A professionalism course for healthcare professionals covers the conduct expected of you beyond clinical skill: honesty and integrity, professional boundaries with a patient or a colleague, communication and consent, record keeping, conduct online, and being open when things go wrong. A good one also takes you through how a concern about conduct is raised and how to show insight, reflection and remediation in a written response. Every UK healthcare regulator sets out these expectations in its own standards, so the course should name them. Our Professionalism for Healthcare Professionals course is £79 for 2 CPD hours, online and self-paced, with a dated certificate, and Probity & Ethics is CPD certified by The CPD Certification Service (provider no. 13197).
Facing a concern about your conduct?
A complaint from a patient, an employer investigation, a referral to your regulator or a hearing about your conduct or attitude. You need evidence of insight and of the steps you have taken, before a decision is made.
Looking for professionalism CPD?
You want learning on conduct and your regulator's standards to record for appraisal, revalidation or renewal, with a certificate and material for a reflection. This guide covers both.
In short
- Professionalism means the conduct, judgement and behaviour your regulator expects of you, in and out of work. Each regulator states it in its own standards: Good medical practice, the NMC Code, Standards for the Dental Team, the GPhC standards and the HCPC standards of conduct, performance and ethics.
- A professionalism course should cover honesty, boundaries, communication, records, conduct online and candour, and how to show insight, reflection and remediation.
- After a concern, a course is one step. The NMC's guidance says decision makers look at whether the steps taken are relevant, measurable and effective.
- The same course is CPD: record it with the date, the hours and how it relates to your practice.
What a professionalism course covers
Professionalism is the part of practice that a complaint about conduct or attitude is measured against. It is separate from clinical competence: you can be skilled at a procedure and still not meet the standard on honesty, boundaries or communication. A course on it should take each of those areas in turn and link it to the standard your regulator has set.
| Area | What the course should cover |
|---|---|
| Honesty and integrity | Being honest about your experience, qualifications and role; honesty in financial dealings; accurate information in everything you write or say as a professional. |
| Professional boundaries | Boundaries with a patient or a colleague, in person and online; dual relationships; gifts; personal beliefs. |
| Communication and consent | Listening, explaining options and risks, and obtaining valid consent. |
| Record keeping | Clear, accurate and timely notes, and records as evidence when a concern is raised. |
| Conduct online | Social media, public statements, advertising and private messaging groups. |
| Candour | Being open with patients when something goes wrong, and raising concerns. |
| Insight, reflection and remediation | What each word means to a decision maker, and how to write a reflection that shows change in your practice. |
If the concern is about one area only, such as boundaries or records, a course on that subject may fit better. Our page Which course do I need? matches each kind of concern to a course.
What your regulator means by professionalism
Each UK regulator writes its own standard. The wording differs, but the expectations are close: honesty, integrity, boundaries, and behaviour that keeps the public's trust in the profession.
"Good medical professionals uphold high personal and professional standards of conduct. They are honest and trustworthy, act with integrity, maintain professional boundaries and do not let their personal interests affect their professional judgements or actions."
GMC, Good medical practice 2024, Domain 4: Trust and professionalism
| Regulator | Standard | Where professionalism sits |
|---|---|---|
| GMC | Good medical practice (in effect from 30 January 2024) | Domain 4, "Trust and professionalism". Paragraph 81: "You must make sure that your conduct justifies patients' trust in you and the public's trust in your profession." |
| NMC | The Code | The theme "Promote professionalism and trust", standards 20 to 25. Standard 20.2: "act with honesty and integrity at all times, treating people fairly and without discrimination, bullying or harassment". |
| GDC | Standards for the Dental Team (in effect from 30 September 2013) | Principle 9: "Make sure your personal behaviour maintains patients' confidence in you and the dental profession". |
| GPhC | Standards for pharmacy professionals | Nine standards; standard 6 says pharmacy professionals must "behave in a professional manner". |
| HCPC | Standards of conduct, performance and ethics (in effect from 1 September 2024) | Ten standards, including "Be honest and trustworthy" and "Be open when things go wrong". The HCPC says it uses them "if someone raises a concern about a registrant's practice". |
The GOC, GCC, GOsC and Social Work England each publish their own professional standards too. For the HCPC standards in detail, read our guide to professionalism for HCPC professionals.
When you need one: after a complaint or investigation
A professionalism course is the course people look for when a concern is about how they behaved rather than a single clinical decision. The concerns it speaks to include:
- An allegation of unprofessional behaviourA complaint from a patient or a family member about attitude, rudeness or not being listened to, or an employer investigation into conduct at work.
- A boundaries breach with a patient or a colleaguePersonal messages, a relationship, dual relationships, or comments that were not appropriate, in person or online.
- A concern about honestyAn inaccurate statement, a CV or application that overstated experience, or a record changed after the event.
- Conduct onlineSocial media posts, comments in a messaging group, or advertising that a regulator has asked about.
- A concern about candourNot telling a patient when something went wrong, or not raising a concern about safety.
Before you start, take advice. The NMC Code (standard 23) asks nurses and midwives to "Cooperate with all investigations and audits", and your defence body, union or indemnity provider can tell you what to send and when. A course you complete before you reply lets you describe what you have already done, not what you plan to do.
How a course is looked at once a concern has been raised
The NMC publishes a statement of how decision makers look at the steps a registrant has taken. Its fitness to practise guidance, "Has the concern been addressed?", says the steps should be:
- relevant, "directly linked to the nature of the concerns";
- measurable: where a course has been completed, "information should be provided to help the decision maker understand the scope of the course, the topics covered and the results of any assessments"; and
- effective, "clearly demonstrating that past failings have been objectively understood, appreciated and tackled".
The same guidance says reflective work carries more weight where the registrant can "give examples not only of what they have learned following the concerns being raised, but also how they have applied this learning in their practice". That is why the course is one part of the evidence and the reflection you write about it is the other.
What a course does not do
A course does not decide the outcome of a case, and no course can promise one. Choose a course on the subject of the concern, keep the certificate, the course outline and the assessment result together, and write a reflection with examples from your own practice.
Reflection and insight
If you have been asked to show insight, our Module on Reflection and Module on Insight (£49 each, 1.5 CPD hours) take you through writing a reflection after a concern.
Using a professionalism course for CPD
You do not need a concern to take a professionalism course. Each regulator sets its own CPD, appraisal or revalidation rules, and learning on conduct and the professional standards is relevant to every register. For CPD, record:
- What you did: online course, self-paced.
- When: the date on your certificate.
- Hours: the CPD hours on your certificate (2 for our professionalism courses).
- Why it is relevant: the part of your standard it relates to, for example Domain 4 of Good medical practice or the NMC theme "Promote professionalism and trust".
- What changed: a short reflection on what you will do differently.
Nurses and midwives can read our guide to CPD courses for nurses in the UK for how an online course counts towards NMC revalidation.
The general course or the course for your profession?
We have one general professionalism course and nine written for a single register. Each is £79 for 2 CPD hours.
| Your situation | Course that fits |
|---|---|
| The concern names your regulator's standard | The professionalism course for your own register, built around that standard |
| The concern covers several areas of conduct | Professionalism for Healthcare Professionals |
| Training for a team with different registers | Professionalism for Healthcare Professionals |
| CPD on professionalism in general | Either; choose the one that matches your register if you want to cite its standard |
Our professionalism course
Online course
Professionalism for Healthcare Professionals
Self-paced and online, with instant access and a certificate on completion recording the course title, CPD hours and date. Written for UK healthcare professionals facing a complaint, allegation or investigation about their conduct, and for those adding professionalism to their CPD. Probity & Ethics is CPD certified by The CPD Certification Service (provider no. 13197).
- £79
- 2 CPD hours
- 5 sections
- 24 lessons
- Certificate on completion
- Introduction to professionalism in healthcare
- Core attributes of professionalism
- Challenges to professionalism
- Breaches, consequences and remediation
- Conclusion and assessment
Professionalism courses for your profession
See every course for your register:
- DoctorsGMC
- Nurses and midwivesNMC
- Dental teamGDC
- PharmacistsGPhC
- HCPC professionsHCPC
- Optometrists and dispensing opticiansGOC
- ChiropractorsGCC
- OsteopathsGOsC
- Social workersSocial Work England
Related guides: professional boundaries course for doctors and duty of candour training.
Frequently asked questions
What does a professionalism course for healthcare professionals cover?
It covers the conduct expected of you beyond clinical skill: honesty and integrity, professional boundaries with a patient or a colleague, communication and consent, record keeping, social media, and being open when things go wrong. It also covers how a concern is raised and how to show insight, reflection and remediation. Our course has 5 sections and 24 lessons, ending with an assessment.
When do I need a professionalism course?
Two situations bring people to one. The first is a complaint, an employer investigation, a regulator referral or a hearing about your conduct or attitude, where you need evidence of the steps you have taken. The second is CPD: you want learning on conduct and the professional standards to record for appraisal, revalidation or renewal.
Should I take the general course or the one for my profession?
If your regulator's standard is named in the concern, the course written for your own register is built around that standard. The general Professionalism for Healthcare Professionals course suits a concern that crosses several areas, a team with different registers, or CPD on professionalism in general. Both are £79 for 2 CPD hours.
Will a professionalism course help with a fitness to practise concern?
A course is one step, not an outcome. The NMC's guidance says decision makers look at whether the steps you have taken are relevant, measurable and effective, and gives more weight to reflection that shows how you have applied the learning in practice. Keep the certificate, the course outline and your reflection together, and take advice from your defence body, union or indemnity provider.
Can I use a professionalism course for CPD?
Yes. A course on conduct and the professional standards is learning you can record for appraisal, revalidation or renewal with your own regulator, and you can write a reflection on it. Record the date, the CPD hours on your certificate and how the course relates to your practice.
Is the professionalism course CPD accredited?
Probity and Ethics is CPD certified by The CPD Certification Service (provider no. 13197). The Professionalism for Healthcare Professionals course is £79 for 2 CPD hours, self-paced and online, with a dated certificate on completion.
Sources
This guide is based on the following regulators' pages, checked on 23 October 2026.
- GMC: Good medical practice, Domain 4: Trust and professionalism
- GMC: Good medical practice
- NMC: Read the Code online
- NMC: Fitness to practise library, Has the concern been addressed?
- GDC: Standards for the Dental Team, the nine principles
- GDC: Standards for the dental team
- GPhC: Standards for pharmacy professionals
- HCPC: Standards of conduct, performance and ethics