduce admin friction, not replace professional judgement. The doctor remains responsible for accuracy and final wording. The product should help structure rough notes, map entries to portfolio needs, flag weak areas, and prepare cleaner drafts for supervisor review.
The first workflow to build
The first useful product workflow is a simple evidence inbox: add the event, choose the evidence type, map the likely curriculum area, draft one learning point, and mark whether it needs supervisor review. That creates a base for ARCP health checks, exports, and reminders later.
Common questions
How often should EM trainees update their portfolio?
A weekly portfolio update is usually more sustainable than a large pre-ARCP clean-up. The goal is to capture enough detail while the case, teaching session, or feedback is still fresh.
Can AI write portfolio reflections for doctors?
AI can help structure rough notes and draft reviewable wording, but doctors must check accuracy, confidentiality, tone, and whether the reflection genuinely represents their own learning.
What is Portfolio Guru for?
Portfolio Guru is the EM Gurus workflow for turning rough evidence into organised, reviewable portfolio material and ARCP-ready summaries.