Probity and Honesty for Healthcare Professionals
Course Description
Probity and Honesty for Healthcare Professionals (USA) is a course designed to help clinicians understand why integrity, transparency, and truthfulness are central to safe and ethical healthcare practice in the United States.
The course explores how state licensing boards, the FSMB, and national associations (AMA, ANA, ADA, APhA) define and enforce probity. It highlights the types of dishonest behaviour that most often trigger investigations — such as falsification of records, misleading patients, fraudulent billing, or concealment of errors — and explains why regulators treat these breaches as more serious than many technical mistakes.
Through structured guidance, case studies, and regulator-aligned strategies, learners will develop skills to maintain honesty in documentation, communication, billing, and professional relationships, and to demonstrate probity during investigations or remediation.
Course Content
Course Objectives
Course Objectives
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Section 1: Introduction — What Probity and Honesty Mean in U.S. Healthcare
1.1 Defining Probity and Honesty
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1.2 Why Probity Is the Bedrock of Professional Trust
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1.3 Regulatory Expectations in the U.S.
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1.4 Probity in Daily Professional Life
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1.5 Hallmarks of a Professional with Probity
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1.6 Common Misconceptions About Probity
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1.7 Reflective Quiz
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Section 2: Why Probity Matters — Patient Safety, Public Trust, and Licensure
2.1 Probity and Patient Safety
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2.2 Probity and Public Trust
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2.3 Probity as a Licensure Requirement
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2.4 Probity and Teamwork in Healthcare
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2.5 Probity and Professional Reputation
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2.6 Why Boards Sanction Dishonesty Severely
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2.7 Reflective Quiz
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Section 3: Professional Codes and Standards on Honesty (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 Shared Themes Across All Codes
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3.6 Reflective Quiz
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Section 4: Common Lapses in Probity — Documentation, Billing, Communication, Misrepresentation
4.1 Dishonesty in Documentation
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4.2 Fraudulent or Inflated Billing
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4.3 Misrepresentation in Communication
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4.4 Misrepresentation of Qualifications or Training
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4.5 Concealment of Errors or Adverse Events
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4.6 Normalisation of Dishonesty (“Everyone Does It”)
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4.7 Reflective Quiz
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Section 5: Consequences of Dishonesty in U.S. Disciplinary Proceedings
5.1 Dishonesty as “Unprofessional Conduct”
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5.2 Regulatory Sanctions for Dishonesty
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5.3 Impact on Professional Reputation
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5.4 Legal Consequences
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5.5 Why Regulators Sanction Dishonesty More Harshly Than Some Clinical Errors
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5.6 Pathways Back After Dishonesty
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5.7 Reflective Quiz
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Section 6: Reflection, Insight, and Remediation in Restoring Probity
6.1 Reflection — Honest Analysis of the Lapse
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6.2 Insight — Understanding the Seriousness and Impact
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6.3 Remediation — Taking Corrective Action
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6.4 The Interconnection of Reflection, Insight, and Remediation
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6.5 Regulatory Perspective
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6.6 Embedding Probity Beyond the Investigation
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6.7 Reflective Quiz
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Section 7: Case Studies — Dishonesty vs. Transparency Across Professions
7.1 Case Study: Documentation Falsification (Physician)
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7.2 Case Study: Concealment of a Medication Error (Nurse)
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7.3 Case Study: Fraudulent Billing (Dentist)
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7.4 Case Study: Misrepresentation of Qualifications (Pharmacist)
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7.5 Case Study: Boundary and Honesty (Midwife)
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7.6 Lessons Across Professions
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7.7 Reflective Quiz
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Section 8: Building a Professional Identity Based on Integrity and Resilience
8.1 Integrity as the Core of Professional Identity
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