Standards of Professional Conduct and Grounds for Discipline
The grounds list is the map
Discipline questions usually turn on whether conduct fits a statutory ground. Common grounds include fraud or deceit in obtaining a license, incompetence or negligence, practicing outside scope, violation of Board rules, and unprofessional conduct. Candidates should be able to match a fact pattern to the closest ground rather than reasoning from general fairness.
Professional conduct expectations
Expectations include honesty in dealings with patients and the Board, maintaining competence, avoiding conflicts of interest, and not abandoning patients. Traps include assuming that conduct occurring outside the office is irrelevant-conduct bearing on fitness to practice can be disciplined-and assuming a single act cannot support discipline.
Negligence versus incompetence
Negligence typically involves a departure from the standard of care in a specific instance; incompetence may reflect a broader lack of ability. Questions may blur these; identify the precise statutory language used.
Worked example / rule of thumb
A licensee falsifies a CE certificate. The strongest ground is fraud/deceit and violation of rules, not merely a CE deficiency. Rule of thumb: name the specific statutory ground the facts satisfy, and remember that conduct reflecting on fitness can be disciplined wherever it occurs.