Duty of Candour for Healthcare Professionals

Duty of Candour for Healthcare Professionals course focuses on the ethical and professional responsibility to be open, honest, and transparent when things go wrong in healthcare practice. In the United States, concerns about candour commonly arise following adverse events, near misses, patient harm, communication failures, or breakdowns in trust. Complaints, malpractice claims, and regulatory investigations frequently escalate not because of the original clinical issue, but because of how healthcare professionals communicate afterwards.

This course is designed for all healthcare professionals practising in the USA, including physicians, nurses, nurse practitioners, physician associates, pharmacists, dentists, therapists, allied health professionals, and those working in leadership or multidisciplinary teams. It is particularly relevant for professionals involved in adverse events, complaints, incident reviews, disclosure conversations, or those required to demonstrate insight and remediation as part of employer or regulatory processes.

The course takes a practical, regulator-aware approach to duty of candour, focusing on openness, honesty, apology, disclosure, documentation, emotional awareness, and professional accountability. It explores how duty of candour is assessed in US healthcare practice, how defensive or avoidant responses increase risk, and how timely, compassionate, and transparent communication supports patient trust and professional integrity. The course supports CPD, remediation, and ongoing professional development, helping clinicians respond appropriately when care does not go as planned.