Ethics for Healthcare Professionals
Course Description
Ethics for Healthcare Professionals (New Zealand) is a CPD course designed to help practitioners understand, apply, and evidence ethical standards in their professional practice.
New Zealand regulators — including the Medical Council (MCNZ), Nursing Council (NCNZ), Pharmacy Council, Dental Council, and HPCA authorities — consistently emphasise that ethical practice underpins public trust and safe patient care. Ethical breaches such as dishonesty, poor consent, or boundary violations can quickly escalate into complaints or fitness-to-practise proceedings.
This course explains the ethical principles that guide New Zealand healthcare, outlines regulator expectations, and provides practical strategies for applying ethics in daily practice, with tools for reflection, remediation, and professional growth.
Course Content
Course Objectives
Course Objectives
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Section 1: Introduction — Why Ethics Matters in New Zealand Healthcare
1.1 Why Ethics Matters for Patients
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1.2 Why Ethics Matters for Regulators
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1.3 Why Ethics Matters for the Profession
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1.4 Ethics Beyond Compliance
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1.5 Reflective Quiz for Section 1
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Section 2: Core Ethical Principles — Autonomy, Beneficence, Non-maleficence, Justice, and Probity
2.1 Autonomy
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2.2 Beneficence
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2.3 Non-maleficence
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2.4 Justice
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2.5 Probity
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2.6 How Principles Interconnect
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2.7 Reflective Quiz
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Section 3: Regulator Perspectives — MCNZ, NCNZ, Pharmacy Council, Dental Council, HPCA Authorities
3.1 Medical Council of New Zealand (MCNZ)
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3.2 Nursing Council of New Zealand (NCNZ)
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3.3 Pharmacy Council of New Zealand
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3.4 Dental Council of New Zealand
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3.5 HPCA Authorities (Allied Health Professions)
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3.6 Shared Regulator Themes
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3.7 Reflective Quiz
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Section 4: Consent, Confidentiality, and Patient Rights under the HPCA Act
4.1 Consent
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4.2 Confidentiality
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4.3 Patient Rights under the HPCA Act
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4.4 Intersection of Consent, Confidentiality, and Patient Rights
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4.5 Practical Strategies for Compliance
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4.6 Reflective Quiz
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Section 5: Ethical Boundaries — Sexual, Financial, Emotional, and Digital
5.1 Sexual Boundaries
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5.2 Financial Boundaries
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5.3 Emotional Boundaries
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5.4 Digital Boundaries
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5.5 Why Boundary Breaches Are Serious
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5.6 Strategies to Maintain Boundaries
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5.7 Reflective Quiz
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Section 6: Ethics in Professional Communication and Documentation
6.1 Ethical Principles in Communication
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6.2 Ethical Documentation
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6.3 Why Communication and Documentation Failures Matter
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6.4 Common Pitfalls in New Zealand Cases
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6.5 Strategies for Ethical Communication and Documentation
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6.6 The Link Between Ethics, Reflection, and Documentation
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6.7 Reflective Quiz
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Section 7: Case Studies — Ethical Lapses and Lessons Learned in New Zealand
7.1 Medicine — Consent and Patient Autonomy
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7.2 Nursing — Confidentiality Breach
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7.3 Pharmacy — Probity and Honesty
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7.4 Dentistry — Financial Integrity
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7.5 Allied Health — Boundary Breach
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7.6 Lessons Learned Across Professions
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7.7 Reflective Quiz
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Section 8: Using Ethical Reflection in Portfolios and Hearings
8.1 The Role of Ethical Reflection
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8.2 Structuring Ethical Reflection in Portfolios
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8.3 Presenting Reflection at Hearings
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8.4 Linking Reflection to Other Evidence
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8.5 Weak vs Strong Reflection in Portfolios/Hearings
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8.6 Practical Tips for Ethical Reflection
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8.7 Reflective Quiz
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Section 9: Embedding Ethics into Daily Practice and Professional Identity
9.1 Ethics as Part of Professional Identity
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9.2 Daily Habits that Reinforce Ethics
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9.3 Mentorship and Role Modelling
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9.4 Building Resilience to Uphold Ethics
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9.5 Ethics Across a Career
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9.6 Reflective Quiz
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Section 10: Conclusion and Key Takeaways
Conclusion and Key Takeaways
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Post-Course Assessment
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