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Professional Ethics

Course Description

Professional Ethics for Healthcare Professionals (New Zealand) is a CPD course designed to help practitioners understand, apply, and evidence ethical and professional standards in daily practice.

In New Zealand, regulators such as the MCNZ, NCNZ, Pharmacy Council, Dental Council, and HPCA authorities highlight that professionalism is inseparable from ethics. Professional ethics is not only about following rules but about applying honesty, accountability, fairness, and respect consistently across patient care and workplace relationships.

This course explores the principles of professional ethics, regulator expectations under the HPCA Act (2003), and practical strategies for embedding ethical decision-making into professional identity. It equips practitioners to avoid ethical lapses, remediate concerns, and demonstrate trustworthiness in fitness-to-practise (FtP) processes.

Course Content

Course Objectives
Course Objectives
Section 1: Introduction — Why Professional Ethics Matters in New Zealand Healthcare
1.1 Why Professional Ethics Matters for Patients
1.2 Why Professional Ethics Matters for Regulators
1.3 Why Professional Ethics Matters for the Profession
1.4 Ethics Beyond Compliance
1.5 Reflective Quiz
Section 2: Defining Professional Ethics — Principles, Values, and Professional Identity
2.1 Principles of Professional Ethics
2.2 Values that Guide Ethical Behaviour
2.3 Professional Identity and Ethics
2.4 Why Defining Professional Ethics Matters
2.5 Reflective Quiz
Section 3: Regulator Perspectives — MCNZ, NCNZ, Pharmacy Council, Dental Council, HPCA Authorities
3.1 Medical Council of New Zealand (MCNZ)
3.2 Nursing Council of New Zealand (NCNZ)
3.3 Pharmacy Council of New Zealand
3.4 Dental Council of New Zealand
3.5 HPCA Authorities (Allied Health Professions)
3.6 Shared Regulator Themes
3.7 Reflective Quiz
Section 4: Core Principles of Professional Ethics — Honesty, Fairness, Accountability, Respect
4.1 Honesty
4.2 Fairness
4.3 Accountability
4.4 Respect
4.5 How These Principles Work Together
4.6 Reflective Quiz
Section 5: Common Ethical Challenges in Practice — Consent, Confidentiality, Boundaries, Probity
5.1 Consent
5.2 Confidentiality
5.3 Boundaries
5.4 Probity
5.5 Why These Challenges Matter
5.6 Reflective Quiz
Section 6: Weak vs Strong Responses to Ethical Concerns
6.1 Characteristics of Weak Responses
6.2 Characteristics of Strong Responses
6.3 Case Comparison — Medicine (Consent)
6.4 Case Comparison — Nursing (Boundaries)
6.5 Case Comparison — Dentistry (Financial Probity)
6.6 Why Strong Responses Persuade Regulators
6.7 Reflective Quiz
Section 7: Case Studies — Professional Ethics in Action Across New Zealand
7.1 Medicine — Consent and Autonomy
7.2 Nursing — Confidentiality
7.3 Pharmacy — Probity
7.4 Dentistry — Financial Integrity
7.5 Allied Health — Boundaries
7.6 Shared Lessons from Case Studies
7.7 Reflective Quiz
Section 8: Using Reflection and Insight to Strengthen Professional Ethics
8.1 Reflection in Professional Ethics
8.2 Insight in Professional Ethics
8.3 Reflection + Insight = Ethical Assurance
8.4 Structured Models to Support Reflection
8.5 Why Regulators Value Reflection and Insight
8.6 Practical Tips for Strengthening Professional Ethics
8.7 Reflective Quiz
Section 9: Embedding Ethics into Daily Practice and Professional Identity
9.1 Ethics as Part of Professional Identity
9.2 Daily Habits that Reinforce Ethics
9.3 Mentorship and Role Modelling
9.4 Building Resilience to Sustain Ethics
9.5 Ethics Across a Career
9.6 Reflective Quiz
Section 10: Conclusion and Key Takeaways
Conclusion and Key Takeaways
Post-Course Assessment
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