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

Ethics and Ethical Standards for Chinese Medicine Practitioners

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

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

About this course

Chinese medicine practitioners often care for patients whose families expect a say, who have been told conventional treatment has failed, or who arrive with high hopes. This course helps practitioners reason through these situations with honesty and respect for both traditions of care.

The course distinguishes three different questions (what the law requires, what the Code expects and what is ethically right) and introduces the lenses practitioners actually use. It looks at power and vulnerability in the therapeutic relationship and at moral distress and courage.

Autonomy and truth-telling lessons cover individual and family-centred decisions, families who ask you not to tell, patients who decline conventional treatment and the 'last resort' patient. Honesty lessons cover translating between explanatory frameworks, expectation and ritual, and an honest stopping rule for individualised treatment. Benefit and harm lessons cover pregnancy and fertility, children whose parents hold strong beliefs, older patients and exploitation, and wellness and cosmetic care.

The final sections deal with fairness and cost, confidentiality in close-knit communities, gifts and reciprocity, animal materials and endangered species, concerns about colleagues, teaching and case sharing, and a structured pause for hard cases.

What you will learn

  • Recognise whether a question is about the law, the Code or ethical judgement, because each is answered differently
  • Look at a decision through principles, virtue, care and consequences
  • Honour the patient's own decision while involving family in the way the patient wants
  • Respond honestly when relatives ask you to keep information back or a patient declines conventional treatment
  • Explain pattern diagnosis, evidence and uncertainty without overstating what treatment can do
  • Set review points that keep hope honest and prevent open-ended courses of treatment
  • Take extra care with patients who are pregnant, very young, frail or open to exploitation
  • Think through fees, confidentiality, red envelopes and animal-derived materials

Who this course is for

  • Acupuncturists and Chinese herbal medicine practitioners
  • Chinese herbal dispensers
  • Practitioners in multilingual and close-knit communities
  • Teachers and supervisors of Chinese medicine students
  • Practitioners caring for patients during fertility treatment or pregnancy

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 23 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

1Ethics in Chinese Medicine Practice: Beyond Compliance4 lessons
  • Law, Code and Ethics: Three Different Questions
  • Ethical Lenses Practitioners Actually Use
  • Power, Vulnerability and the Therapeutic Relationship
  • Moral Distress and Moral Courage
2Autonomy, Family and Truth-Telling4 lessons
  • Individual Autonomy and Family-Centred Decisions
  • When the Family Asks You Not to Tell
  • When a Patient Declines Conventional Treatment
  • Hope, Expectations and the “Last Resort” Patient
3Honesty, Explanation and Uncertainty3 lessons
  • Translating Between Two Explanatory Frameworks
  • Expectation, Ritual and the Ethics of Not Fully Knowing
  • Individualised Treatment and the Honest Stopping Rule
4Benefit, Harm and Vulnerable Patients4 lessons
  • Pregnancy, Fertility and Two Sets of Interests
  • Children and Parents With Strong Beliefs
  • Older Patients, Capacity and Exploitation
  • Wellness, Cosmetic and Preventive Care
5Justice, Community and Shared Resources4 lessons
  • Fairness, Cost and Access
  • Confidentiality and Trust in Close-Knit Communities
  • Gifts, Red Envelopes and Reciprocity
  • Animal Materials, Endangered Species and Environmental Ethics
6Colleagues, Teachers and Reasoning Through Hard Cases4 lessons
  • When a Colleague's Practice Worries You
  • Teaching, Students and Supervision
  • Sharing Cases: Education, Research and Social Media
  • The Ethical Pause: Reasoning Through a Hard Case
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

Does the course respect Chinese medicine theory?

Yes. It does not ask you to abandon your explanatory framework. It focuses on explaining it honestly to patients who may understand health differently, and on being clear about evidence and uncertainty.

Is family involvement in decisions covered?

Yes. Lessons look at family-centred decision-making in many cultures and how to respect it while keeping the patient's own wishes central.

What about gifts such as red envelopes?

A lesson looks at gifts and reciprocity in community settings and how to respond in a way that respects culture without compromising boundaries.

How does it relate to the Chinese medicine professionalism course?

This course is about ethical reasoning. The professionalism course covers divisions and scope, herb safety systems, records, CPD and insurance.

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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