Profession-specific standards3 hours
Ethics for Doctors
The SMC Ethical Code applied to self-treatment, prescribing, MCs, fees and referrals, advertising, AI, end-of-life care and colleagues.
S$125DetailsAdd to cart
Profession-specific standards
Professional Standards for Doctors
Practising to the SMC's standards in Singapore: registration, clinical care, prescribing, aesthetic practice, supervision, telemedicine and CME
- 3hours (estimated)
- 9sections
- 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
- Describe the SMC's role, the types of medical registration, specialist accreditation and the rules on professional titles.
- Explain how the ECEG, the Handbook, the Bolam-Bolitho test and Civil Law Act s 37 together define the standard of practice and advice.
- Describe the Healthcare Services Act 2020 licensing framework, its governance roles and the main sources of national guidance.
- Apply ECEG A1 to A5, B2 and B3 to clinical evaluation, competence, investigations, screening, records, results and handover.
- Apply ECEG B1.4 and B1.5 to emergencies and epidemics, and meet infectious disease notification and serious reportable event duties.
- Prescribe safely under ECEG B5, the National Guidelines on High Alert Medications (2021) and current guidance on sedative-hypnotics.
- Apply ECEG B10 and the SMC Guidelines on Aesthetic Practices for Doctors to competence, consent, cooling-off, vulnerable patients and designations.
- Supervise house officers and conditionally registered doctors, delegate safely, and protect patients' rights in teaching.
- Communicate effectively across languages and with families, manage chaperones and third parties, and practise telemedicine to the SMC standard.
- Meet CME requirements, navigate the SMC complaints and disciplinary pathway, and plan evidenced remediation that demonstrates insight.
Who this course is for
Doctors registered with the Singapore Medical Council in any setting, including house officers, residents, family physicians, specialists, international medical graduates under conditional registration, supervisors and clinic Principal Officers.
After a concern
Structured learning and a written reflection to show insight after a complaint, an investigation or a board 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 doctors through the Singapore Medical Council's standards of practice in practical depth: registration types, specialist accreditation and professional titles; the ECEG and Handbook as practice standards, alongside the Bolam-Bolitho test and Civil Law Act s 37; the Healthcare Services Act and national guidance; clinical evaluation, competence, investigations and screening; records, results and handover; emergencies, epidemics and notification duties; prescribing systems, high-alert medicines and sedative-hypnotics; aesthetic practice; supervision of house officers and conditionally registered doctors; teaching; communication across languages and families; chaperones and others in the room; telemedicine; and CME, the SMC complaints pathway and remediation.
It is written for doctors registered with the SMC in any setting, including house officers and residents, family physicians in private clinics and polyclinics, hospital specialists, international medical graduates working under conditional registration, supervisors, clinic owners and Principal Officers, and doctors in aesthetic and teleconsultation services. Case studies are set in Singapore hospitals, polyclinics, private clinics, aesthetic practices and teleconsultation services.
Most concerns about doctors' standards arise not from deliberate wrongdoing but from gaps in knowledge of a specific expectation, or from systems that make the unsafe option easy. By linking each standard to realistic cases and practical safeguards, the course helps doctors practise to the level the SMC, Complaints Committees and Disciplinary Tribunals expect. It complements the separate Ethics for Doctors course, which covers the ECEG's ethically focused sections.
Course details
- Learning time
- Approximately 3 hours of learning (estimated time including knowledge checks, reflection and assessment)
- Standards covered
- SMC Ethical Code and Ethical Guidelines (2016) and Handbook on Medical Ethics (2016), Parts A to D; SMC Guidelines on Aesthetic Practices for Doctors (2016); SMC Circular 2/2018; SMC CME requirements including mandatory medical ethics points; Medical Registration Act 1997 as amended (in force 1 July 2022); Healthcare Services Act 2020 and SRE licence conditions; National Guidelines on High Alert Medications (2021); National Telemedicine Guidelines (2015); Infectious Diseases Act 1976; PDPA 2012 and PDPC healthcare guidelines (2023); Mental Capacity Act 2008; Civil Law Act 1909 s 37; key cases including Gunapathy (2002), Low Cze Hong (2008), Hii Chii Kok (2017), Wong Meng Hang (2018) and Wee Teong Boo (2023)
- Assessment
- 20 scenario-based questions, 80% to pass (16 of 20)
- Format
- Self-paced, gated lessons with knowledge checks, case studies and reflection
Course curriculum
9 sections · 21 lessons · 3 hours (estimated) · 20-question final assessment
-
1The doctor's professional framework in Singapore3 lessons
- The Singapore Medical Council, registration and the titles you may use
- The standard you are judged by: the ECEG, peer opinion and the law of advice
- The wider regulatory map: licensing, MOH guidance and how to keep current
-
2Clinical care, competence and continuity3 lessons
- Clinical evaluation and the limits of your competence
- Records, handover, results and continuity of care
- Emergencies, epidemics and notification duties
-
3Prescribing to the SMC's standards3 lessons
- Core prescribing expectations
- High-risk medicines: assessment, safeguards and systems
- Aesthetic practice: standards for a commercial field
-
4Supervision, training and teaching3 lessons
- House officers and provisional registration: standards for learners and supervisors
- Supervising conditionally registered doctors and working with new team roles
- Teaching, students and patients' rights in teaching
-
5The consultation: culture, communication and modality3 lessons
- Communication across Singapore's languages, cultures and families
- When another person is present: chaperones, family, interpreters and observers
- Telemedicine to the SMC standard
-
6Practising certificates, regulatory processes and remediation3 lessons
- Practising certificates and continuing medical education
- The SMC complaints and disciplinary pathway
- Insight, remediation and rebuilding professional standing
-
7Conclusion and key points1 lesson
- Conclusion and key points
-
8References and further reading1 lesson
- References and further reading
-
9Reflection1 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 Doctors
3hours (estimated)
Continuing professional development record — Singapore
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
How is this different from the Ethics for Doctors course?
The ethics course covers values and dilemmas such as self-treatment, MCs, fees, referrals, advertising and end-of-life care. This course covers standards of practice: registration and titles, clinical evaluation and competence, records and results, prescribing systems, aesthetic practice, supervision, teaching, communication, telemedicine, CME and the SMC complaints pathway. Many doctors take both.
Does it explain the standard of care for advice under Civil Law Act s 37?
Yes. It sets out how s 37 (in force 1 July 2022) and Hii Chii Kok apply to the information you give patients, how Bolam-Bolitho continues to govern diagnosis and treatment, and what this means for your records.
Is the SMC aesthetic practice guidance covered?
Yes. A full lesson applies ECEG B10 and the SMC Guidelines on Aesthetic Practices for Doctors to competence, consent, cooling-off periods, screening for body-image concerns, minors and designations, together with the advertising rules.
Is it useful for supervisors of house officers and international medical graduates?
Yes. It covers provisional and conditional registration, the supervisor's duties under ECEG D5 and A4, orientation to Singapore practice for doctors trained elsewhere, and safe delegation to other professionals and support staff.
Will it count towards my CME?
It may count only if the SMC or the relevant accreditor accepts it, so check before relying on it. It explains the current CME and mandatory medical ethics requirements so you can plan your cycle.
Can it help after a complaint or a letter of advice?
It explains the SMC pathway for complaints made from 1 July 2022 and ends with a practical approach to insight and evidenced remediation. If a Complaints Committee or Tribunal has ordered training, check with the SMC or your lawyer whether this course would be accepted before enrolling.
How long is it and how is it assessed?
About 3 hours of self-paced learning with six knowledge checks, case studies and a reflective account, and a final assessment of 20 scenario-based questions with an 80% pass mark.
How this course was built
Official sources only
Every legal and regulatory point comes from primary sources: the Acts that set up each professional board, the boards' own codes and guidance, and the Ministry of Health. 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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