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Professionalism for Healthcare Professionals

Conduct, Boundaries, Accountability, and Fitness to Practise

  • About 2 hours estimated learning time
  • 4 sections, 19 lessons
  • Checkpoints and a 15-question final assessment
  • Online, self-paced, any device

About this course

This course supports healthcare practitioners in taking an honest look at their professional conduct. It is especially useful for practitioners registered with the GMC, NMC, GDC, HCPC, GPhC and other UK regulators, including anyone currently responding to an inquiry or investigation.

It works through the building blocks of professionalism, the everyday pressures that test it, and what happens when conduct falls short. The emphasis is on behaviour in real workplaces: how professionals treat colleagues as well as patients, how they cope with fatigue and moral distress, how they behave online, and how they speak up. It gives you a structured way to show insight, reflection and a genuine commitment to putting things right.

CPD Value and How to Record It

This course is designed to provide approximately 2 hours of learning, including reading, the reflection points, the reflective account and the assessment. In the UK, CPD is generally recorded as the time actually spent learning, so you should record the time you genuinely spend, which may be more or less than the estimate.

How the course fits your revalidation or CPD requirements depends on your regulator. For example, the NMC asks nurses, midwives and nursing associates to record 35 hours of CPD over three years, of which at least 20 must be participatory; self-directed online learning such as this course usually counts as individual learning unless you complete it with others. The GMC expects doctors to reflect on CPD for appraisal and revalidation rather than setting a fixed number of hours. The HCPC, GDC, GPhC, GOC, GOsC and GCC each set their own CPD requirements, so check the current rules that apply to you. Always keep your certificate together with your written reflection.

What you will learn

  • Explain what professionalism means and why it is central to every clinical setting and regulatory framework.
  • Put the building blocks of professional practice to work, from integrity and accountability to person-centred care, confidentiality, respectful communication and clear boundaries.
  • Spot the pressures that commonly test professional conduct, including tiredness and burnout.
  • Look back honestly and thoughtfully on your own past conduct.
  • Show insight, take responsibility and commit to improving.
  • Grasp what can follow a professional breach, and why putting things right is key to holding on to trust.
  • Bring ethical, professional behaviour into your everyday work.

Who it is for

Doctors, nurses, midwives, dentists, pharmacists, allied health professionals, optometrists, osteopaths, chiropractors and other UK registrants, including those responding to an inquiry or investigation

Standards and law covered

GMC, NMC, GDC, GPhC, HCPC, GOC, GOsC and GCC standards; speaking up and whistleblowing law; workplace behaviour and sexual safety; digital conduct

Course content

Lessons open one after another as you work through the course. They unlock once you enrol.

1Introduction to Professionalism in Healthcare3 lessons
  • 1.1 Defining Professionalism in Practice
  • 1.2 Why Professionalism Matters
  • 1.3 What the UK Regulators Expect
  • Section checkpoint
2The Core Attributes of Professional Practice8 lessons
  • 2.1 Putting Patients at the Centre of Care
  • 2.2 Integrity and honesty
  • 2.3 Taking Responsibility and Being Accountable
  • 2.4 Confidentiality and Privacy
  • 2.5 Effective communication
  • 2.6 Treating People with Dignity and Respect
  • 2.7 Teamwork and collaboration
  • 2.9 Professional Boundaries
  • Section checkpoint
3Challenges to Professionalism4 lessons
  • 3.1 Fatigue, Burnout and Moral Distress
  • 3.2 Unprofessional Behaviour and Its Effects
  • 3.3 Social media and digital professionalism
  • 3.4 Raising Concerns and Speaking Up
  • Section checkpoint
4Breaches, Consequences, and Remediation3 lessons
  • 4.1 What Counts as a Breach
  • 4.2 Outcomes of a Professional Breach
  • 4.3 Remediation: Learning, Accountability, and Rebuilding Trust
  • Section checkpoint
5Conclusion and Key Takeaways1 lesson
  • Section 5 – Conclusion and Key Takeaways
Reflection and final assessment3 steps
  • Your reflective account
  • Final assessment: 15 questions, 80% to pass
  • Certificate of completion
2 hours

Estimated learning time

This covers the lessons, section checkpoints, your reflective account and the final assessment. Everyone works at a different pace, so record the time you actually spend in your CPD log. The player shows the time you have spent in the course to help you.

Your certificate of completion

When you pass the final assessment you can download a certificate showing your name, the course title, the estimated learning time, your completion date and a certificate number that anyone can check on this website. Keep it with your reflective account in your CPD records.

Questions about this course

How long does the course take?

The estimated learning time is about 2 hours, including the lessons, section checkpoints, your reflective account and the final assessment. People work at different speeds, so record the time you actually spend in your own CPD log.

How do I access the course after buying it?

Log in to your FTP Courses account and open the course from My Courses. The course runs in your web browser on a computer, tablet or phone, and your progress is saved to your account so you can stop and continue later.

How is the course assessed?

Each section ends with a short checkpoint. At the end there is a final assessment of 15 questions; you need 80% (12 correct) to pass. If you do not pass, you can review the course and try again after a short wait.

What do I receive when I finish?

You can download a certificate of completion showing your name, the course title, the estimated learning time, your completion date and a certificate number that can be checked online. You can also download your reflective account for your CPD portfolio.

Is this course linked to my regulator?

No. FTP Courses is an independent education provider and is not affiliated with or endorsed by any UK regulator. The course is CPD-aligned: it is written to help you learn and reflect against your regulator's published standards, and on completion you receive a certificate of completion stating the estimated learning time. Record the time you actually spend in your own CPD log, and decide how the course fits your CPD or any remediation plan, ideally with advice from your defence organisation, union or legal adviser.

Will completing the course guarantee a particular outcome in a complaint or investigation?

No course can guarantee an outcome. Decision-makers look at genuine insight, reflection and sustained change in your practice. The course is designed to support that learning; it does not replace it.