Consent, privacy and communication
Practical, culturally safe communication skills for every conversation, from the first greeting to the hardest news
Doctors, nurses, midwives, pharmacists, oral health practitioners, paramedics, psychologists, physiotherapists and other allied health practitioners registered under the HPCA Act 2003.
Structured learning and a written reflection to show insight after a complaint, an investigation or a responsible authority inquiry.
Focused learning on a core standard of practice, with a certificate and reflection for your portfolio.
This course builds the everyday communication skills that sit underneath safe, respectful care in Aotearoa New Zealand: preparing for and opening a consultation, listening for the person's story and concerns, explaining so information is remembered and used, and closing with a clear plan and safety net. It then applies those skills to culturally safe communication with Māori patients and whānau, Pacific and other communities, working with professional interpreters, and communication access for Deaf, disabled, neurodivergent, young and older people.
It is written for doctors, nurses, midwives, pharmacists, oral health practitioners, physiotherapists, psychologists, paramedics and other health practitioners registered under the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003. Later sections cover difficult conversations (serious news, emotion, anger, uncertainty and saying no), telehealth, letters, patient portals, messaging and AI tools, and what happens when communication falls short, including how to seek feedback and build a credible improvement plan.
Communication problems are among the most common reasons people complain about health care, and Right 5 of the Code of Health and Disability Services Consumers' Rights makes effective communication a legal right. Every responsible authority treats communication as part of competence and conduct. The legal side of consent and the disclosure of harm are covered in separate courses; this course concentrates on the skill of the conversation itself.
10 sections · 25 lessons · 3 hours (estimated) · 20-question final assessment
Final assessment
20scenario-based questions
Certificate of completion
A certificate of completion for your learning portfolio.
The course includes a structured reflective account template: guided prompts to record what you learned, how you will apply it and how the change will show in your practice. It gives you written evidence of insight after a concern, and a ready record for your CPD portfolio.
Write it in your own words and leave out anything that could identify a patient, a colleague or a case. If you have an open complaint or case, talk to your adviser before reflecting on it in writing.
Preparing for the consultation, opening with open questions and agenda-setting, active listening using ideas, concerns and expectations, explaining with signposting, chunking and checking, and closing with a clear plan and specific safety-netting. Each skill is tied to Right 5(2) of the Code of Rights and to your responsible authority's standards.
It uses whanaungatanga and the hui process to structure culturally safe conversations, explains why involving whānau is often central to decisions, and covers communication with Pacific and other communities too. The aim is respectful, practical habits that fit real consultations, not a checklist of cultural facts or stereotypes.
Yes. You learn to run an interpreted consultation and why family, child or app interpreting is risky, and how to adapt for Deaf NZSL users, people with hearing or vision loss, learning disability, dementia, delirium or neurodivergence, and for children, young people and older adults. Telehealth, letters, portals and AI-supported tools are covered too.
It is. The last section explains how communication concerns are assessed and helps you build an improvement plan supported by evidence such as patient feedback. Where a council, PCC or the Tribunal has imposed conditions, get their agreement (or your supervisor's or lawyer's view) before treating this course as meeting them; results cannot be guaranteed.
Knowledge checks follow each section and the course ends with 20 multiple-choice questions; you need 16 right (80%) to pass and download your certificate and reflective account.
Every legal and regulatory point comes from primary sources: the HPCA Act 2003, the responsible authorities' standards and the Code of Health and Disability Services Consumers' Rights. Anything we cannot confirm is left out.
Lessons, scenarios and assessment questions are written by us for each edition separately, then checked for accuracy, teaching quality and fair assessment before publication.
When a code, standard or law changes, the affected courses are reviewed and updated. Reported errors in legal or regulatory facts are corrected first.
Consent under the Code of Rights clause by clause: interpreters, written consent, refusal, competence, EPOAs and welfare guardians, young people and whānau.
Honest communication when care goes wrong: HDC open disclosure guidance, the HQSC adverse events policy, ACC treatment injury and culturally safe apology.
From Right 10 to the Tribunal: what happens after an HDC complaint or council notification, and how to write an honest, well-evidenced response.
