Medical Council · NMBI · Dental Council · Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland · CORU · Complaint or fitness to practise inquiry
Prescribing Guidance and Standards for Healthcare Professionals facing a complaint to your regulator or a fitness to practise inquiry about prescribing
A prescribing error, a high-risk medicine, or a prescription for someone close to you?
- Errors — a wrong drug, dose, frequency or duration, or an interaction missed
- High-risk medicines — anticoagulants, insulin, opioids or methotrexate prescribed without the checks
- Controlled drugs — a concern about the prescription or supply of a controlled drug
- Self-prescribing — a prescription for yourself, without independent assessment or follow-up
- Boundaries — a boundaries breach with a patient or a colleague: prescribing for a friend, a family member or a colleague
- Records — no indication, reasoning or monitoring plan recorded with the prescription
- Scope — prescribing outside your scope of practice or competence
- Any other concern — about your prescribing or medicines management
Facing a complaint or a fitness to practise inquiry about prescribing — before the Medical Council, NMBI, the Dental Council, the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland or CORU?
This course is for a healthcare professional whose prescribing is the subject of a complaint, an incident review or a fitness to practise inquiry. This course helps you remediate — and show the remediation, with a dated certificate for your written response, your reflection, an undertaking or an inquiry.
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Immediate access · certificate on completion · twelve months' access
- 2 CPD hours
- Self-paced
- Written for Ireland
- CPD certificate
- From €70 a course (Bulk Buy of 10)
Dr Shehzad IqbalFounder, course author and facilitatorMBBS, MRCS, MRCGP
Dr Mo MirzaCourse facilitatorMedically trained, UCL London
Ludmila UpenieceBusiness development and supportPsychology, UEL London
At a glance
- Who it is for
- Any healthcare professional in Ireland with prescribing or medicines-related responsibilities who faces a complaint, an employer investigation or a fitness to practise inquiry about a prescribing error, high-risk medicines, records, or prescribing for themselves or someone close
- Regulator covered
- Applies to practitioners registered with the Medical Council, the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland (NMBI), the Dental Council, the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland (PSI) or CORU
- Length
- 10 sections, 54 lessons, 2 CPD hours
- Format
- Self-paced, online, immediate access, twelve months from purchase
- Certificate
- Certificate issued by Healthcare Ethics Courses on completion, dated, with the course title and 2 CPD hours
- Price
- €100 · from €70 a course (Bulk Buy of 10)
Certificate issued by Healthcare Ethics CoursesRemediation courses for regulatory processes.
The certificate you will receive
How healthcare professionals use it
- With a written response to your regulator or its preliminary committee, alongside a reflection
- When an undertaking or a consent is discussed, or in your evidence to an inquiry committee
- As a dated record of remediation for the regulator when sanction is considered
Who this course is for
After a prescribing error
A wrong dose, a missed interaction or a medicine continued without review reached the patient or was caught in time. Section 8 covers the immediate response, openness and the duty of candour, and Section 9 reflecting on errors and near misses.
Facing a complaint to your regulator
The Medical Council, NMBI, the Dental Council, the PSI or CORU has written to tell you of a complaint. Your first written reply is where your prescribing judgement is read first. Section 9 sets out what a response should include.
Questioned about prescribing for yourself or someone close
A prescription for yourself, a family member, a friend or a colleague has come to light in an audit or an employer review. Section 5 covers why these attract scrutiny, the exceptional circumstances, the triggers for investigation and the safer alternatives.
Facing an employer investigation or incident review
Prescribing records are central to incident reviews and employer investigations. Section 6 covers what a prescribing record should show — the indication, the reasoning, the risks considered and the monitoring plan — and Section 8 investigations and fitness to practise processes.
Facing a question about your competence to prescribe
Prescribing outside your scope, repeated similar errors or medicines continued without review can raise a question of competence as well as of a single mistake. Section 2 covers scope of practice and prescribing authority, and Section 4 high-risk medicines and prescribing errors.
Facing a fitness to practise inquiry
The complaint has gone to a Fitness to Practise Committee, a Professional Conduct Committee or a Health Committee. Remediation completed before the hearing, dated and documented, is evidence you can put before the committee and the regulator.
The concerns this course speaks to
Prescribing errors
An incorrect dose, frequency or duration; an interaction or contraindication missed; a medicine continued without a clear indication. Section 4 covers prescribing errors and the system, workload and human factors behind them, and Section 8 the professional response.
High-risk medicines and vulnerable patients
Anticoagulants, insulin, opioids and other controlled drugs, methotrexate, sedatives and antipsychotics. Section 4 covers high-risk medicines and the patient groups at increased risk of harm, including older adults with polypharmacy, patients with renal or hepatic disease, and pregnant or breastfeeding patients.
Self-prescribing and prescribing for people close to you
A prescription written for yourself, or for a family member or a friend outside formal care. Section 5 covers why self-prescribing is discouraged, the exceptional circumstances in which it may be unavoidable, and what to document if it was.
Professional boundaries with a patient or a colleague
A prescription for a colleague outside formal care, a friend treated without a full history, a request that was hard to refuse. Section 5 has a lesson on professional boundaries and conflicts of interest in prescribing, and covers the reciprocity and perceived favouritism that prescribing for colleagues can raise.
Prescribing records
A prescription with no indication, no reasoning and no monitoring plan. Section 6 covers what regulators expect to see in prescribing records, recording clinical reasoning, templates, electronic prescribing and documentation at transitions of care.
Scope of practice and pressure to prescribe
Prescribing outside your authority or competence, or under pressure from a patient, a colleague or an organisation. Section 2 covers scope of practice and prescribing authority, and Section 7 managing patient expectations, such as requests for antibiotics or strong analgesia.
Communication and consent
A medicine started without the reason, the risks or the alternatives explained. Section 3 covers shared decision-making and informed consent, and Section 7 communicating with patients and working with pharmacists and the team.
Openness after an error
An error not disclosed, or disclosed late. Section 8 covers openness, honesty and the duty of candour, and why delay, denial or concealment increases the regulatory risk.
Facing a complaint to your regulator or a fitness to practise inquiry? This course helps you remediate — and show it.
Buy this course — €100 (€70 with Bulk Buy 10)What the course covers
Ten sections and 54 lessons, with a reflective quiz closing each of the first nine and a post-course assessment at the end.
Introduction to Safe Prescribing in Ireland
Five lessons
Professional Standards and Regulatory Expectations in Prescribing
Five lessons
Principles of Safe and Effective Prescribing
Five lessons
High-Risk Medicines and Common Prescribing Errors
Five lessons
Self-Prescribing and Prescribing for Family, Friends, or Colleagues
Six lessons
Prescribing Documentation and Record-Keeping
Seven lessons
Communication and Collaboration in Prescribing
Six lessons
Prescribing Errors, Complaints, and Investigations
Seven lessons
Reflection, Insight, and Remediation in Prescribing Practice
Six lessons
Conclusion and Key Takeaways
Two lessons, Conclusion and Key Takeaways, and the post-course assessment
Show every lesson title
- Section 01 · Introduction to Safe Prescribing in Ireland
- Why Safe Prescribing Matters; Prescribing as a Professional Responsibility; Patient Safety and Public Trust; Regulatory Expectations in Ireland; The Purpose of This Course.
- Section 02 · Professional Standards and Regulatory Expectations in Prescribing
- Prescribing Within Professional Standards; Role of Irish Regulators in Prescribing Oversight; Scope of Practice and Prescribing Authority; Accountability and Shared Responsibility; Professional Behaviour When Concerns Arise.
- Section 03 · Principles of Safe and Effective Prescribing
- Evidence-Based Prescribing; Patient-Centred and Individualised Decision-Making; Shared Decision-Making and Informed Consent; Considering Risks, Interactions, and Contraindications; Monitoring, Review, and Deprescribing.
- Section 04 · High-Risk Medicines and Common Prescribing Errors
- Understanding High-Risk Medicines; Vulnerable Patient Groups; Common Prescribing Errors; Systems, Workload, and Human Factors; Learning from Near Misses and Errors.
- Section 05 · Self-Prescribing and Prescribing for Family, Friends, or Colleagues
- Why Self-Prescribing Is Strongly Discouraged; Prescribing for Family, Friends, or Colleagues; Professional Boundaries and Conflicts of Interest; Exceptional Circumstances; Regulatory Scrutiny and Investigation Triggers; Learning and Safer Alternatives.
- Section 06 · Prescribing Documentation and Record-Keeping
- Documentation as a Foundation of Safe Prescribing; What Regulators Expect to See in Prescribing Records; Recording Clinical Reasoning and Judgement; Use of Templates, Checklists, and Standard Phrases; Electronic Prescribing Systems: Responsibilities and Risks; Documentation During Transitions of Care; High-Risk Prescribing and Enhanced Documentation.
- Section 07 · Communication and Collaboration in Prescribing
- Why Communication Is Central to Safe Prescribing; Communicating Effectively with Patients; Shared Decision-Making and Managing Expectations; Working with Pharmacists and the Multidisciplinary Team; Handover and Continuity of Care; Raising Concerns and Speaking Up.
- Section 08 · Prescribing Errors, Complaints, and Investigations
- Understanding Prescribing Errors; Immediate Response to a Prescribing Error; Openness, Honesty, and Duty of Candour; Complaints Related to Prescribing; Investigations and Fitness-to-Practise Processes; Demonstrating Insight During Investigations; Learning from Errors and Complaints.
- Section 09 · Reflection, Insight, and Remediation in Prescribing Practice
- Why Reflection Matters in Prescribing; What Regulators Mean by “Insight”; Reflecting on Prescribing Errors and Near Misses; Remediation: Turning Learning into Action; Documenting Reflection and Remediation; Maintaining Safe Prescribing Long-Term.
- Section 10 · Conclusion and Key Takeaways
- Conclusion; Key Takeaways.
How to respond to a prescribing complaint or fitness to practise inquiry
Whether it is read by your employer, a preliminary committee or an inquiry committee, a response about prescribing is read for judgement and insight as well as for the error. These are the four parts to set out, and what the course gives you for each.
The prescription shows a decision; the record and the response show the reasoning behind it.
- What happenedThe error or the decision in plain words, and what was done for the patient.Section 8 covers the immediate response to a prescribing error and documenting it clearly and honestly.
- Why it happenedYour reasoning, the checks missed, and the system and human factors, without using them as an excuse.Section 4 covers systems, workload and human factors, and Section 9 reflecting on errors and near misses.
- Which standardScope, evidence, consent, records or monitoring: the standard the prescribing did not meet.Sections 2 and 3 set out prescribing standards and the principles of safe and effective prescribing.
- What has changedAudits, supervised prescribing, checklists, a changed workflow — dated and confirmable.Section 9 covers remediation in prescribing practice and documenting it — and this course is a dated item for your portfolio.
Workload explains an error; it does not answer for the checks that were not made.
Take advice from your indemnifier, your union or professional body, or a solicitor before you respond to anyone.
Facing a complaint to your regulator or a fitness to practise inquiry? This course helps you remediate — and show it.
Buy this course — €100 (€70 with Bulk Buy 10)How this course helps with a complaint or fitness to practise inquiry
Prescribing appears in the grounds and the figures
Under the Nurses and Midwives Act 2011, one ground of complaint is “an irregularity in relation to the custody, prescription or supply of a controlled drug”. Among the top categories in the PSI’s 2024 Preliminary Proceedings Committee report are failure to supply (10) and dispensing errors (dose 5, medication 4, other 4) (PPC Annual Report 2024), and NMBI lists competency, including medication management, among its categories of alleged conduct (State of Complaints 2024). The course covers high-risk medicines and controlled drugs (Section 4), self-prescribing (Section 5) and prescribing records (Section 6).
Insight and remediation in a prescribing case
The Medical Council’s Guidance on Sanctions says a doctor may “demonstrate insight by providing evidence of their understanding of the problem” and may present evidence of how concerns were addressed; NMBI’s Guidance on Sanctions counts “whether the nurse or midwife has taken remedial action where appropriate” among mitigating factors. The Patient Safety (Notifiable Incidents and Open Disclosure) Act 2023 commenced on 26 September 2024 (all but section 68); since then, open disclosure of a notifiable incident has been required by law. Section 8 covers openness and candour after an error, and Section 9 remediation and its documentation. For the stages from the first letter to the High Court, see the fitness to practise process in Ireland, explained.
Read the primary sources
- Nurses and Midwives Act 2011, section 55 — grounds of complaint
- Preliminary Proceedings Committee Annual Report 2024 — PSI
- State of Complaints 2024 — NMBI
- Guidance on Sanctions Imposed by the Medical Council (28 May 2024)
- Guidance on Sanctions — Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland
- S.I. No. 482 of 2024 — commencement of the Patient Safety (Notifiable Incidents and Open Disclosure) Act 2023
Who wrote it
Dr Shehzad Iqbal
Course author and facilitator, Healthcare Ethics Ireland
Dr Iqbal wrote this course. He combines clinical practice with a formal postgraduate qualification in healthcare law and ethics, and has worked with registrants across the regulated health professions, online and face to face, since 2020.
He founded Probity & Ethics in the United Kingdom in 2020 and Healthcare Ethics Courses, which issues the certificates, in 2025. More about us.
MBBS · MRCS · MRCGP · Postgraduate Certificate in Healthcare Law and Ethics, University of Dundee
Written and reviewed by Dr Shehzad Iqbal. Last reviewed .
In short
Prescribing Guidance and Standards for Healthcare Professionals is a two-hour, self-paced remediation course for healthcare professionals in Ireland with prescribing or medicines-related responsibilities — registered with the Medical Council, NMBI, the Dental Council, the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland or CORU — who face a complaint, an incident review or a fitness to practise inquiry about prescribing. It covers prescribing as a professional responsibility; professional standards, scope of practice and individual accountability; evidence-based, patient-centred prescribing, shared decision-making and consent, risks and interactions, monitoring and deprescribing; high-risk medicines, vulnerable patients and prescribing errors; self-prescribing and prescribing for family, friends or colleagues; prescribing records and electronic prescribing; communication with patients, pharmacists and the team; prescribing errors, complaints and investigations; and reflection, insight and remediation in prescribing practice. Ten sections, the first nine closing with a reflective quiz, a post-course assessment, and a dated certificate from Healthcare Ethics Courses. It is remediation and dated evidence of it; it decides no complaint, and it is not a substitute for advice from your indemnifier, your union or professional body, or a solicitor.
What safe prescribing means when a regulator asks
Prescribing is a professional act, not a purely technical task. The course frames it that way (Section 1): prescribing within your scope and competence, keeping your knowledge up to date, balancing benefit against harm, acting in the patient’s interest rather than for convenience or under pressure, and recognising when not to prescribe. A decision not to prescribe can be as professionally important as issuing a prescription (Section 2).
When a concern is reviewed, the course explains, the question is not only whether an error occurred but how you practised and how you responded: your clinical reasoning, your adherence to standards, your awareness of scope, the quality of your records and your insight. A single error may not in itself lead to regulatory action; repeated errors, poor judgement, a lack of insight or an inappropriate response can escalate it (Section 1).
In a written response, say what was prescribed and why, which check or standard was missed, what effect it had or could have had, and what you have changed, with dated evidence such as a prescribing audit.
What these words mean
The three terms that decide where a complaint goes, and the words the course is built on.
- Preliminary Proceedings Committee
- The committee of the Medical Council, NMBI, the PSI and CORU that looks at a complaint before any inquiry: it may take no further action, suggest mediation, conclude the matter with an undertaking or a consent where its Act allows, or refer the complaint to an inquiry. At the Dental Council, the Fitness to Practise Committee considers whether there is a prima facie case.
- Fitness to practise inquiry
- The hearing stage: before the Fitness to Practise Committee at the Medical Council, NMBI and the Dental Council, and before the Professional Conduct Committee or the Health Committee at the PSI and CORU. Any sanction heavier than an advice, admonishment or censure takes effect only when the High Court confirms it.
- Professional misconduct
- A ground of complaint under the Medical Practitioners, Nurses and Midwives, Pharmacy and Health and Social Care Professionals Acts, and a ground for an application for an inquiry under the Dentists Act. The Dental Council describes it as a serious falling short in the standards expected of a dentist; the PSI as behaviour that goes against its Code of Conduct for registered pharmacists; CORU as any act, omission or pattern of conduct that breaches the Code.
High-risk medicines, deprescribing and the other terms the course uses
- Scope of practice
- What a professional is authorised and competent to prescribe, including any restriction linked to their role, setting or supervision.
- High-risk medicines
- Medicines with a higher risk of serious harm if prescribed, dispensed or administered incorrectly. The course names anticoagulants and antiplatelet agents, insulin, opioids and other controlled drugs, methotrexate, and sedatives and antipsychotics.
- Deprescribing
- Stopping or reducing medicines that are no longer needed; the course treats it as a professional responsibility and part of patient safety.
- Medication reconciliation
- Checking the medication list at admission, discharge and other transitions of care, and recording changes and the reasons for them.
- Self-prescribing
- Prescribing for yourself. The course explains why it removes independent assessment, monitoring and documentation, and when it may be unavoidable.
- Near miss
- An error caught before it reached the patient; the course treats reporting and reflecting on near misses as a marker of professionalism.
- Duty of candour
- Being open with the patient when something has gone wrong, with a clear explanation and an apology. Since 26 September 2024, open disclosure of a notifiable incident has been required by law.
- Insight
- Understanding what went wrong, why it happened, and how future risk will be reduced.
- Remediation
- Practical steps that address the concern and reduce the risk of recurrence: targeted learning, supervised or mentored prescribing, audits, checklists and changes to workflow.
The Acts a complaint is made and decided under
Ireland’s five health regulators each work under their own Act, all five amended by the Regulated Professions (Health and Social Care) (Amendment) Act 2020. These are the sections that say who may complain, on what grounds, and who looks at the complaint first.
Medical Council — Medical Practitioners Act 2007, section 57
A person, including the Council, may complain to the chief executive officer. The grounds include professional misconduct, poor professional performance, a relevant medical disability, and a failure to comply with a condition, an undertaking or a consent. The chief executive officer looks at the complaint first, an Authorised Officer may gather the facts, and the Preliminary Proceedings Committee decides whether there is enough cause to take further action. Read it.
For this course: Section 5 covers self-prescribing and prescribing for family, friends or colleagues, and Section 6 prescribing records.
NMBI — Nurses and Midwives Act 2011, section 55
A person, including the Board, may complain to the chief executive officer. The grounds include professional misconduct, poor professional performance, non-compliance with a code of professional conduct, a relevant medical disability, and an irregularity in relation to the custody, prescription or supply of a controlled drug. A Preliminary Proceedings Committee, assisted by a case officer, may refer a complaint to the Fitness to Practise Committee for a sworn oral inquiry. Read it.
For this course: An irregularity in the custody, prescription or supply of a controlled drug is a ground of its own; Section 4 covers controlled drugs among high-risk medicines.
Dental Council — Dentists Act 1985, section 38
The Council or any person may apply to the Fitness to Practise Committee for an inquiry, on grounds that include alleged professional misconduct and alleged unfitness to practise by reason of physical or mental disability. The Fitness to Practise Committee considers whether there is a prima facie case, and if there is, it holds the inquiry. Read it.
For this course: Section 2 covers scope of practice and prescribing authority, and Section 3 risks, interactions and contraindications.
Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland — Pharmacy Act 2007, section 35
A complaint may be made in writing by or on behalf of any person, or by the registrar. The grounds include professional misconduct, poor professional performance, the effect on practice of a physical or mental ailment, emotional disturbance, or alcohol or drug addiction, and a failure to comply with a condition or an undertaking. The PSI separates a concern from a statutory complaint, which is for issues of a serious nature; its Preliminary Proceedings Committee may refer a complaint to a committee of inquiry or to mediation. Read it.
For this course: Failure to supply and dispensing errors are among the top categories in the PSI’s 2024 report; Section 7 covers working with pharmacists and the team.
CORU — Health and Social Care Professionals Act 2005, section 52
A complaint may be made to the Council by or on behalf of any person, or by a registration board. The grounds include professional misconduct, which CORU describes as any act, omission or pattern of conduct that breaches the Code, and poor professional performance. The Preliminary Proceedings Committee screens out complaints that are trivial, vexatious, without substance or made in bad faith; the Professional Conduct Committee deals with conduct or competence, and the Health Committee with whether a registrant’s health is affecting their ability to practise. Read it.
For this course: Section 8 covers prescribing errors, complaints and investigations, and Section 9 reflection, insight and remediation.
Also engaged: Sanctions — advice, admonishment or censure, conditions, suspension and cancellation (erasure under the Dentists Act): Medical Practitioners Act s.71, Nurses and Midwives Act s.69, Dentists Act ss.39 to 41, Pharmacy Act s.48, Health and Social Care Professionals Act s.66 · High Court confirmation — the heavier sanctions take effect only when the High Court confirms them; an advice, admonishment or censure on confirmation or once the appeal window of 21 or 30 days passes without an appeal · The 2020 Act — the Regulated Professions (Health and Social Care) (Amendment) Act 2020, which amended all five Acts in stages from 2021 to 2025.
What happens after a complaint reaches an Irish regulator
Each regulator has its own Act and its own names for the stages, and your letter tells you which stage you are at. At each of them the same three things are worth showing in writing: that you see what went wrong, that you understand it against your regulator’s code, and what you have changed, with dated evidence.
The complaint and the grounds
Anyone may complain, including the regulator itself. Under the Medical Practitioners Act and the Nurses and Midwives Act the complaint goes to the chief executive officer; under the Pharmacy Act it may be made by or on behalf of any person or by the registrar; under the Health and Social Care Professionals Act by or on behalf of any person or by a registration board. Under the Dentists Act the Council or any person applies to the Fitness to Practise Committee for an inquiry. Professional misconduct is a ground of complaint under the four other Acts and, under the Dentists Act, a ground for an application for an inquiry.
The preliminary stage
The Medical Council, NMBI, the PSI and CORU each have a Preliminary Proceedings Committee. At the Medical Council the chief executive officer looks at a complaint first and may assign an Authorised Officer, and the committee decides whether there is enough cause to take further action. At NMBI the committee may refer a complaint to the Fitness to Practise Committee for a sworn oral inquiry, or suggest mediation or informal resolution; at the PSI it may refer a complaint to a committee of inquiry or to mediation; at CORU it screens out complaints that are trivial, vexatious, without substance or made in bad faith. At the Dental Council, the Fitness to Practise Committee considers whether there is a prima facie case.
Undertakings, consents and mediation
A complaint can be concluded by agreement in some cases. At the Medical Council’s preliminary stage a doctor may be asked to undertake not to repeat the conduct, or to consent to censure (2025 procedures). At NMBI in 2024, 12 undertakings or consents concluded matters at the preliminary stage and the Fitness to Practise Committee recommended 32 (State of Complaints 2024). Undertakings were the largest single Committee of Inquiry outcome in the cases CORU concluded in 2022 to 2024: 13, against 7 censures (trends report). In 2024 the Dental Council accepted undertakings from a dentist instead of making a High Court application (Annual Report 2024). Mediation at NMBI and CORU needs the consent of both sides.
The inquiry
The inquiry committee is the Fitness to Practise Committee at the Medical Council, NMBI and the Dental Council, and the Professional Conduct Committee or the Health Committee at the PSI and CORU. At NMBI allegations against a nurse or midwife must be proven beyond reasonable doubt. Medical Council inquiries are held in public unless the Council decides on a hearing in private or part private (Medical Council); CORU says its Professional Conduct Committee hearings are normally held in public and its Health Committee hearings normally in private.
The sanction and the High Court
Sanctions run from advice, admonishment or censure (admonishment or censure at the PSI and CORU) through conditions and suspension to cancellation, called erasure under the Dentists Act (MPA s.71, NMA s.69, Dentists Act s.39, Pharmacy Act s.48, HSCP Act s.66). The heavier sanctions take effect only when the High Court confirms them; an advice, admonishment or censure takes effect on confirmation or once the appeal window passes without an appeal: 21 days for doctors, nurses, midwives and dentists, 30 days for pharmacists and CORU registrants (MPA s.74, NMA s.72, Dentists Act s.41, Pharmacy Act s.50, HSCP Act s.68).
Interim measures and your first reply
Separately, the Medical Council says interim suspension is possible under section 60 of the Medical Practitioners Act 2007; where there is a serious and immediate risk, the PSI’s Council can seek suspension from the High Court; and the Dental Council may apply to the High Court for suspension under section 44 of the Dentists Act. None of the five regulators publishes a fixed deadline for a first reply: the Medical Council gives not less than two weeks to respond to an Investigation Report, and NMBI says you may request an extension of time. Take advice before you reply.
Facing a complaint to your regulator or a fitness to practise inquiry? This course helps you remediate — and show it.
Buy this course — €100 (€70 with Bulk Buy 10)Courses with the Ethics and Professionalism pair written to your own regulator’s code — for doctors, nurses and midwives, dentists, pharmacists and all other healthcare professionals, or every course →
Frequently asked questions
Will a single prescribing error lead to a sanction?
No course or provider can say. The course explains that a single prescribing error may not in itself lead to regulatory action, and that repeated errors, poor judgement, a lack of insight or a defensive response can escalate a matter. What you control is the response: openness, reflection and remediation with evidence (Sections 1, 8 and 9).
I prescribed for a family member. What does the course say?
Section 5 explains why prescribing for family, friends or colleagues carries risks like those of self-prescribing: loss of objectivity, incomplete assessment and blurred boundaries. It sets out the exceptional circumstances in which it may be unavoidable, and what is expected then: only what is strictly necessary, no controlled or high-risk medicines, clear documentation and prompt independent follow-up.
The complaint involves a controlled drug. Is that covered?
Yes. Section 4 covers controlled drugs among high-risk medicines, Section 5 lists prescribing controlled drugs among the triggers for investigation, and Section 6 covers the enhanced documentation that controlled and high-risk medicines need. For nurses and midwives, an irregularity in the custody, prescription or supply of a controlled drug is a ground of complaint under the Nurses and Midwives Act 2011.
My records do not show my reasoning. What can I do now?
Do not alter a past record. The course covers what a prescribing record should show from now on — the indication, the reasoning, the risks considered, the information given and the monitoring plan — and Section 9 how to document reflection and remediation. Ask your adviser how to address the gaps in your response.
Should I take advice before I respond?
Yes — before anything is written to the regulator, a committee or your employer. Ask your indemnifier, your union or professional body, or a solicitor to read your response before it is sent, and keep a copy of everything you send. Nothing on this page is legal advice.
Can this course be used as evidence of remediation?
It can be part of the evidence, but no course decides a complaint. It gives you a dated certificate of 2 CPD hours. Section 9 covers the evidence that sits beside it: prescribing audits or case reviews, supervised or mentored prescribing, checklists or decision-support tools, and changes to your workflow.
How long does it take, and how long do I have access?
The course is 2 CPD hours, self-paced, with access for twelve months from purchase. The certificate is issued on completion, dated, with the course title and the CPD hours. Whether the hours count towards your own CPD requirement is for your regulator or scheme to say: doctors must undertake a minimum of 50 hours in each scheme year, and CORU registrants must achieve 30 CPD credits in every 12-month period.
Can I get a certificate with a later date?
No. The certificate records the date you completed the course, and that date does not change. If your regulator, an inquiry committee or an employer asks for recent evidence, you buy the course again: half price within twelve months of your original purchase, the full €100 after that.
Will anyone be told that I am taking the course?
No. Nobody is told you are enrolled. We do not share participant details with any regulator, an employer, a union or an indemnifier; the certificate reaches them only if you attach it to your own response.
Courses that work alongside this one
A prescribing complaint can raise competence, records and candour together. These are the courses that pair with this one.
Ensuring Clinical Competence and Patient Safety
Scope and limits of competence, the factors that affect it, patient safety and escalation, records and governance, and interim measures and conditions.
Documentation for Healthcare Professionals
Good clinical documentation, consent and capacity, handover records, digital records and data protection, and records during a complaint.
Duty of Candour for Healthcare Professionals
When the duty applies, talking with patients and families after an adverse event, and candour during complaints and reviews.
Effective Communication for Healthcare Professionals
Communication with patients and families, difficult and high-risk conversations, handover and escalation, and written and digital communication.
Ensuring Teamwork and Collaboration
Roles within teams, communication, managing disagreement, raising concerns, and teamwork failures, complaints and investigations.
Insight for Fitness to Practise
What insight is, how the five regulators frame it, weak and strong demonstrations of insight, and how insight is shown in a portfolio and at a hearing.
Remediation for Fitness to Practise
What a regulator looks for in remediation, what a remediation portfolio contains, case studies across five professions, and remediation at a hearing.
Prescribing Guidance and Standards for Healthcare Professionals
This course. Scope of practice, high-risk medicines and prescribing errors, self-prescribing, prescribing records, and remediation in prescribing practice.
Start today, finish at your own pace
Immediate access on purchase. Twelve months' access, a dated certificate on completion, and 2 CPD hours issued by Healthcare Ethics Courses.