Ethics and professional conduct
Running a chaperone program, protecting patients in the room and responding when an examination is questioned
U.S. licensed health professionals and their teams: physicians, PAs, NPs and other APRNs, nurses, midwives, sonographers, physical therapists, dentists and dental teams, pharmacists, and medical assistants and other staff who act as chaperones.
Structured learning and a written reflection to show insight after a complaint, an investigation or a board inquiry.
Focused learning on a core standard of practice, with a certificate and reflection for your portfolio.
This course takes a detailed look at chaperones and sensitive examinations in U.S. health care. It covers what makes an examination sensitive across professions and settings, what chaperones can and cannot achieve, the national guidance from the AMA, ACP, ACOG, AAP and FSMB, named state rules in Oregon, New Jersey and California, and how to design, staff, train and audit a chaperone program. It also covers the chaperone's own role, including speaking up, as well as telehealth, home visits, children and adolescents, trauma-informed care, disability, culture, gender identity and interpreters.
It is written for physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners and other APRNs, nurses, midwives, sonographers and imaging professionals, physical therapists, dentists and dental teams, pharmacists and the medical assistants and other staff who act as chaperones. It is also useful for practice leaders writing a policy and for licensees responding to a complaint or board condition involving an examination.
Sensitive examinations are where clinical care and allegations of misconduct most often meet. In the United States, chaperone expectations come from professional guidance, state board rules and statutes, hospital rules and employer policy, and they are changing quickly. This course gives you the specific standards, realistic cases from across the country and practical tools so that your examinations protect patients, support staff and stand up to scrutiny.
10 sections · 24 lessons · 3 hours · 20-question final assessment
Final assessment
20scenario-based questions
Certificate of completion
Certificate of completion. Not CE or CME credit unless accepted by your board.
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 learning 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.
It uses Oregon, New Jersey and California rules as worked examples and shows you how to find the rules in your own state, since requirements differ by state, profession and setting. It also compares what the AMA, ACP, ACOG, AAP and FSMB recommend, and explains how employer policy and hospital rules add to the legal minimum.
Yes. Medical assistants, nurses and other staff who chaperone will find a full section on the chaperone's role: where to stand, what to watch for, when and how to intervene, and how to report a concern. Licensed clinicians and practice leaders who write chaperone policies are the main audience, but the role content is written for both sides of the exam.
The FSMB has warned that a chaperone can create false reassurance if they are untrained, distracted, junior to the clinician or unable to see the examination. The course explains this concern and how a policy should address it, through training, positioning, the right to stop an exam and a clear reporting route that does not depend on the examining clinician.
It can help you understand and comply with the condition, including logs, patient explanations and showing credible insight. If your order names an education requirement, confirm with the board or your attorney which providers it accepts before enrolling.
Around three hours, fully online, $89, with immediate access. Checks appear throughout, and a final test of 20 questions needs 80%. Passing earns a certificate and a written review of how you yourself conduct sensitive examinations. Scenarios include offering, declining and documenting a chaperone, and what to do when no chaperone is available.
Every legal and regulatory point comes from primary sources: state practice acts and board rules, federal law and national professional codes of ethics. 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.
Crossings, violations and sexual misconduct; chaperones, gifts, treating family and social media, using AMA, FSMB, NCSBN and AAPA guidance.
Informed consent from Canterbury v. Spence to the bedside: five elements, capacity, surrogates, minors, interpreters, intimate exams and documentation.
What happens after a state board letter arrives: investigation, your written response, settlement conferences, consent orders, hearings and NPDB reporting.
