Explain how Good medical practice and the Medical Council's statements function as the ethical standard for doctors, including the difference between "must" and "should".
Apply Good medical practice paragraphs 19 to 21 and HPCA Act s 174 to personal beliefs, lifestyle judgements and conscientious objection.
Apply the October 2024 statement on treating yourself and those close to you, including its exceptions and its limits on prescribing and certification.
Analyse a published Tribunal decision to identify how Council statements are used to decide professional misconduct and penalty.
Prescribe ethically in line with the Council's 2024 prescribing statement, including first prescriptions, medicines with misuse potential, repeats, unapproved use, CAM and telehealth.
Issue certificates, reports and references that meet the Council's standards of honesty, accuracy and objectivity.
Recognise and manage conflicts of interest with commercial organisations, product sales, owned services, fees and advertising.
End a doctor-patient relationship fairly, make fair and transparent resource-constrained decisions, and use AI tools and delegation under the Council's 2026 AI guidance while retaining accountability.
Apply the End of Life Choice Act 2019 and the Medical Council's mapping of its statements to that Act when a patient raises assisted dying, whether you object or act as attending medical practitioner.
Respond to unprofessional behaviour and concerns about a colleague, and use recertification activities to demonstrate insight and change.
Who this course is for
Doctors registered with the Medical Council of New Zealand in general, vocational and provisional scopes, including GPs, specialists, registrars, house officers, rural and urgent care doctors, international medical graduates and doctors in leadership roles.
Structured learning and a written reflection to show insight after a complaint, an investigation or a responsible authority inquiry.
Routine CPD
Focused learning on a core standard of practice, with a certificate and reflection for your portfolio.
About this course
This course is about the ethical decisions that are specific to being a doctor in Aotearoa New Zealand. It works through the Medical Council's Good medical practice (2021) and the Council statements that govern a doctor's gatekeeping roles: treating yourself and those close to you (October 2024), prescribing (2024), medical certification (2023), commercial organisations (2023), telehealth and complementary medicine, ending a doctor-patient relationship, resource constraints, the Council's March 2026 guidance on artificial intelligence, unprofessional behaviour, cultural safety and concerns about another doctor.
It is written for doctors in every scope of practice: general practitioners, hospital specialists and registrars, house officers, urgent care and rural doctors, international medical graduates new to New Zealand, and doctors in leadership roles who supervise physician associates, nurses and other colleagues. Each section uses New Zealand case examples, including a published decision of the Health Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal, and ends with a knowledge check.
Council statements are the yardstick used by the Medical Council, Professional Conduct Committees, the Tribunal and the Health and Disability Commissioner when a doctor's conduct is questioned. Most cases that reach them are not dramatic dilemmas but a drift away from these standards in everyday tasks. Knowing exactly what the statements require, and how to apply them under pressure, protects patients, colleagues and your own practice.
Course details
Learning time
Approximately 3 hours (estimated learning time including knowledge checks, reflection and assessment)
Standards covered
Medical Council Good medical practice (2021); statements on Treating yourself and those close to you (2024), Prescribing (2024), Medical certification (2023), Commercial organisations (2023), Telehealth (2023), End of Life Choice Act 2019 and Council statements (2021), Complementary and alternative medicine (2022), Advertising (2022), Concerns about another doctor (2022), Ending a doctor-patient relationship (2020), Unprofessional behaviour (2020), Cultural safety (2019), Resource constraints (2018); Guidance on using AI in patient care (2026); HPCA Act 2003 (ss 34, 44, 45–51, 100, 101, 118, 174); Code of Health and Disability Services Consumers' Rights; NZMA Code of Ethics (2020); End of Life Choice Act 2019 (ss 9–11, 19–24)
Format
Self-paced, gated lessons with knowledge checks, case studies and reflection
Assessment
20 scenario-based questions, 80% to pass (16 of 20)
Outcome
Certificate of completion and a written reflection for your CPD record
1Medical ethics in Aotearoa: Good medical practice as your ethical code3 lessons
Why medical ethics is distinct: the doctor's position of trust and power
How Good medical practice and the Council's statements work
Personal beliefs, judgement about lifestyle and fair treatment
2Objectivity: treating yourself, those close to you and your own health3 lessons
Treating yourself and those close to you: the October 2024 statement
Anatomy of a Tribunal case: prescribing for a colleague
Your own health and your duties to the Council
3The ethics of prescribing2 lessons
Good prescribing practice: demand, dependence and repeat prescriptions
Unapproved use, complementary medicine and prescribing at a distance
4Certificates, reports and duties to third parties2 lessons
Medical certification: honesty when your signature carries legal weight
Reports, references, third-party assessments and cooperating with inquiries
5Money, industry and advertising2 lessons
Conflicts of interest and relationships with commercial organisations
Selling products, owning services, charging fees and advertising
6The relationship under pressure: ending care, scarce resources, AI and assisted dying4 lessons
Ending a doctor-patient relationship fairly
Resource constraints: fairness at the bedside and advocacy beyond it
Artificial intelligence and delegation: new tools, unchanged accountability
Assisted dying and the doctor: objection, the attending role and the Council's statements
7Colleagues, culture and accountability in medicine3 lessons
Unprofessional behaviour, cultural safety and the ethics of the medical team
Concerns about another doctor: when ethics requires you to act
When a doctor's ethics are questioned: process, insight and recertification
8Conclusion and key points1 lesson
Conclusion and key points
9References and further reading1 lesson
References and further reading
10Reflection1 lesson
Your reflective account
Assessment and certificate
Final assessment
20scenario-based questions
Pass mark 80%: 16 correct out of 20
Knowledge checks in each section as you go
Tests whether you can apply the standards, not recall a page
Not passed yet? Review the sections and retake it
Certificate of completion
A certificate of completion for your learning portfolio.
Your name, the course title and the estimated learning time (record the time you actually spend)
Completion date and a unique certificate ID that can be verified
Ready to download as a PDF as soon as you complete the course
Fitness To Practice
Certificate of Completion
This certifies that
Your Name
has successfully completed
Ethics for Doctors
Completed12 Oct 2026
3hours (estimated)
Certificate IDFTS-7Q4K-2M9X
Continuing professional development record — New Zealand
Your reflective account
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.
Questions about this course
Should a doctor take this or the general ethics course?
The general course teaches a decision framework for all practitioners. This one is built only around the Medical Council's Good medical practice (2021) and its statements, so it focuses on doctors' gatekeeping roles: prescribing, certificates and reports, treating yourself and those close to you, commercial interests, ending care, resource limits and AI.
Does the course cover the statement on treating yourself and those close to you?
Yes, the October 2024 version, including its exceptions and its limits on prescribing and certification for yourself, family, friends and colleagues. A published Tribunal decision is analysed to show how Council statements are used to decide professional misconduct and penalty.
What does the medical ethics course say about assisted dying and conscientious objection?
It works through assisted dying under the 2019 Act, with the Council's mapping of its statements to that legislation, whether you object or act as attending medical practitioner, and uses Good medical practice paragraphs 19 to 21 and section 174 of the HPCA Act for personal beliefs and conscientious objection.
Is the Medical Council's 2026 guidance on AI included?
Yes. The March 2026 guidance on using artificial intelligence in patient care is covered together with delegation and accountability: you may use AI tools and scribes, but you remain responsible for the clinical decision, the record, and the patient's consent and privacy.
Will the medical ethics course count for Inpractice or my college CPD?
Credit is set by Inpractice for general scope and by your college or accredited provider for vocational scope, so we never claim a fixed value or Council approval. Many doctors record it as an educational activity with a reflection. It is 3 hours (estimated), NZ$139, online and self-paced.
How this course was built
Official sources only
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.
Original, edition by edition
Lessons, scenarios and assessment questions are written by us for each edition separately, then checked for accuracy, teaching quality and fair assessment before publication.
Reviewed when rules change
When a code, standard or law changes, the affected courses are reviewed and updated. Reported errors in legal or regulatory facts are corrected first.
Ethical reasoning for Aotearoa: a seven-step decision framework, the Code of Rights, Te Tiriti and cultural safety, conscientious objection and end-of-life law.
Medical Council standards in practice: scopes and titles, clinical care, prescribing, cosmetic procedures, supervision of learners and PAs, and telehealth.
Honesty in records, certificates, ACC invoicing, APC declarations and conflicts of interest, mapped to the HPCA Act and your responsible authority's code.
