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

Ethics and Ethical Standards for Doctors

Applying Good Medical Practice to Real Clinical Decisions

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

About this course

Good medical practice sets the values; it rarely tells you what to do at 6 pm with a distressed family, a commercial driver who will not stop driving, or a request you find morally troubling. This two-hour course gives doctors a clear way to reason through those moments and explain the decision afterwards.

The course opens with the ethical foundations that Good medical practice assumes but does not spell out: principles, duties, consequences and character. It then turns them into a short decision routine you can use between patients, with a publicity test that asks whether you would be comfortable explaining your reasoning to the patient, a peer and the Medical Board.

Six sections follow the dilemmas Australian doctors meet most often. They cover conscience and legislated duties that differ between states and territories, personal views and public comment, required and permitted disclosure of confidential information, treating yourself and people close to you, gifts and commercial interests, honest certificates and reports, non-beneficial treatment, advance care planning, voluntary assisted dying and the use of scarce resources. The final section looks at ethical courage: telling a patient something went wrong, speaking up about a colleague and working within medical hierarchy.

Worked scenarios, key points at the end of each section and a closing reflective account help you connect the material to your own practice. The course pairs with the professionalism course for doctors, which covers conduct, CPD and records, so the two can be taken separately without repeating each other.

What you will learn

  • Frame a clinical dilemma quickly using principles, duties, consequences and character
  • Reach a decision in a few structured steps and check it against how it would sound if made public
  • Step back from a service on grounds of conscience while still making sure the patient can get lawful care
  • Judge when a confidence has to be broken, such as an unsafe driver, a credible threat or a shared genetic risk
  • Set limits on treating yourself, relatives and friends, and on gifts, sponsorship and financial interests
  • Bring clear reasoning to non-beneficial treatment, advance care planning, voluntary assisted dying and scarce resources
  • Tell a patient when something has gone wrong, raise a concern about a colleague and look after your own health

Who this course is for

  • General practitioners, rural generalists and non-GP specialists
  • Hospital doctors, including interns, residents, registrars and fellows
  • International medical graduates settling into Australian law and practice
  • Clinical supervisors and educators who discuss ethics with trainees
  • Medical directors who write clinic policies on certificates, gifts and conscientious objection

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 6 sections and 24 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 15-question final assessment. You need 12 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 2 hours); record the time you actually spend.

Course content

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

1Ethics at the Heart of Good Medical Practice4 lessons
  • Why Ethics Underpins the Code
  • Ethical Frameworks Doctors Draw On
  • A Practical Method for Ethical Decisions
  • Moral Distress and Professional Integrity
2Conscience, Personal Views and Public Trust4 lessons
  • Conscientious Objection Under Good Medical Practice
  • Legislated Duties and Time-Sensitive Care
  • Personal Views, Bias and the Care You Provide
  • Public Comment and Trust in the Profession
3Confidentiality and Its Ethical Limits4 lessons
  • Why Confidentiality Matters
  • When Disclosure Is Required or Permitted
  • Hard Cases: Driving, Risk to Others and Genetic Information
  • Families, Carers and Adolescents
4Relationships, Self-Treatment and Conflicts of Interest4 lessons
  • Caring for Yourself, Family and Friends
  • Gifts From Patients and Industry
  • Financial Interests, Referrals and Business Models
  • Honesty in Certificates, Reports and Dual Roles
5End of Life and Hard Clinical Decisions4 lessons
  • Non-Beneficial Treatment and the Limits of Medicine
  • Advance Care Planning and Shared Decisions
  • Voluntary Assisted Dying
  • Fair Use of Resources
6Ethical Courage and Sustaining Integrity4 lessons
  • Honesty When Things Go Wrong
  • Concerns About Colleagues
  • Hierarchy, Supervision and Respectful Culture
  • Your Health as an Ethical Obligation
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

Is this course about law or about ethics?

Mainly ethics, with the law shown where it sets the boundary. For example, conscientious objection and voluntary assisted dying are covered with the specific duties that state and territory legislation adds, because ethical reasoning has to work inside those limits.

Does the course tell me what the right answer is in each dilemma?

Not always, because many dilemmas have more than one defensible answer. It shows you how to reach a decision you can justify, record your reasoning and seek advice when the stakes are high.

Which Medical Board documents does it draw on?

Good medical practice: a code of conduct for doctors in Australia is the main reference, together with the National Law, Ahpra's mandatory notification guidelines and current guidance on financial and commercial conflicts of interest.

I am an international medical graduate. Is it pitched at the right level?

Yes. It assumes clinical experience but explains the Australian context, including how state laws differ and what the Board expects, so it suits doctors adjusting to practice here.

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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