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

Ethics and Ethical Standards for Medical Radiation Practitioners

Values, Ethical Reasoning and Hard Decisions Under the Medical Radiation Practice Board's Code

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

About this course

Medical radiation practitioners control an exposure, a scan or a treatment beam, and often the patient's whole experience of it. That power brings ethical duties that go beyond technique, and this course helps practitioners in all three divisions reason through them.

The course explains why ethics looks different when you control the exposure, where your ethical obligations come from, and how moral distress and moral residue show up in imaging and therapy departments. It introduces principles in tension, a decision method for the console and the role of character and care.

Autonomy lessons cover refusal and pressure from others, the ethics of holding still (immobilisation, sedation and restraint) and children as decision-makers. Truth and confidentiality lessons cover incidental findings, honesty about errors, repeats and delays, and requests for images from others. Fairness lessons examine conflicts in commercial imaging and treatment, self-referred and non-medical exposures, and waiting lists.

The final sections deal with modesty, faith and requests about staff gender, respectful care for trans, gender-diverse and intersex patients, cultural safety, palliative radiation therapy, research and teaching images, and the ethics of AI in imaging and therapy.

What you will learn

  • Explain why controlling an exposure creates particular ethical duties
  • Separate what the Code, the capabilities and the law each require of you
  • Work through dilemmas at the console with a structured method
  • Respond to refusal, ambivalence and decisions by children or people with impaired capacity, including when immobilisation is proposed
  • Act with integrity on incidental findings, repeats and delays, and third-party requests for images
  • Recognise conflicts and fairness problems in commercial imaging, self-referral and waiting lists
  • Treat requests about modesty, faith, staff gender and gender identity as matters of respect, not inconvenience
  • Reason through palliative radiation therapy, research and teaching images, and AI

Who this course is for

  • Diagnostic radiographers in hospitals and private imaging
  • Radiation therapists
  • Nuclear medicine technologists
  • Radiographers working in CT, MRI, mammography and interventional suites
  • Clinical educators and department leaders

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 21 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

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

1Ethics in Medical Radiation Practice3 lessons
  • Why Ethics Looks Different When You Control the Exposure
  • Where Your Ethical Obligations Come From
  • Moral Distress, Moral Residue and Staying True to Your Values
2Tools for Ethical Reasoning3 lessons
  • Principles in Tension: Beyond Beneficence and Non-maleficence
  • A Decision Method for the Console
  • Character, Care and Relationships
3Autonomy, Capacity and Choice3 lessons
  • Refusal, Ambivalence and Pressure From Others
  • The Ethics of Holding Still: Immobilisation, Sedation and Restraint
  • Children and Young People as Decision-Makers
4Truth, Information and Confidentiality3 lessons
  • Incidental Findings and the Ethics of Knowing
  • Truthfulness About Errors, Repeats and Delays
  • Confidentiality When Others Want Images or Information
5Fairness, Resources and Commercial Pressure3 lessons
  • Conflicts of Interest in Commercial Imaging and Treatment
  • Self-Referred, Non-Medical and Research Exposures
  • Waiting Lists, Priorities and Fair Access
6Dignity, Identity and Cultural Safety3 lessons
  • Modesty, Faith and Requests About Staff Gender
  • Respecting Trans, Gender-Diverse and Intersex Patients
  • Cultural Safety as an Ethical Commitment
7Ethics at the Edges of Practice3 lessons
  • Palliative Radiation Therapy: Benefit, Burden and Hope
  • Research, Audit and Teaching Images
  • The Ethics of Artificial Intelligence in Imaging and Therapy
8Conclusion, 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 suit radiation therapists and nuclear medicine staff as well as radiographers?

Yes. Examples are drawn from diagnostic radiography, radiation therapy and nuclear medicine, and the reasoning tools apply across all three divisions.

Does it cover what to say about an incidental finding?

Yes. It explains the ethical issues and how to act within your role, including escalation and documentation, without overstepping into reporting.

Is immobilisation of children covered?

Yes. A lesson examines holding, immobilisation, sedation and restraint, and how to balance image quality, safety and the child's experience.

How does this relate to the professionalism course for medical radiation practitioners?

This course is about ethical reasoning. The professionalism course covers registration, the capabilities, radiation safety accountability, CPD and records.

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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