(0)

Ethics and Ethical Standards for Pharmacists

Principles, GPhC Standards and Professional Conduct in Pharmacy

  • About 2 hours estimated learning time
  • 6 sections, 18 lessons
  • Checkpoints and a 15-question final assessment
  • Online, self-paced, any device

About this course

Pharmacy professionals make ethical decisions many times a day, often at speed and in public: whether to supply an emergency medicine without a prescription, how to respond to a request for a medicine that may be misused, what to do about a prescribing error, how to handle a request that conflicts with personal beliefs, and how to balance commercial targets with what is right for the patient. The General Pharmaceutical Council's Standards for pharmacy professionals, supported by its guidance, set the framework for these decisions.

This course applies the core ethical principles to community, hospital, primary care and online pharmacy. It explains the GPhC's role and the legal framework for pharmacy, covers consent, confidentiality, personal beliefs, honesty and candour, records, commercial pressures, prescribing, boundaries, and how the GPhC responds when standards are breached.

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 why ethics is central to pharmacy practice.
  • Describe the GPhC's role, the nine standards and the legal framework for pharmacy.
  • Apply autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, justice and confidentiality in pharmacy.
  • Manage personal beliefs without compromising access to care.
  • Act with honesty, apply the duty of candour and keep accurate records.
  • Resist inappropriate commercial pressure and prescribe ethically.
  • Maintain boundaries and respond to breaches with insight and remediation.

Who it is for

Pharmacists and pharmacy technicians in community, hospital, primary care, online and industry settings, including those responding to a concern

Standards and law covered

GPhC Standards for pharmacy professionals and In practice guidance; Responsible Pharmacist Regulations; dispensing error defences; consent and capacity law; controlled drugs legislation

Course content

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

1Overview of Healthcare Ethics3 lessons
  • 1.1 What Healthcare Ethics Means
  • 1.2 Why Ethics Matters in the Pharmacy Profession
  • 1.3 Overview of the GPhC's Role
  • Section checkpoint
2The Core Ethical Principles in Healthcare Practice4 lessons
  • 2.1 The Legal Framework for Pharmacy Practice
  • 2.2 Doing Good and Avoiding Harm
  • 2.3 Justice
  • 2.4 Protecting Confidential Information
  • Section checkpoint
3Professional Integrity and Honesty3 lessons
  • 3.1 Personal Values, Beliefs and Access to Care
  • 3.2 Duty of Candour
  • 3.3 Keeping Clear Records
  • Section checkpoint
4Patient-Centred Care and Shared Decision-Making2 lessons
  • 4.1 Informed Consent
  • 4.2 Communicating with Patients
  • Section checkpoint
5Professional Boundaries and Conduct2 lessons
  • 5.1 Maintaining Appropriate Boundaries
  • 5.2 What the GPhC Says About Boundaries
  • Section checkpoint
6Breaches of Expected Ethical Standards4 lessons
  • 6.1 Common Breaches
  • 6.2 Outcomes of Ethical Breaches
  • 6.3 GPhC's Actions in Response to Breaches
  • 6.4 Steps to Remediate a Breach
  • Section checkpoint
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.