How to Prepare for a Fitness to Practise Hearing: Guidance for Healthcare Professionals

Understanding Fitness to Practise Hearings

A fitness to practise hearing is one of the most challenging moments in any healthcare professional’s career. Whether you are a doctor before the General Medical Council (GMC), a dentist facing the General Dental Council (GDC), a nurse or midwife appearing before the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), a pharmacist under the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC), or an allied health professional regulated by the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC), the process can feel overwhelming.

Each regulator’s purpose is the same — to protect patients and maintain trust in healthcare. The hearing will assess your conduct, competence, and professionalism, and whether you can demonstrate safe and ethical practice going forward.

The Role of Insight and Reflection

At a hearing, the panel will look closely at your insight — how well you understand what went wrong — and your reflection, which shows what you have learned and how you have changed.

You can demonstrate this by:

• Acknowledging mistakes openly and without defensiveness.
• Explaining what you learned from the incident.
• Showing empathy for any patients or colleagues affected.
• Describing specific actions you’ve taken to prevent recurrence.

The more you can evidence meaningful insight and learning, the stronger your position before the panel.

Showing Evidence of Remediation

Remediation is about actions, not words. Regulators such as the GMC, GDC, NMC, GPhC, and HCPC expect professionals to provide verifiable evidence of improvement.

Examples of remediation include:

• Completing CPD-accredited courses related to the issues raised — such as ethics, professionalism, probity, or communication.
• Keeping a reflective learning portfolio documenting your development.
• Engaging in supervision, mentoring, or peer support.
• Providing feedback or testimonials from mentors or supervisors.

Panels often give significant weight to documented remediation efforts that show honesty, self-awareness, and commitment to change.

How Probity & Ethics Can Support You

At Probity & Ethics, we specialise in helping healthcare professionals facing fitness to practise hearings demonstrate insight, reflection, and remediation through structured CPD.

Our CPD-certified online courses are recognised across all UK healthcare professions and align with regulator expectations.

Recommended courses include:

• Fitness to Practise for Healthcare Professionals – understand how panels assess remediation, insight, and professional integrity.
• Professionalism for Healthcare Professionals – strengthen professional judgment, accountability, and trust.
• Ethics for Healthcare Professionals – develop moral reasoning, ethical awareness, and reflection.
• Probity and Honesty for Healthcare Professionals – demonstrate transparency and ethical conduct through clear documentation.

All courses are online, self-paced, and confidential — ideal for preparing remediation portfolios and hearing submissions.

Practical Tips Before Your Hearing

• Start early. Don’t wait for the hearing date — begin gathering evidence of reflection and remediation now.
• Be organised. Keep all CPD certificates, reflection statements, and mentoring reports in one folder.
• Be genuine. Avoid generic reflections — panels value honesty and authenticity over polished statements.
• Seek support. Engage with your defence organisation or professional adviser for guidance.
• Stay professional. Your tone and demeanour during the process reflect your commitment to learning and change.

Key Takeaways

• Fitness to practise hearings assess not only what happened but what you have learned and done since.
• Evidence of insight, reflection, and remediation is central to a positive outcome.
• Completing CPD in ethics, professionalism, and probity can strengthen your case.
• Honest engagement and proactive learning demonstrate genuine commitment to patient safety and ethical standards.

Take the Next Step

If you are preparing for a fitness to practise hearing with the GMC, GDC, NMC, GPhC, or HCPC, now is the time to take action.

Explore our Online Courses to begin your journey of reflection and remediation. Each course provides verifiable CPD evidence that demonstrates insight, professionalism, and a commitment to safe future practice.

At Probity & Ethics, we are here to help you move forward — with integrity, confidence, and renewed trust.