Ethics and professionalism CPD for health practitioners in Australia [email protected]
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Online course · Australia

Chaperones and Intimate Examinations: Safe Practice and Board Conditions

Consent, Dignity, Documentation and Working Under a Chaperone Condition

  • About 3 hours
  • 20 scenario questions
  • Reflective account
  • Certificate of completion
  • Online, self-paced

About this course

Intimate and sensitive examinations need particular care with consent, dignity and documentation, and some practitioners also have to practise under a chaperone or patient-contact condition. This three-hour course covers both routine good practice and how to work reliably under a restriction.

The course starts with what counts as an intimate examination, why such examinations need particular care, the professional framework and how they arise across professions. Consent lessons cover explaining the need and process, keeping consent active, capacity, children and young people, students, observers and patients under anaesthesia.

A section on chaperones in routine practice explains what a chaperone is for, how to offer one, who should act as a chaperone and what to do when the patient declines or none is available. Conducting the examination covers privacy and covering, communication, trauma-informed and culturally safe practice, telehealth and intimate images. Documentation and practice systems lessons cover what to record, concerns raised by patients or chaperones and mandatory notification.

The final sections explain why Boards restrict patient contact, the independent review of chaperones and what changed, what restrictions typically require, the public register, and working under a restriction day to day: setting up compliance, talking with patients, logs, audits, breaches and your own wellbeing.

What you will learn

  • Anticipate which examinations a patient may find intimate or exposing, even when you do not
  • Obtain consent that continues throughout an examination, including for young people and people lacking capacity
  • Offer chaperones routinely and brief them properly
  • Protect privacy and dignity and avoid misunderstanding during an examination
  • Use trauma-informed and culturally safe approaches
  • Record the examination, the consent given and who was present, in a note that stands on its own
  • Explain how Boards use chaperone and patient-contact restrictions since the 2017 independent review
  • Comply with a restriction honestly and reliably, and get the right advice and support

Who this course is for

  • Doctors who perform intimate or sensitive examinations
  • Nurses, midwives and physiotherapists whose care involves sensitive areas
  • Practice owners setting chaperone policies
  • Practitioners with a chaperone or patient-contact condition
  • Supervisors and practice managers supporting a practitioner under restriction

How the course works

  1. Enrol online and the course appears under My Courses in your Probity Courses account, ready to open on a computer, tablet or phone.

  2. Work through 7 sections and 29 short lessons in order, at your own pace. Your place is saved in the browser you use, so you can stop and come back.

  3. Use the key points, scenarios and reflection prompts in each section, and write your own notes as you go; they stay with your course pack.

  4. Finish with a 20-question final assessment. You need 16 correct answers (80%) to pass, and you can retake it after a short pause if needed.

  5. Write your reflective account, submit the short feedback form and your completion is recorded. Download a certificate of completion stating the estimated learning time (about 3 hours); record the time you actually spend.

Course content

8 sections · About 3 hours · 20-question final assessment

1Intimate and Sensitive Examinations4 lessons
  • What Counts as an Intimate Examination
  • Why These Examinations Need Particular Care
  • The Professional Framework
  • Intimate Examinations Across the Professions
2Consent for Intimate Examinations4 lessons
  • Explaining the Need and the Process
  • Keeping Consent Active During the Examination
  • Capacity, Children and Young People
  • Students, Observers and Patients Under Anaesthesia
3Chaperones in Routine Practice4 lessons
  • What a Chaperone Is For, and What It Is Not
  • Offering a Chaperone
  • Who Should Act as a Chaperone
  • When the Patient Declines, Prefers a Support Person, or No Chaperone Is Available
4Conducting the Examination with Dignity4 lessons
  • Privacy, Undressing and Covering
  • Communication During the Examination
  • Trauma-Informed and Culturally Safe Practice
  • Telehealth, Photographs and Intimate Images
5Documentation and Practice Systems5 lessons
  • What to Record
  • Practice Systems That Support Safe Examinations
  • When a Patient or Chaperone Raises a Concern
  • Where Mandatory Notification Fits
  • Learning From Concerns and Auditing Practice
6Chaperone Conditions and Other Board Restrictions4 lessons
  • Why Boards Restrict a Practitioner's Contact with Patients
  • The Independent Review of Chaperones and What Changed
  • What Chaperone and Patient-Contact Restrictions Typically Require
  • The Public Register, Co-Regulatory States and Review of Restrictions
7Working Under a Restriction Day to Day4 lessons
  • Setting Up Your Practice for Compliance
  • Talking with Patients About a Restriction
  • Logs, Reports, Audits and Breaches
  • Your Wellbeing, Advice and Planning Ahead
8Conclusion, Final Assessment and Reflection4 lessons
  • Conclusion and key points
  • References and quick-reference guide
  • Final assessment (20 questions, 80% pass mark)
  • Your reflective account

Assessment and certificate

  • Certificate of completion stating the estimated learning time (about 3 hours); record the time you actually spend.
  • A written reflective account you can keep with your CPD records.

Questions about this course

Do Boards still impose chaperone conditions?

Since the 2017 independent review of the use of chaperones, Ahpra and the Boards have moved away from chaperone conditions as an interim protective measure in sexual misconduct matters, favouring other restrictions. The course explains the current approach.

Must I offer a chaperone for every intimate examination?

Good practice is to offer a chaperone routinely for intimate examinations and to record the offer and the patient's response. The course covers what to do when a patient declines.

Can a patient's partner or relative be the chaperone?

They can be present as a support person, but they are not usually an appropriate chaperone. The course explains the difference.

Is this course enough to satisfy a condition on my registration?

Not automatically. Education under a condition usually has to be nominated and accepted, so ask Ahpra or the Board, and your legal adviser, before you rely on any course.

Can I count this course towards my CPD?

That is your call under your Board's CPD standard: you choose activities that match your scope and the learning needs in your plan. If this course fits, file the certificate of completion, record the time you actually spend and note one change you will make in practice.

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