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

Ethics and Ethical Standards for Optometrists

Values, Ethical Reasoning and Hard Decisions Under the Optometry Board's Code

  • About 2 hours
  • 15 scenario questions
  • Reflective account
  • Certificate of completion
  • Online, self-paced

About this course

Optometrists combine clinical care with retail, often in a corporate setting, and regularly deliver news that changes a patient's life. This course helps optometrists reason clearly when clinical need, patient wishes and commercial interest point in different directions.

The course begins with why optometric ethics has its own shape: primary contact, a retail setting and decisions that affect independence and driving. It applies core principles to the eye and introduces the LOOK decision model for the consulting room.

Autonomy lessons cover refusal, dementia and decisions for others, and children and families. Honesty lessons cover sight-threatening diagnoses, uncertainty, incidental findings and overdiagnosis, and what to do when you find another practitioner's possible error. Integrity under commercial pressure is explored through need versus want, employer pressure and speaking up, and cosmetic, lifestyle and wellness offerings.

The final sections address fairness, fees and access, confidentiality and requests from others, situations where others may be at risk, respect and cultural humility, the ethics of keeping versus referring patients, and ethical resilience. A reflective account completes the course.

What you will learn

  • Explain why optometry has its own ethical shape and how the shared Code frames your judgement
  • Use the LOOK model to reach a decision when time in the consulting room is short
  • Respond ethically when a patient refuses, lacks capacity or is a child whose family is deciding
  • Deliver news about sight-threatening disease, uncertainty and incidental findings with honesty and care
  • Handle the discovery of another practitioner's possible error fairly
  • Keep clinical need, preference and sales apart, including for cosmetic and wellness products
  • Raise employer pressure through a graduated and documented approach
  • Balance confidentiality against risks to others, including driving safety, and keep fees and access fair

Who this course is for

  • Optometrists in independent and corporate practice
  • Optometrists with the endorsement for scheduled medicines
  • Optometrists in hospital, community and outreach services
  • Employed optometrists working under sales or volume targets
  • Practice owners and clinical leaders

How the course works

  1. Once you enrol, open the course from My Courses whenever it suits you. It runs in your browser on desktop or mobile, with nothing to install.

  2. Read 18 lessons grouped into 6 sections. Each lesson unlocks when you finish the one before, and your progress is kept in your browser between visits.

  3. Pause on the worked scenarios and reflection prompts. Anything you type is kept in your course pack, which you can download in Word format or print to PDF.

  4. Complete the final assessment of 15 scenario-based questions with a pass mark of 80% (12 of 15). Retakes are allowed.

  5. After the reflective account and feedback, the course is marked complete in your account and your certificate of completion becomes available. It states the estimated learning time (about 2 hours); log the time you actually spend.

Course content

7 sections · About 2 hours · 15-question final assessment

1Foundations of Ethical Optometric Practice3 lessons
  • Why Optometric Ethics Has Its Own Shape
  • Principles and Values Applied to the Eye
  • A Decision Model for the Consulting Room
2Autonomy, Capacity and Choice3 lessons
  • When a Patient Says No
  • Capacity, Dementia and Decisions for Others
  • Children, Young People and Families
3Honesty, Uncertainty and Hard Conversations3 lessons
  • Telling the Truth About Sight-Threatening Diagnoses
  • Uncertainty, Incidental Findings and Overdiagnosis
  • When You Find Another Practitioner's Error
4Integrity Under Commercial Pressure3 lessons
  • Need, Want and the Ethics of Recommendation
  • Employer Pressure, Loyalty and Speaking Up
  • Cosmetic, Lifestyle and Wellness Offerings
5Justice, Confidentiality and Duties to Others3 lessons
  • Fairness, Fees and Access
  • Confidentiality and Requests From Others
  • When Others May Be at Risk
6Sustaining Ethical Practice3 lessons
  • Respect, Culture and Ethical Humility
  • Keeping or Referring: The Ethics of Clinical Ownership
  • Moral Distress and Ethical Resilience
7Conclusion, Final Assessment and Reflection4 lessons
  • Conclusion and key points
  • References and quick-reference guide
  • Final assessment (15 questions, 80% pass mark)
  • Your reflective account

Assessment and certificate

  • Certificate of completion stating the estimated learning time (about 2 hours); record the time you actually spend.
  • A written reflective account you can keep with your CPD records.

Questions about this course

What is the LOOK model?

It is a short decision model used in the course to structure ethical choices in a time-limited consultation, from noticing the issue to checking and recording the decision.

Does it cover sales targets in corporate optometry?

Yes. It looks at how targets and incentives affect recommendations and gives a graduated way to raise concerns with an employer.

What about patients who should not be driving?

A lesson covers confidentiality and risk to others, including driving, and when and how disclosure may be justified.

How is it different from the optometry professionalism course?

This course is about ethical reasoning. The professionalism course covers the Board's standards, the scheduled medicines endorsement, delegation, records, CPD and accountability.

How should I record this course in my CPD log?

Log the date, the course name and the time you actually spend; the certificate shows only the estimated learning time. Add two or three lines on what you will do differently, and file the certificate next to your reflective account.

Who runs this course?

Probity Courses, an education provider with no affiliation to Ahpra, the National Boards or any regulator. Your Board's own codes and guidelines always take precedence over course material.

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