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

Professional Boundaries for Clinicians

Gifts, Dual Relationships, Self-Disclosure and Personal Contact

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

About this course

Most boundary problems start with kindness: a small gift, a personal phone number, an extra favour for a patient who seems alone. This course helps clinicians recognise where helpful crossings end and harmful violations begin, and how to manage boundaries with confidence.

The course explains what professional boundaries are and why they exist, crossings, violations and the slippery slope, and what the codes say. It then deals with gifts from patients, money, loans, bequests and business with patients, and favours, discounts and gifts to patients.

Dual relationships get a full section: treating family, friends, colleagues and yourself, rural and small communities, social and business relationships and former patients. Emotional boundaries lessons cover self-disclosure, over-involvement and 'special' patients, under-involvement, time, place and touch.

Later sections deal with personal phone numbers and messaging, chance meetings and invitations, unwanted attention and ending a relationship well, and finish with a boundary self-audit, scripts you can use, documentation and what to do when you are concerned about a colleague.

What you will learn

  • Explain why the practitioner, not the patient, has to hold the line on boundaries
  • Notice when a small crossing is starting to become a pattern
  • Decide what to do about a gift, a loan, a bequest or a request for a favour
  • Care for friends, relatives or neighbours only when it can be done safely, and document why
  • Share personal information sparingly and recognise when you are too involved or pulling away
  • Keep personal phones, messaging apps and social invitations out of the therapeutic relationship
  • Deal with unwanted attention and close a therapeutic relationship without abandoning the patient
  • Check your own risks with a self-audit and know what to do when a colleague is crossing lines

Who this course is for

  • Practitioners in every profession
  • Practitioners in country towns and tight-knit communities where patients are also neighbours
  • Practitioners in long-term therapeutic relationships
  • Supervisors discussing boundaries with students and graduates
  • Practitioners reflecting on a boundary concern

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 6 sections (19 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

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

1Understanding Professional Boundaries3 lessons
  • What Professional Boundaries Are and Why They Exist
  • Crossings, Violations and the Slippery Slope
  • What the Codes Say
2Gifts, Money and Benefits3 lessons
  • Gifts From Patients
  • Money, Loans, Bequests and Business With Patients
  • Favours, Discounts and Gifts to Patients
3Dual and Multiple Relationships4 lessons
  • Treating Family, Friends, Colleagues and Yourself
  • Rural, Remote and Small Communities
  • Social, Employment and Business Relationships
  • Former Patients and Personal Relationships
4Self-Disclosure and Emotional Boundaries3 lessons
  • Self-Disclosure: When Sharing Helps and When It Harms
  • Over-Involvement, Special Patients and Under-Involvement
  • Time, Place and Touch
5Personal Contact and Communication Channels3 lessons
  • Phone Numbers, Messaging and After-Hours Contact
  • Chance Meetings, Invitations and Social Events
  • Unwanted Attention and Ending the Relationship Well
6Managing Boundary Risks in Practice3 lessons
  • A Boundary Self-Audit
  • Scripts, Consultation and Documentation
  • When You Are Concerned About a Colleague
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 it ever acceptable to accept a present from a patient?

Small, token gifts are usually acceptable, but larger gifts, money and bequests raise serious concerns. The course gives a practical test and suggests how to decline gracefully.

Is it wrong to treat friends in a small town?

Not necessarily, and sometimes it cannot be avoided. The course explains how to manage dual relationships safely when there is no realistic alternative.

Does this course cover sexual boundaries?

It introduces them as part of the boundary continuum. The separate sexual boundaries course covers sexual misconduct, grooming and intimate care in depth.

Is the course useful if a concern has been raised about my boundaries?

It covers the standard and gives tools for reflection and prevention. If the requirement comes from a condition or undertaking, confirm with Ahpra or the Board that a particular course will be accepted.

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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