In short
If your NMC referral is about consent, confidentiality, openness after an error, records or a boundary with a patient or a colleague, the CPD course that fits is Ethics and Ethical Standards for Nurses and Midwives, because it is written to the NMC Code and its four themes. Our Probity & Ethics NMC ethics course for nurses and midwives is £79 (£50 with Bulk Buy 10) for 2 CPD hours, with a dated certificate on completion. With a written reflection, it is evidence of the steps you have taken while the NMC looks at the concern, and the same hours count as CPD for revalidation. Where the referral is only about honesty, or only about a boundary, a narrower CPD course fits better.
Just been referred to the NMC?
A concern about consent, confidentiality, candour, records or a boundary has reached the NMC.
Planning revalidation CPD?
You need CPD hours on the Code with a certificate, and a subject for one of your five written reflective accounts.
When does an ethics course fit an NMC referral?
The NMC lists misconduct, lack of competence, convictions and cautions, and health among the grounds for an allegation. An ethics course fits where the concern is about a choice made against the Code rather than a gap in clinical skill, for example:
- care given without properly informed consent, or consent not written down (Code 4.2);
- a breach of privacy or confidentiality, in person, in the notes or online (Code section 5 and 20.10);
- not being open with a patient after something went wrong (Code section 14);
- records that were late, unclear or not attributed to you (Code section 10);
- a boundary with a patient or a colleague, including a dual relationship or contact outside work (Code 20.6).
If it touches two or more, or you are not yet sure how the NMC will frame it, the ethics course covers them in one place.
What the NMC Code says: four themes, 25 sections
The Code is built around four themes: Prioritise people, Practise effectively, Preserve safety and Promote professionalism and trust. Under them sit 25 numbered sections, from section 1, “Treat people as individuals and uphold their dignity”, to section 25 on leadership. The Code, in effect since 31 March 2015 and updated in October 2018 for nursing associates, says its values and principles “are not negotiable or discretionary”.
A referral is measured against those numbered sections. Section 14 asks you to explain “fully and promptly” when something goes wrong, and to apologise. Section 20.2 asks you to “act with honesty and integrity at all times”, and 20.6 to keep “clear professional boundaries” with people in your care. Your reflection should name the section the concern engages, in the NMC’s own numbering, so the reader can see you have read the standard you are said to have missed.
Where the course counts in the NMC process
The NMC describes its process in stages: screening, investigation, a decision by case examiners, then meetings and hearings. Its purpose, it says, is to find out whether a professional presents a risk to the public, not to punish.
Its guidance on insight and strengthened practice (FTP-16) says that, because the events happened some time before the decision, evidence of insight and of the steps you have taken since is central to whether your fitness to practise is currently impaired. Decision makers ask three questions: can the concern be addressed, has it been addressed, and is it highly unlikely to be repeated?
A course finished during screening or investigation can go in front of the case examiners; if the case goes on, the same evidence goes before a panel. Our guide to preparing for a fitness to practise hearing covers that stage.
What the NMC ethics course covers
Seven sections and 19 lessons, each section closing with a short quiz and the whole course with a post-course assessment:
- autonomy, beneficence and non-maleficence, justice and confidentiality;
- honesty, the duty of candour, and records;
- informed consent and communication with the people in your care;
- boundaries with patients and colleagues, including social media;
- breaches of ethical standards, what the NMC can do, and the steps to remediate.
When a different NMC course fits better
A referral about one subject is better answered by the course on that subject:
- a false record, a timesheet or an undeclared matter: Probity for Healthcare Professionals;
- a boundary with a patient or a colleague: Professional Boundaries for Clinicians;
Our NMC courses guide matches every kind of NMC concern to a course.
Counting the ethics course towards NMC revalidation
Revalidation asks for 35 hours of CPD in the three years since you last renewed or joined the register, at least 20 of them participatory, meaning activity that involves interaction with other professionals. The NMC says it does not prescribe any particular type of CPD. A self-paced course counts towards the 35 hours, and it can also be the subject of one of your five written reflective accounts.
Please note
This guide is general information, not legal advice. No course decides the outcome of a case. Speak to your defence organisation, indemnity provider or union before you send anything to the NMC.
Our NMC ethics course, for a referral and for CPD
For nurses and midwives facing an NMC referral
Ethics and Ethical Standards for Nurses and Midwives
Written to the NMC Code: consent, confidentiality, candour, records and boundaries with a patient or a colleague, with the steps to remediate a breach. Probity & Ethics is CPD certified and accredited by The CPD Certification Service (provider no. 13197).
- £79 (£50 with Bulk Buy 10)
- 2 CPD hours
- Certificate on completion
Courses that sit beside it
Bulk Buy covers the £79 courses: 3 for £200, 5 for £300, 10 for £500. Not sure what to take? Book a free 15-minute call or see which course do I need.
This guide is part of our Professional Misconduct hub, which brings together every Probity & Ethics guide and course on the subject.
The CPD courses linked from this guide, Ethics and Ethical Standards for Nurses & Midwives, Probity for Healthcare Professionals, Professional Boundaries for Clinicians and Module on Insight, are by Probity & Ethics, written by Dr Shehzad Iqbal, CPD certified and accredited by The CPD Certification Service (provider no. 13197) and offered since 2020.
Questions and answers
Which ethics course should a nurse take after an NMC referral?
Ethics and Ethical Standards for Nurses and Midwives, where the concern is about consent, confidentiality, candour, records or a boundary with a patient or a colleague. Where the referral is only about honesty, Probity for Healthcare Professionals fits better.
Is the course written for midwives as well as nurses?
Yes. The NMC Code applies to nurses, midwives and nursing associates alike,, and the course is written to the Code, so it serves a midwife facing an NMC referral in the same way.
At what stage of the NMC process should I take the course?
As early as you can. Evidence of insight and of steps taken since the events is central to whether fitness to practise is currently impaired, so have the certificate and reflection ready before the case examiners decide.
Which part of the NMC Code should my reflection name?
The numbered section the concern engages, for example 4.2 on consent, 10 on records, 14 on candour or 20.6 on boundaries, and what you now do differently.
Does the ethics course count as CPD for NMC revalidation?
Yes, towards the 35 hours of CPD that revalidation asks for in three years. The 20 participatory hours need interaction with other professionals. Record the method, topic, dates, hours and part of the Code, and keep the certificate.
Sources
This guide is based on the following NMC pages, read on 5 November 2026.
