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

Ethics and Ethical Standards for Podiatrists

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

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

About this course

Podiatrists regularly face patients whose choices put a limb at risk, clinics that sell products alongside care, and long relationships with older people in their own homes. This course gives podiatrists a structured way to reason through those situations and act with integrity.

The course begins with what makes podiatry ethics distinctive, the frameworks practitioners draw on and their limits, and how the Code of conduct works as an ethical document. A structured method for ethical decisions is introduced and used throughout.

Autonomy is explored through dignity of risk, choices that increase harm, capacity and disability, children and families, and the difference between persuasion, paternalism and manipulation. Honesty lessons cover difficult conversations, low-value care, emerging treatments and admitting error. Justice lessons cover public, community and aged care podiatry, culturally safe care, stigma and ability to pay.

Later sections examine conflicts of interest in product sales, industry relationships, referrals and funding schemes, trust and power, gifts and small communities, home visits and suspected abuse, and ethics in teams and specialist care, including honest information before elective surgery. The course ends with a reflective account.

What you will learn

  • Describe what gives ethical reasoning in podiatry its own character
  • Combine principles, the values in the Code of conduct and a structured method to work through a dilemma
  • Respect competent choices that raise risk, using harm reduction and honest persuasion
  • Help people with impaired decision-making capacity, and children with their parents, to take part in decisions
  • Explain risk, evidence and uncertainty clearly and avoid recommending low-value care
  • Provide fair, culturally safe and stigma-free podiatry care
  • Manage the conflicts that arise from selling products, receiving referrals and working in funding schemes
  • Handle gifts, friendships in small towns, suspected abuse and your own moral distress with integrity

Who this course is for

  • Podiatrists in private, community and public practice
  • Podiatrists working in aged care and home visiting
  • High-risk foot and diabetes service podiatrists
  • Surgical podiatrists and podiatrists who refer for surgery
  • Practice owners who sell orthoses, footwear and other products

How the course works

  1. After checkout the course is added to My Courses in your account, so you can start straight away on any device with a modern browser.

  2. Move through 7 sections (28 lessons in total) in your own time; lessons open in sequence and the player remembers where you stopped on that device.

  3. Each section ends with key points and prompts for reflection. Your notes can be downloaded as a Word course pack or printed for your portfolio.

  4. Sit the 15-question assessment at the end. Score 80% or more (12 of 15) to pass; answer options are reshuffled if you retake.

  5. Complete the reflective account and feedback to finish. Your certificate of completion shows the estimated learning time (about 2 hours), and you record the time you actually spend in your CPD log.

Course content

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

1Ethical Foundations for Podiatric Practice4 lessons
  • What Makes Podiatry Ethics Distinctive
  • Principles, Frameworks and Their Limits
  • The Code of Conduct as an Ethical Document
  • A Structured Method for Ethical Decisions
2Autonomy, Capacity and Shared Decisions4 lessons
  • Dignity of Risk and Choices That Increase Harm
  • Capacity, Disability and Supported Decisions
  • Children, Adolescents and Families
  • Persuasion, Paternalism and Manipulation
3Honesty, Evidence and Uncertainty4 lessons
  • Truthfulness and Difficult Conversations
  • Evidence, Low-Value Care and Honest Recommendations
  • Emerging and Unproven Treatments
  • Admitting Error and Acting With Moral Courage
4Justice, Access and Culturally Safe Care4 lessons
  • Fairness in Public, Community and Aged Care Podiatry
  • Culturally Safe Care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples
  • Stigma, Discrimination and Respect
  • Ability to Pay, Discounts and Free Care
5Conflicts of Interest and the Ethics of Selling4 lessons
  • Why Conflicts of Interest Distort Good Judgement
  • Products, Devices and Retail in the Clinic
  • Industry Relationships, Referrals and Inducements
  • Funding Schemes and Ethical Pressure
6Trust, Boundaries and Vulnerable Patients4 lessons
  • Trust and Power in the Podiatry Relationship
  • Gifts, Friendship and Small Communities
  • Home Visits, Aged Care and Suspected Abuse
  • Personal Values, Conscience and Ending Care
7Ethics in Teams, Workplaces and Specialist Care4 lessons
  • Speaking Up About Colleagues and Practices
  • Commercial Pressure and Moral Distress
  • Elective Surgery, Referral and Honest Information
  • Sustaining Ethical Practice Over a Career
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 deal with patients who refuse advice about high-risk feet?

Yes. It looks at dignity of risk, harm reduction and how to keep caring for a patient whose choices you disagree with, while recording the discussion clearly.

Is selling orthoses and footwear covered?

Yes. A section examines retail in the clinic, how conflicts distort judgement and what transparent recommendations look like.

Is it relevant to podiatrists in aged care?

Yes. Lessons on capacity, home visits, suspected abuse and fair access draw on aged care and community practice.

How does it differ from the podiatry professionalism course?

This course is about ethical reasoning. The professionalism course covers the Board's standards, titles, insurance, scope, records, CPD and governance.

What evidence do I get when I finish?

You receive a certificate of completion stating the estimated learning time, and you can download a course pack holding your learning record, a revision sheet and your own reflections. Your CPD log should show the time you actually spend.

Does completing the course satisfy a condition or undertaking?

Not automatically. Where a Board has set education as a condition or undertaking, the course usually has to be nominated and accepted first, so check with Ahpra or the Board, and your legal adviser or defence organisation, before you enrol.

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