Professional Boundaries Course for Doctors: When and Why

Yes. A professional boundaries course for doctors covers the GMC's standards on boundaries with a patient or a colleague, what makes a breach more likely, dual relationships, intimate examinations and chaperones, social media, and the insight and reflection the GMC and the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service look for. Our Professional Boundaries for Clinicians course is £79, 2 CPD hours, online, with 9 sections and 22 lessons, and is CPD certified by The CPD Certification Service (provider no. 13197).

Facing a GMC concern about boundaries?

A complaint, an employer investigation, a GMC referral or a tribunal hearing about your conduct towards a patient or a colleague. You need to show insight and evidence of change before a decision is made.

Looking for CPD?

You want a boundaries course for your appraisal and revalidation record, with a certificate and a written reflection. This guide covers both.

In short

Good medical practice (in effect from 30 January 2024) says you "must not act in a sexual way towards patients or use your professional position to pursue a sexual or improper emotional relationship with a patient or someone close to them" (paragraph 86), and "must not act in a sexual way towards colleagues" (paragraph 57).
The GMC's guidance Maintaining personal and professional boundaries sets the detail: current patients, former patients, people close to patients, and colleagues.
The MPTS Sanctions guidance says "Expressing insight involves demonstrating reflection and remediation", and that a doctor is likely to have insight if they "take timely steps to remediate".
A course on boundaries, with your own written reflection, is one of those steps. It does not decide the outcome.

When a doctor needs a professional boundaries course

A complaint about your conduct towards a patientA patient, a relative or a colleague has raised a concern about a comment, a message, physical contact, an examination without a chaperone, or a relationship that began in the consulting room.
A concern about a colleagueA complaint about how you behaved towards a nurse, a trainee, a student or another doctor: comments, images, contact, or a relationship where one of you has power over the other's work or training.
A GMC referral or investigationThe GMC has written to you. Its senior decision makers will decide whether to close the case, issue a warning, agree undertakings or refer you to the MPTS, and they read what you have done since the event.
A tribunal hearing or a reviewThe MPTS tribunal looks for insight, remediation and the risk of repetition when it decides on sanction, and again at any review hearing.
Undertakings or conditionsYour undertakings or conditions name boundaries, chaperones or professional behaviour as an area for development.
CPD and appraisalYou want structured learning on boundaries for your personal development plan, with a certificate and a reflection to discuss at appraisal.

Before you choose

Our professional boundaries course page is written for every UK healthcare profession. This guide is for doctors: it maps the course to the GMC's own standards and to the way the GMC and the MPTS decide a boundaries case.

What the GMC expects on boundaries

Good medical practice 2024

The GMC's core guidance, Good medical practice, came into effect on 30 January 2024. Two paragraphs carry the boundaries standard.

"You must not act in a sexual way towards patients or use your professional position to pursue a sexual or improper emotional relationship with a patient or someone close to them."

Good medical practice, paragraph 86

Paragraph 57, in the domain on colleagues, culture and safety, says: "You must not act in a sexual way towards colleagues with the effect or purpose of causing offence, embarrassment, humiliation or distress." It adds that acting in a sexual way "can include – but isn't limited to – verbal or written comments, displaying or sharing images, as well as unwelcome physical contact." Paragraph 98 says you "must cooperate with formal inquiries, patient safety investigations, and complaints procedures" and be "open and honest".

Maintaining personal and professional boundaries

Both paragraphs point to the GMC's more detailed guidance, Maintaining personal and professional boundaries. It says you "must not pursue a sexual or improper emotional relationship with a current patient" (paragraph 9) and "must not use your professional relationship with a patient to pursue a personal relationship" with someone close to them (paragraph 11). For a former patient, paragraph 12 lists the factors you must consider: how long ago the professional relationship ended, its nature, the patient's vulnerability, whether you care for other members of their family, whether the patient's decisions are influenced by the past relationship, and "whether you would be (or could be seen to be) abusing your professional position". Paragraph 17 is absolute: "you must not pursue a personal relationship with a former patient who is still vulnerable." If a patient shows sexual interest in you, paragraph 10 says "you should try to re-establish a professional boundary, if it is safe to do so."

On colleagues, paragraph 18 accepts that "Consensual and reciprocated personal relationships between colleagues are a private matter between individuals", while requiring that professional boundaries are kept and that the start or end of a relationship does not affect clinical practice or the team. Paragraph 19 names the higher-risk situations, such as a large difference in power or an effect on training and career progression.

Intimate examinations and chaperones

The GMC's guidance Intimate examinations and chaperones says that when you carry out an intimate examination "you should, wherever possible, offer the patient the option of having a chaperone who can act as an impartial observer" (paragraph 16), that "You should not assume that the patient doesn't want a chaperone" (paragraph 21), and that a relative or friend "would not usually be a suitable chaperone" (paragraph 20).

What a professional boundaries course for doctors covers

The table maps each section of Professional Boundaries for Clinicians to the GMC standard it answers, so your reflection can cite the same paragraph.

Course section	What it covers	GMC standard it answers
Understanding professional boundaries	What a boundary is, why trust depends on it, where the boundary is in a consultation and outside it.	Good medical practice, Domain 4: Trust and professionalism
What makes a breach more likely	Isolation, fatigue, a patient in distress, treating people you know, gifts, and the drift from friendliness to friendship.	Maintaining personal and professional boundaries, the factors in paragraph 12
Boundaries with patients	Current and former patients, people close to patients, dual relationships, when to end a professional relationship.	Good medical practice paragraph 86; boundaries guidance paragraphs 9, 11, 12 and 17
Intimate examinations and chaperones	Offering a chaperone, who may act as one, what to record, what to do if the patient declines.	Intimate examinations and chaperones, paragraphs 16 to 21
Boundaries with colleagues	Comments, images and contact; relationships where there is a difference in power; trainees and students; the duty to act on what you witness.	Good medical practice paragraphs 56 to 58; boundaries guidance paragraphs 18, 19 and 34
Boundaries in the digital era	Messaging patients, social media contact, images and confidentiality online.	Good medical practice paragraphs 88 to 91; Using social media as a medical professional
Consequences of a breach	Employer action, GMC referral, warnings, undertakings, conditions, suspension and erasure, and the register entry that follows.	MPTS Sanctions guidance, paragraphs 142 to 150
Insight, reflection and remediation	How to write a reflection the GMC recognises as insight: what happened, why, the effect on the other person, what you have changed.	MPTS Sanctions guidance, paragraphs 45 and 46
Conclusion and assessment	Assessment and a dated certificate with the course title, CPD hours and completion date.	Evidence for your file

Using the course in a GMC investigation or hearing

After the GMC has gathered the evidence, two senior decision makers, one medical and one non-medical, decide whether to conclude the case with no further action, issue a warning, agree undertakings with you, or refer your case to the MPTS. How the GMC handles these cases is set out in our guide professional boundary violations: how the GMC investigates these cases, and the stages of any referral in what happens after a GMC referral.

At a tribunal, the MPTS Sanctions guidance frames the question. It says: "Remediation is where a doctor addresses concerns about their knowledge, skills, conduct or behaviour" (paragraph 31), and "Expressing insight involves demonstrating reflection and remediation" (paragraph 45). A doctor is likely to have insight if they "accept they should have behaved differently", "take timely steps to remediate" and "demonstrate the timely development of insight during the investigation and hearing" (paragraph 46). A doctor is likely to lack insight if they "refuse to apologise or accept their mistakes" (paragraph 52). When a tribunal considers suspension, one of the factors is that it "is satisfied the doctor has insight and does not pose a significant risk of repeating behaviour" (paragraph 97).

The same guidance is clear about the seriousness of boundaries cases. "Doctors must not use their professional position to pursue a sexual or improper emotional relationship with a patient" (paragraph 143); pursuing such a relationship with a vulnerable patient "is an aggravating factor that increases the gravity of the concern" (paragraph 146); and "More serious action, such as erasure, is likely to be appropriate where a doctor has abused their professional position" and the conduct involves predatory behaviour, a vulnerable patient or a criminal offence (paragraph 148). A course does not change those paragraphs; it changes the evidence you can put before the decision makers about what you have understood and done since.

Your written reflection

A certificate on its own shows attendance. Insight is shown in your own words. When you send the certificate to your representative, your employer or the GMC, add a reflection that covers:

what happened, in plain terms, without blaming the patient or the colleague
which GMC paragraph it fell short of, and why that paragraph exists
the effect on the other person and on trust in you and your team
what you have changed, with dated examples: a chaperone policy, how you message patients, how you handle a gift or a personal disclosure.

Please note

No course can guarantee the outcome of a complaint, investigation or hearing, and the GMC and the MPTS decide each case on its facts. Take advice from your defence organisation, the BMA or your legal representative before you send anything to the GMC. This guide is general information, not legal advice.

A boundaries course for CPD, appraisal and revalidation

For revalidation, the GMC says: "You must carry out continuing professional development (CPD) activities every year", and "We do not mandate the number of CPD points you should collect for revalidation because your CPD activities need to be tailored to your scope of practice and needs." It also says: "You must reflect on what you have learned from CPD activity and how this has helped to maintain or improve the quality of your practice." Boundaries touch every area of practice, so a boundaries course fits a personal development plan. Our course gives you a certificate showing the course title, 2 CPD hours and the completion date; add a short reflection and discuss it at appraisal. Our guide to GMC revalidation explains the five-year cycle and the six types of supporting information.

Our online course: Professional Boundaries for Clinicians

Online course

Professional Boundaries for Clinicians

Self-paced and online, with instant access and a certificate on completion recording the course title, CPD hours and date. Written for UK clinicians whose conduct towards a patient or a colleague has been questioned, and for those building evidence of change or a CPD record. Probity & Ethics is CPD certified by The CPD Certification Service (provider no. 13197).

£79
2 CPD hours
9 sections
22 lessons
Certificate on completion

Understanding professional boundaries
What makes a breach more likely
Boundaries with patients
Intimate examinations and chaperones
Boundaries with colleagues
Boundaries in the digital era
Consequences of a breach
Insight, reflection and remediation
Conclusion and assessment

View the Professional Boundaries course → Any 10 courses for £500

The course is written for doctors registered with the GMC and for the other UK regulators. See the courses for your profession:

Related courses

Frequently asked questions

Is there a professional boundaries course for doctors facing a GMC investigation?

Yes. Professional Boundaries for Clinicians is an online course of 2 CPD hours, £79, with 9 sections covering boundaries with a patient or a colleague, dual relationships, intimate examinations and chaperones, social media, the consequences of a breach, and insight, reflection and remediation. It is written for UK clinicians whose conduct has been questioned and maps to the GMC's Good medical practice and its guidance on maintaining personal and professional boundaries.

What does the GMC say about relationships with patients?

Good medical practice paragraph 86 says you must not act in a sexual way towards patients or use your professional position to pursue a sexual or improper emotional relationship with a patient or someone close to them. The GMC's guidance Maintaining personal and professional boundaries adds that you must not pursue such a relationship with a current patient, must consider listed factors before any personal relationship with a former patient, and must not pursue a personal relationship with a former patient who is still vulnerable.

Does the GMC guidance on boundaries cover colleagues?

Yes. Good medical practice paragraph 57 says you must not act in a sexual way towards colleagues with the effect or purpose of causing offence, embarrassment, humiliation or distress, including comments, images and unwelcome physical contact. The boundaries guidance says consensual relationships between colleagues are a private matter, but professional boundaries must be kept, and it names a large difference in power or an effect on training as higher-risk situations.

Will a boundaries course help with a GMC investigation?

The MPTS Sanctions guidance says expressing insight involves demonstrating reflection and remediation, and that a doctor is likely to have insight if they take timely steps to remediate. A course on the subject of the concern, with a dated certificate and your own written reflection, is one of those steps. No course can guarantee an outcome; the GMC and the MPTS decide each case on its facts, and you should take advice from your defence organisation or legal representative.

Can I use a professional boundaries course for CPD and revalidation?

Yes. The GMC does not set a number of CPD points for revalidation; it asks for CPD tailored to your scope of practice and a reflection on what you learned and how it improved your practice. Our course is CPD certified by The CPD Certification Service and gives a certificate with the course title, 2 CPD hours and the completion date. Add a short reflection and discuss it at appraisal.

What is a dual relationship?

A dual relationship is one where you hold a professional relationship and another relationship with the same person at the same time: a patient who is also a friend, an employee, a business contact or a family member, or a colleague you supervise and also have a personal relationship with. The GMC's boundaries guidance asks you to consider the patient's vulnerability, whether their decisions are influenced by the relationship, the difference in power between colleagues, and whether you could be seen to be abusing your professional position.

Sources

This guide is based on the following GMC and MPTS guidance, checked on 21 October 2026.

Professional Boundaries Course for Doctors: When You Need One and What It Covers