Medical Council · NMBI · Dental Council · PSI · CORU · Complaint or fitness to practise inquiry

Professional Ethics Course for healthcare professionals facing a complaint to their regulator or a fitness to practise inquiry about their integrity or conduct

Your honesty, integrity or accountability in day-to-day practice has been questioned.

Dishonesty — a backdated or altered record, a concealed error, or a false claim
Qualifications — experience or qualifications overstated on a CV, a profile or an advertisement
Fees and claims — an inaccurate insurance or PRSI claim, or an interest not declared
Boundaries — a boundaries breach with a patient or a colleague, or a gift that should have been declined
Communication — information withheld, a misleading reassurance or a dismissive tone
Teamwork — an error not handed over, or a colleague undermined
Online conduct — patient details in a message or a post, or a misleading claim online
Any other concern — about your integrity, your accountability or your professional conduct

Facing an allegation of dishonesty, unprofessional conduct or professional misconduct like these — before the Medical Council, NMBI, the Dental Council, the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland or CORU?

This course is for a healthcare professional whose honesty, integrity or accountability has been questioned in a complaint 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.

Buy this course — €100 (€70 with Bulk Buy 10) Bulk Buy — from €70 a course

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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)

Our team

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 facing a complaint, an employer investigation, a preliminary decision or a fitness to practise inquiry about honesty, probity, boundaries, communication, teamwork or conduct online
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: 11 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.

2CPD hours, issued by Healthcare Ethics Courses

11Sections, ten closing with a reflective quiz

54Lessons, plus a post-course assessment

€100 (€70 with Bulk Buy 10)One off. Twelve months' access

The certificate you will receive

Sample certificate of continuing professional development for Professional Ethics Course, issued by Healthcare Ethics Courses, showing the name John Smith, 2 CPD hours and a date of completion, marked SAMPLE — Sample. Your certificate carries your name, the course title and the date you complete the course.

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

Buy this course — €100 (€70 with Bulk Buy 10)

Who this course is for

Facing an allegation of dishonesty

A record altered, an error concealed, a claim that was not accurate, a qualification overstated. Section 4 covers probity, the difference between dishonesty and clinical error, and the lapses in probity a complaint can describe; Section 8 compares weak and strong responses to them.

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 integrity is first read, and the course gives it a structure you can follow under pressure.

Before a Preliminary Proceedings Committee

At the Medical Council, NMBI, the PSI and CORU the committee looks at a complaint before any inquiry; under the Dentists Act the Fitness to Practise Committee considers whether there is a prima facie case. The Medical Council’s undertakings guidance names the level of insight shown as one of the factors it weighs.

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.

Raised by your employer or your team

A concern about your records, a handover, a disagreement with colleagues or a post online started at work. Section 3 covers professional ethics in communication, documentation and teamwork, and Section 6 digital professionalism and social media.

Asked to show remediation

An undertaking, conditions or your adviser asks for evidence of what has changed. Section 9 sets out the ethical portfolio — reflection, targeted CPD, audits, supervision and patient and colleague feedback — and why a portfolio is read as stronger than a promise.

The concerns this course speaks to

Dishonest records

Notes backdated to look compliant, a medication record altered to cover a missed dose, visit notes written to hide missed appointments. Section 3 covers documentation as an ethical duty, and Section 8 compares a weak and a strong response to documentation falsification.

A concealed error

A wrong dose prescribed and not disclosed. The course separates an error that is disclosed from one that is concealed (Section 4), and Section 8 sets out the strong response: the error admitted, an apology to the patient, targeted CPD and safeguards that can be checked.

Claims, fees and conflicts of interest

An inaccurate PRSI or insurance claim, patients referred to a clinic you co-own without saying so. Section 4 covers false claims among the lapses in probity, Section 5 the declaration of conflicts of interest, and Section 8 a strong response to financial misconduct: repayment, CPD and audited billing.

Qualifications and advertising

Experience overstated on a CV or a profile, a treatment advertised as risk-free. Section 4 covers misrepresentation and misleading advertising as lapses in probity, Section 6 truthful claims online, and Section 8 the response that corrects the record and discloses the issue.

Professional boundaries and gifts

Expensive gifts from a long-term patient, a friendship with a vulnerable client, a friend request accepted, a colleague undermined. Keeping the boundary is the professional’s responsibility, with a patient or a colleague. Section 5 covers emotional, financial, sexual and digital boundary breaches with patients and boundaries with colleagues, such as seniority used over a junior colleague, and Section 3 respect for colleagues and undermining behaviour within a team.

Communication and teamwork

Side effects not explained, a dismissive tone, an error not handed over to the next shift. Section 3 treats each as an ethical lapse as well as a practical one, with safeguards for communication, documentation and handover.

Conduct online and confidentiality

A ward photo with patients in the background, prescriptions confirmed by personal text message, patient details shared socially. Section 6 covers digital professionalism, telehealth and messaging, and social media, and Section 8 a strong response to a confidentiality breach.

What your own regulator expects

Each of the five regulators publishes its own code. Section 2 has a lesson on the expectations of each — the Medical Council, NMBI, the PSI, the Dental Council and CORU — and the themes they share: honesty, respect, accountability, transparency and boundaries.

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

Eleven sections and 54 lessons, with a reflective quiz closing each of the first ten and a post-course assessment at the end.

Section 01

Introduction — What Is Professional Ethics in Irish Healthcare?

Four lessons

Section 02

Regulator Perspectives — Medical Council, NMBI, PSI, Dental Council, CORU

Six lessons

Section 03

Professional Ethics in Daily Practice — Communication, Documentation, Teamwork

Four lessons

Section 04

Probity, Honesty, and Integrity

Five lessons

Section 05

Boundaries and Conflicts of Interest

Five lessons

Section 06

Digital Professionalism and Social Media

Five lessons

Section 07

Professional Ethics vs Medical Ethics — Key Differences

Four lessons

Section 08

Weak vs Strong Demonstrations of Professional Ethics in Regulator Cases

Six lessons

Section 09

Building Ethical Portfolios — Reflection, CPD, Audits, Supervision

Eight lessons

Section 10

Embedding Professional Ethics into Identity and Lifelong Practice

Five lessons

Section 11

Conclusion and Key Takeaways

Two lessons, Conclusion and Key Takeaways, and the post-course assessment

Show every lesson title

Section 01 · Introduction — What Is Professional Ethics in Irish Healthcare?: What Is Professional Ethics?; Why Professional Ethics Matters for Patients; Why Professional Ethics Matters for Regulators; Professional Ethics as Identity.
Section 02 · Regulator Perspectives — Medical Council, NMBI, PSI, Dental Council, CORU: Medical Council of Ireland; Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland (NMBI); Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland (PSI); Dental Council of Ireland; CORU — Health and Social Care Professionals Council; Shared Regulator Themes.
Section 03 · Professional Ethics in Daily Practice — Communication, Documentation, Teamwork: Communication; Documentation; Teamwork and Professional Conduct; Practical Safeguards for Daily Ethics.
Section 04 · Probity, Honesty, and Integrity: What Probity Means; Dishonesty vs Clinical Error; Lapses in Probity; Why Honesty Matters to Patients; Integrity as a Daily Practice.
Section 05 · Boundaries and Conflicts of Interest: Professional Boundaries; Types of Boundary Breaches; Conflicts of Interest; Digital Boundaries and Online Conduct; Practical Safeguards.
Section 06 · Digital Professionalism and Social Media: Core Principles of Digital Professionalism; Risks of Poor Digital Practice; Telehealth and Messaging; Social Media Conduct; Practical Safeguards for Digital Professionalism.
Section 07 · Professional Ethics vs Medical Ethics — Key Differences: Medical Ethics; Professional Ethics; Why the Distinction Matters; Overlap in Practice.
Section 08 · Weak vs Strong Demonstrations of Professional Ethics in Regulator Cases: Documentation Falsification; Concealed Clinical Error; Financial Misconduct; Misrepresentation of Qualifications; Confidentiality Breach; Shared Patterns Across Cases.
Section 09 · Building Ethical Portfolios — Reflection, CPD, Audits, Supervision: What Is an Ethical Portfolio?; Core Components of Ethical Portfolios; Reflection; CPD Evidence; Audits and Measurable Change; Supervision and Mentorship; Patient and Colleague Feedback; Why Portfolios Reassure Regulators.
Section 10 · Embedding Professional Ethics into Identity and Lifelong Practice: Ethics as Professional Identity; Daily Habits that Sustain Ethics; Role of Mentorship and Leadership; Resilience and Professional Ethics; Ethics Across a Career.
Section 11 · Conclusion and Key Takeaways: Conclusion; Key Takeaways.

How to respond to a complaint about your integrity or professional conduct

Whether it is read at the preliminary stage, by an inquiry committee or by the regulator deciding a sanction, a response to a complaint about conduct is read for honesty and for change. These are the four parts to set out, and what the course gives you for each.

An honest admission with evidence of change is read differently from an explanation that leaves the admission out.

The standardWhich duty in your own regulator’s code the conduct did not meet.Section 2 has a lesson on the code and expectations of each of the five regulators.
The admissionWhat you did, in plain words, without minimising it or deflecting it.Section 8 compares weak and strong responses in five cases, from falsified documentation to a confidentiality breach.
The remediationTargeted to the lapse: CPD, audits, supervision, and repayment where money is involved.Section 9 covers the ethical portfolio, and why CPD must be targeted to the concern.
The change kept upEthics in daily practice, after the scrutiny ends.Section 10 covers daily habits, mentorship, resilience and ethics across a career — and this course is a dated item for your portfolio.

A response that begins everyone does it or no harm was done reads as a defence, not as insight.

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

Five weak and strong responses

Section 8 sets a weak and a strong response side by side for falsified documentation, a concealed prescribing error, inflated PRSI claims, an overstated CV and a confidentiality breach. What separates them is what a committee reads for: an honest admission, the standard named, targeted CPD and evidence that someone else can check. The Medical Council’s Guidance on Sanctions says “Mitigating factors may reduce the severity of the sanctions to be imposed”, and that a marked lack of insight may be an aggravating factor.

Conduct and dishonesty in fitness to practise cases

In the 151 fitness to practise cases CORU concluded in 2022 to 2024, personal and professional conduct, including dishonesty, was a theme in 49% (trends report). The PSI describes professional misconduct as behaviour that goes against its Code of Conduct for registered pharmacists. The course treats probity as a condition of registration under every code, and Section 9 sets out the portfolio evidence that answers a probity concern. For the stages from the first letter to the High Court, see the fitness to practise process in Ireland, explained.

Read the primary sources

Buy this course — €100 (€70 with Bulk Buy 10)

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 22 October 2026.

In short

The Professional Ethics Course is a two-hour, self-paced remediation course for healthcare professionals in Ireland — registered with the Medical Council, NMBI, the Dental Council, the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland or CORU — whose honesty, integrity or accountability has been questioned in a complaint, an employer investigation or a fitness to practise inquiry. It defines professional ethics and separates it from medical ethics; sets out what each of the five regulators expects; covers ethics in communication, documentation and teamwork; probity, honesty and integrity; boundaries and conflicts of interest; digital professionalism and social media; five weak and strong responses, from falsified documentation to a confidentiality breach; the ethical portfolio of reflection, CPD, audits, supervision and feedback; and ethics as part of professional identity across a career. Eleven sections, the first ten 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.

Professional ethics and medical ethics

The course draws a line between two questions a complaint can ask. Medical ethics asks what the morally right choice was for this patient: autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence and justice applied to a clinical decision. Professional ethics asks whether the conduct met the standards of honesty, probity and accountability your regulator sets — in records, billing, communication, boundaries, teamwork and online.

The two overlap. A consent failure is a failure of autonomy and a breach of your regulator’s code; a falsified record breaches probity whether or not harm followed. Section 7 works through the distinction and the overlap, so that a response can answer the question the complaint is asking.

In a written response, name the duty in your own code that the conduct did not meet, before the committee names it for you.

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. Under the Dentists Act 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 under all five Acts — of a complaint under four of them, and of 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.

Probity, integrity and the other terms the course uses

Professional ethics: The standards of conduct, integrity and accountability that guide behaviour in clinical care, documentation, communication, teamwork and public interactions.
Probity: Acting with integrity, transparency and fairness in every part of practice: records, billing, communication, research and conduct online.
Dishonesty and clinical error: The course separates an error, which may be unintentional and remediable through reflection and CPD, from dishonesty, a conscious decision to deceive, conceal or mislead.
Misrepresentation: Overstating qualifications or experience, or making claims about treatments that cannot be supported, on a CV, a profile or in advertising.
Conflict of interest: A personal, financial or organisational interest that risks influencing professional judgement, and that must be declared to patients, employers or regulators.
Dual relationship: A second relationship with a patient or a colleague alongside the professional one, such as a friendship or a business arrangement. Keeping the boundary is the professional’s responsibility.
Targeted CPD: CPD chosen for the specific lapse and linked to the regulator’s concern. The course treats unrelated courses as weak evidence.
Ethical portfolio: A structured set of documents showing that a lapse has been reflected on, corrected and built into daily work: reflection, CPD, audits, supervision and feedback.

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 2 has a lesson on the Medical Council’s Guide, and Section 8 a strong response to a concealed prescribing error.

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: Section 2 has a lesson on the NMBI Code, and Section 8 a strong response to falsified documentation.

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 has a lesson on the Dental Council’s Code of Practice, and Section 8 a strong response to inaccurate PRSI claims.

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: The PSI describes professional misconduct as behaviour that goes against its Code of Conduct; Section 2 has a lesson on the Code, and Section 8 a strong response to a confidentiality breach.

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: CORU describes professional misconduct as any act, omission or pattern of conduct that breaches the Code; Section 8 includes a strong response to an overstated CV.

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 other four Acts, and a ground for an application for an inquiry under the Dentists Act.
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. Under the Dentists Act 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

What is professional ethics?

The standards of conduct, integrity and accountability that guide behaviour in clinical care, documentation, communication, teamwork and public interactions: honesty, probity, boundaries, respect, confidentiality, fairness and conduct online. The course defines it in Section 1 and separates it from medical ethics in Section 7.

The complaint says I was dishonest. Where do I begin?

Take advice first. The response then has to admit what happened plainly, name the duty of honesty in your code, and show targeted remediation that can be checked. Section 4 covers probity and the difference between dishonesty and error, and Section 8 compares weak and strong responses to five probity concerns.

How is this course different from the Medical Ethics Course?

This course is about the standards of conduct, probity and accountability your regulator sets, in records, billing, communication, boundaries, teamwork and online. The Medical Ethics Course applies the moral principles — autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence and justice — to decisions about care. A complaint about honesty or conduct fits this course; one about a clinical decision fits the other; some need both.

Does the course cover my own regulator’s code?

Section 2 has a lesson on each of the five Irish regulators: the Medical Council’s Guide to Professional Conduct and Ethics, the NMBI Code of Professional Conduct and Ethics, the PSI Code of Conduct, the Dental Council’s Code of Practice and the CORU codes. Read your own code alongside it: the edition your regulator applies is the one that counts.

What should an ethical portfolio contain?

Reflective writing linked to your code, CPD targeted to the lapse, audits that show measurable change, supervisor or mentor reports, and anonymised feedback from patients or colleagues. Section 9 covers each, and why unrelated CPD is weak evidence. This course gives you a dated certificate of 2 CPD hours for it.

Does the course cover stress and resilience?

Section 10 covers resilience: how stress, fatigue and financial pressure can erode ethical standards, and the safeguards — a balance between work and life, peer support or supervision, and Employee Assistance Programmes. If your health is affecting your practice, tell your adviser.

Should I take advice before I respond?

Yes — before anything is written to the regulator, a committee or your employer. Whatever your profession, ask your indemnifier, your union or professional body, or a solicitor. Nothing on this page is legal advice.

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.

A complaint about integrity can raise more than one issue. These are the courses that pair with this one.

Medical Ethics Course

The four principles, consent and capacity, confidentiality and justified disclosure, candour, boundaries, probity, digital practice, fairness, and writing for regulators.