Conduct and Boundaries Program for Australian Health Practitioners

Most boundary problems do not begin with a dramatic decision. They begin with small steps that each seem reasonable at the time: a personal mobile number given to a distressed patient, a gift accepted to avoid offence, a friend request left unanswered, a consultation that runs late and becomes informal. Over time those steps can add up to conduct that a Board, panel or tribunal sees very differently from the way the practitioner saw it.

The National Law describes unprofessional conduct as professional conduct of a lesser standard than the public or your professional peers might reasonably expect. Boundary breaches are among the clearest examples, and sexual misconduct sits at the most serious end, where findings of professional misconduct can follow. This program starts with that legal standard and then works through the boundary situations practitioners meet most often, in person, during examinations and online.

• Practitioners who have received a notification, an employer complaint or feedback about conduct, communication or boundaries.
• Practitioners with conditions involving chaperones, restrictions on patient groups or a requirement to complete education on boundaries.
• Clinicians in rural, remote and close-knit communities, where dual relationships are often unavoidable and need careful management.
• Practitioners in high-contact or intimate care, such as general practice, obstetrics and gynaecology, physiotherapy, chiropractic, osteopathy, nursing, midwifery and paramedicine.
• Psychologists and mental health clinicians, who may also want the profession-specific boundaries and multiple relationships course for psychologists.
• Anyone who uses social media personally or for their practice.
• Supervisors, practice managers and clinical leads who need to recognise early warning signs in their teams.

Across the five courses you produce written work you can keep in your CPD record and, if relevant, discuss with your adviser:

• reflective accounts based on boundary-specific prompts, including one based on an audit of your own social media;
• a boundary self-audit you can repeat every six to twelve months to show sustained practice;
• a personal prevention plan for sexual boundaries that you can review with a supervisor or mentor;
• a before, during and after checklist for intimate examinations, with model phrases for offering a chaperone;
• a pre-posting checklist and a template for practice social media governance;
• five certificates of completion recording approximate learning time.

If boundaries are the subject of a notification, combine this program with the reflective courses in the Insight, Reflection and Remediation Program so that your topic learning is matched by insight and a written plan. The professional boundaries and sexual boundaries concern pages explain how these notifications are usually handled.

The program costs A$889, which is 25% less than the five courses bought separately. The saving is applied in the cart. You can also choose your own mix of courses through multi-buy at 10% off for five courses.