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

Unsatisfactory Professional Performance: Knowledge, Skill and Judgement

How Performance Concerns Are Assessed and How to Rebuild Competence

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

About this course

Performance concerns are about knowledge, skill and judgement, and they are usually about patterns rather than a single error. This course explains how the National Law defines unsatisfactory professional performance, what a performance assessment involves and how to rebuild and demonstrate competence.

The course explains the statutory definition, the comparator of a practitioner with equivalent training or experience, how performance differs from conduct and health, and why patterns matter more than single errors. It then covers where concerns come from, risk factors for decline, shared accountability with employers and early signals you can see yourself.

The performance assessment is explained step by step: when a Board orders one, what happens, the report and preparing well. Panels, findings and performance conditions are covered next, including tribunals and the co-regulatory jurisdictions.

The final sections focus on rebuilding competence: a structured learning needs analysis, root cause, a competence plan, supervised practice, learning that changes practice, audit and measuring improvement, and sustainable decisions about scope, workload and career.

What you will learn

  • Break the statutory test for unsatisfactory professional performance into its parts
  • Compare your practice with an equivalent practitioner at the right stage and scope
  • Know why a concern goes down the performance, conduct or health route
  • Recognise the sources of performance concerns and the warning signs of decline
  • Know what to expect from a performance assessment, a panel and any conditions
  • Analyse your learning needs from several sources and find the real cause of a gap
  • Set goals you can measure and meet them through supervision and active learning
  • Show lasting improvement with audit, and make sensible choices about scope and workload

Who this course is for

  • Practitioners facing a performance assessment or panel
  • Practitioners with performance conditions
  • Practitioners returning to practice or changing scope
  • Supervisors and employers supporting a practitioner
  • Practitioners who want to stay ahead of performance drift

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 22 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

1What Unsatisfactory Professional Performance Means4 lessons
  • The Statutory Definition
  • The Comparator: Equivalent Training or Experience
  • Performance, Conduct or Health?
  • Patterns, Not One-Off Errors
2How Performance Concerns Arise4 lessons
  • Where Concerns Come From
  • Risk Factors for Performance Decline
  • Employers, Credentialing and Shared Accountability
  • Early Signals You Can See Yourself
3The Performance Assessment4 lessons
  • When a Board Orders an Assessment
  • What Happens in an Assessment
  • The Report and What Follows
  • Preparing Well
4Panels, Findings and Performance Conditions3 lessons
  • Performance and Professional Standards Panels
  • Performance Conditions in Practice
  • Tribunals and the Co-Regulatory Jurisdictions
5Rebuilding Competence: Diagnosing the Gap3 lessons
  • A Structured Learning Needs Analysis
  • Finding the Root Cause
  • Goals and a Competence Plan
6Rebuilding Competence: Doing and Demonstrating4 lessons
  • Supervised Practice
  • Learning That Changes Practice
  • Audit and Measuring Improvement
  • Sustaining Competence: Scope, Workload and Career Decisions
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

What does unsatisfactory professional performance mean?

It means your knowledge, skill, judgement or care falls below what is reasonably expected of a practitioner with similar training or experience. The course unpacks each part of that test.

What happens in a performance assessment?

An assessor appointed by the Board reviews your practice, which may include record review, observation and interviews. The course walks through each stage and the report that follows.

How do I get ready for a performance assessment?

Understand the process, review your own practice honestly and gather evidence of current competence. The course explains what to expect on the day and how to prepare without rehearsing answers.

Is one serious error enough for a performance finding?

Usually performance concerns involve a pattern, though a single serious lapse can raise questions. The course explains how decision-makers approach this.

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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