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Probity for Healthcare Professionals

Honesty, Integrity, and Trust in Professional Practice

  • About 2 hours estimated learning time
  • 5 sections, 16 lessons
  • Checkpoints and a 15-question final assessment
  • Online, self-paced, any device

About this course

This course offers practical guidance on probity: the honesty, integrity and ethical conduct expected of healthcare professionals across clinical, academic and financial practice. It is written for doctors, nurses, dentists, pharmacists and other health professionals, and is especially useful for anyone facing a complaint, investigation or fitness to practise process with a regulator such as the GMC, GDC, NMC, GPhC, HCPC, GOC, GOsC or GCC.

Probity cases are among the most serious that regulators consider, because dishonesty goes to the heart of whether a professional can be trusted. Many probity concerns arise not in the consulting room but in timesheets, expense claims, CVs, CPD records, research, declarations to employers and responses to investigations. This course explains how probity applies in each of these areas, how regulators and courts decide whether conduct was dishonest, and how professionals can reflect, remediate and restore trust.

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

  • Understand what probity means and why it is essential to healthcare practice.
  • See how probity applies across clinical care, documentation, communication, academic work and financial conduct.
  • Identify common breaches of probity and grasp their ethical and professional consequences.
  • Reflect meaningfully on past actions, particularly when involved in a complaint or investigation.
  • Use insight and learning to show genuine personal growth and ethical awareness.
  • Build a remediation plan that supports the restoration of trust and meets regulatory expectations.
  • Commit to honest, transparent behaviour across every part of professional life.

Who it is for

Doctors, nurses, midwives, dentists, pharmacists, allied health professionals and other UK registrants, especially those facing a complaint, investigation or fitness to practise process involving honesty

Standards and law covered

GMC, NMC, GDC, GPhC, HCPC, GOC, GOsC and GCC standards on honesty and integrity; the legal test for dishonesty; fraud and bribery law; duty of candour; conflicts of interest; research integrity

Course content

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

1Overview of Probity3 lessons
  • 1.1 What Probity Means
  • 1.2 The Legal, Ethical, and Professional Dimensions
  • 1.3 Probity Across Different Healthcare Settings
  • Section checkpoint
2Why Probity Matters in Healthcare1 lesson
  • 2.1 Four Reasons Probity Is Essential
  • Section checkpoint
3Core Aspects of Professional Probity5 lessons
  • 3.1 Honest Records and Honest Communication
  • 3.2 Financial Integrity
  • 3.3 Honesty in Academic Work and Research
  • 3.4 Transparency and Openness in Care
  • 3.5 Managing Declarations and Disclosures
  • Section checkpoint
4Regulatory Expectations and Standards2 lessons
  • 4.1 Guidance from the Regulators
  • 4.2 How Probity Breaches Are Judged
  • Section checkpoint
5Insight, Reflection and Remediation4 lessons
  • 5.1 Building Genuine Insight
  • 5.2 Reflective Writing That Works
  • 5.3 Remediation Strategies
  • 5.4 Restoring Trustworthiness
  • Section checkpoint
6Conclusion and Key Takeaways1 lesson
  • 6.1 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.