Profession-specific standards3 hours
Ethics for Nurses and Midwives
The Nursing Council Code of Conduct and Midwifery Council Code applied to advocacy, delegation, unsafe staffing, refusal of care and covert medication.
NZ$139DetailsAdd to cart
Profession-specific standards
Professional Standards for Nurses and Midwives
Scope, delegation, prescribing, the six pou and midwifery standards under the Nursing Council and the Midwifery Council
- 3hours (estimated)
- 10sections
- 20final questions
- 80%pass mark
- PDFcertificate
- Online and self-paced, on any device
- Reflective account template
- Knowledge checks in every section
- Instant certificate of completion
What you will learn
- Identify the responsible authority, scope of practice, conditions and APC requirements that apply to your registration as an RN, EN, nurse practitioner or midwife.
- Explain the main changes to the registered and enrolled nurse scopes that took effect on 20 January 2025.
- Apply a structured approach to direction and delegation, distinguishing the accountability of the RN, the EN and unregulated kaiāwhina.
- Use the Nursing Council's expanded practice approach to decide whether an activity can safely be added to your practice.
- Distinguish the three levels of nurse prescribing and practise medicines administration and prescribing within your legal authority.
- Describe the six pou of the 2025 standards of competence and prepare audit-ready evidence against each.
- Explain the 2026 midwifery scope and apply consultation, referral and communication standards in lead maternity carer practice.
- Analyse HDC and Tribunal decisions about nurses and midwives to identify the standards breached and the outcomes imposed.
- Apply s 174 of the HPCA Act and the rules on honest APC declarations, convictions and health notifications.
- Plan credible insight and remediation linked to specific nursing or midwifery standards.
Who this course is for
Registered nurses, enrolled nurses, nurse practitioners, nurse prescribers and midwives in New Zealand, and nurse and midwife managers, educators and preceptors.
After a concern
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 takes registered nurses, enrolled nurses, nurse practitioners and midwives through the professional standards that are specific to their practice in Aotearoa New Zealand: the 2025 registered and enrolled nurse scopes, direction and delegation, expanded practice, the three levels of nurse prescribing, medicine administration, the six pou of the 2025 standards of competence, and the 2026 midwifery scope with its expectations on consultation, referral and conduct.
It is written for nurses and midwives in every setting, from hospital wards and aged residential care to general practice, district nursing and lead maternity carer practice, and for the nurse managers, educators and preceptors who support them. Each section uses New Zealand case examples, including published HDC opinions and Health Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal decisions about nurses and midwives, with practical tools you can use on your next shift.
It matters because the standards have changed substantially: new RN and EN scopes took effect in January 2025, the six-pou competence standards now govern APC declarations and recertification audits, and a new midwifery scope came into force in February 2026. Knowing what these changes mean for accountability, delegation and evidence of competence protects the people in your care and your registration.
Course details
- Learning time
- Approximately 3 hours (estimated learning time including knowledge checks, reflection and assessment)
- Standards covered
- Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003; Code of Health and Disability Services Consumers' Rights; Nursing Council Code of Conduct for Nurses; RN and EN scopes of practice (2025); Standards of competence for registered and enrolled nurses (2025); nurse practitioner scope; Nursing Council guidance on direction and delegation, expanded practice and nurse prescribing; Medicines (Designated Prescriber-Registered Nurses) Regulations 2016; Midwifery Scope of Practice and Qualifications Notice 2026; Midwifery Council Code of Conduct; Referral Guidelines
- 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
- Alignment
- Mapped to the scopes, codes and standards of competence of the Nursing Council of New Zealand and the Midwifery Council (Te Tatau o te Whare Kahu), and to the HDC Code of Rights
Course curriculum
10 sections · 24 lessons · 3 hours (estimated) · 20-question final assessment
-
1Regulating nursing and midwifery in Aotearoa3 lessons
- Two councils, four scopes: who regulates nursing and midwifery
- The standards that bind you: how the documents fit together
- How a nursing or midwifery concern reaches the regulator
-
2Scope of practice in depth: RN, EN and expanded practice3 lessons
- The registered nurse scope since January 2025
- The enrolled nurse scope and the RN–EN partnership
- Expanded practice and working at the edge of your scope
-
3Direction and delegation3 lessons
- Direction and delegation after 2025: who is accountable for what
- Delegating safely: a practical method for every shift
- When delegation goes wrong: refusing, escalating and staffing pressure
-
4Nurse prescribing and medicines practice3 lessons
- The three levels of nurse prescribing
- Medicine administration: the standard for every nurse and midwife
- Prescribing and medicines: common pitfalls
-
5The standards of competence: the six pou in practice3 lessons
- Pou 1 and 2: Māori health focus and kawa whakaruruhau
- Pou 3 and 4: whanaungatanga and communication; pūkengatanga and evidence-informed practice
- Pou 5 and 6: manaakitanga and rangatiratanga, and proving your competence
-
6Midwifery standards: autonomy, referral and conduct3 lessons
- The midwifery scope and autonomous practice
- Consultation, referral and transfer of care
- Midwifery conduct: boundaries, honesty and consent
-
7Accountability: the Tribunal, integrity and remediation3 lessons
- What the Tribunal does with nursing and midwifery cases
- Integrity beyond the bedside: declarations, conscience, conduct and health
- Insight, remediation and showing that you meet the standards
-
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
Professional Standards for Nurses and Midwives
3hours (estimated)
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
What changed in the registered and enrolled nurse scopes in 2025?
New RN and EN scopes took effect on 20 January 2025, changing how practice, guidance and delegation are described. The course explains what changed, what it means for the accountability of registered and enrolled nurses, and how the Nursing Council's expanded practice approach works when you add an activity.
Does the course explain the six pou?
Yes. The course explains each pou in the Nursing Council's 2025 standards: Māori health focus, cultural safety, whanaungatanga and communication, pūkengatanga and evidence-informed practice, manaakitanga and people-centred care, and rangatiratanga and leadership, and how to prepare audit-ready examples against each.
How does the course teach direction and delegation?
With a structured approach that separates the accountability of the RN, the EN and unregulated kaiāwhina, so you can decide what to delegate, to whom, with what direction and supervision, and what to do when staffing makes safe delegation impossible.
What do midwives get from the professional standards course?
A section on the 2026 midwifery scope, consultation and referral in lead maternity carer practice, communication standards and conduct, plus HDC and Tribunal decisions about midwives. Midwives also share the lessons on honest APC declarations, convictions, health notifications and remediation.
Is the course a Nursing Council competence assessment programme?
No. It is not a competence assessment programme, a PDRP or anything approved by either Council. It is CPD giving 3 hours of professional development, a 20-question assessment, a certificate and a reflective account for NZ$139, which you may record where relevant to your practice.
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.
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