Ethics for Healthcare Professionals
Course Description
Ethics for Healthcare Professionals (USA) is a course designed to help clinicians strengthen ethical reasoning, meet regulatory expectations, and navigate professional challenges in practice. It provides a clear understanding of core ethical principles — autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, justice, confidentiality, and veracity — and shows how they apply in U.S. healthcare systems.
The course explains how state licensing boards and national associations (AMA, ANA, ADA, APhA, FSMB) expect professionals to apply ethical standards in clinical practice, disciplinary inquiries, and licensure processes. Through structured guidance, case studies, and regulator-aligned strategies, participants will learn how to identify ethical dilemmas, apply codes of conduct, and demonstrate accountability and integrity when facing complaints or investigations.
Course Content
Course Objectives
Course Objectives
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Section 1: Introduction — Why Ethics Matters in U.S. Healthcare
1.1 Ethics as the Core of Professional Practice
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1.2 Why Ethics Matters for Patient Safety
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1.3 Why Ethics Matters for Public Trust
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1.4 Ethics and Licensure
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1.5 Ethics as a Daily Practice, Not Just Theory
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1.6 Reflective Quiz
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Section 2: Core Ethical Principles in Healthcare Practice
2.1 Autonomy — Respecting Patient Choice
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2.2 Beneficence — Acting in the Patient’s Best Interest
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2.3 Non-Maleficence — Do No Harm
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2.4 Justice — Fairness in Healthcare
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2.5 Confidentiality — Protecting Patient Information
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2.6 Veracity — Truthfulness and Honesty
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2.7 Interconnection of Principles
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2.8 Reflective Quiz
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Section 3: Professional Codes and Ethical Standards (AMA, ANA, ADA, APhA)
3.1 The American Medical Association (AMA) Code of Medical Ethics
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3.2 The American Nurses Association (ANA) Code of Ethics
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3.3 The American Dental Association (ADA) Principles of Ethics and Code of Professional Conduct
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3.4 The American Pharmacists Association (APhA) Code of Ethics
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3.5 Common Threads Across Codes
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3.6 Reflective Quiz
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Section 4: Common Ethical Breaches Leading to Disciplinary Action
4.1 Dishonesty and Lack of Probity
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4.2 Breaches of Confidentiality
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4.3 Boundary Violations
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4.4 Conflicts of Interest
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4.5 Informed Consent Failures
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4.6 Misuse of Digital Platforms and Social Media
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4.7 Health-Related Impairment and Substance Misuse
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4.8 Disrespect, Harassment, and Unprofessional Conduct
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4.9 Reflective Quiz
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Section 5: Ethical Decision-Making Models for Clinical and Professional Dilemmas
5.1 The Four Principles Approach (Beauchamp & Childress)
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5.2 The Four Quadrants Model (Jonsen, Siegler, Winslade)
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5.3 The “MORAL” Decision-Making Model (Common in Nursing)
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5.4 The PLUS Ethical Decision-Making Model (Organisational Ethics)
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5.5 Using Ethical Models in Regulatory Contexts
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5.6 Reflective Quiz
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6.1 Why Reflection Matters in Ethical Practice
6.1 Why Reflection Matters in Ethical Practice
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6.2 What Strong Reflection Looks Like
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6.3 The Role of Insight
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6.4 Accountability as a Core Ethical Duty
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6.5 Reflection + Accountability in Regulatory Outcomes
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6.6 Embedding Reflection and Accountability into Daily Practice
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6.7 Why Regulators Prioritise Reflection and Accountability
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6.8 Reflective Quiz
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Section 7: Case Studies — Ethical Dilemmas in U.S. Healthcare
7.1 Case Study: Informed Consent (Physician)
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7.2 Case Study: Confidentiality Breach (Nurse)
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7.3 Case Study: Boundary Violation (Dentist)
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7.4 Case Study: Dispensing Error (Pharmacist)
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7.5 Case Study: Patient Dignity (Midwife)
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7.6 Lessons Across Case Studies
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