Codes of Conduct and Professional Practice Expectations
What the code actually does
The code of conduct sets out the professional expectations the Board applies to registered practitioners. It is not a list of punishable offences; it is a framework used to judge whether conduct falls below the standard the public and the profession expect. Questions test whether you can apply the code's themes to a scenario.
Core themes
- Patient-centred care and safety - the patient's interests come first, including continuity of care and appropriate referral.
- Professional boundaries - practitioners must not exploit the therapeutic relationship. The trap is assuming a boundary breach requires a sexual or financial element; it can be subtler.
- Consent and confidentiality - obtaining informed consent and protecting patient information, including in social media and public settings.
- Honesty and integrity - accurate records, truthful reporting, and not misrepresenting qualifications or competence.
- Scope of practice - working within competence and recognising limits; the trap is thinking scope is fixed by job title rather than by individual competence and training.
- Conflicts of interest and personal conduct - conduct outside work can still be relevant where it affects public confidence.
Worked example
A paramedic posts a photo of an identifiable patient on a personal social account, arguing it was taken in a public place and no name was used. The correct analysis is a confidentiality and professionalism issue: identifiability, not naming, is the test. The code's themes on privacy and public confidence are engaged regardless of the public setting.
Exam traps
- Treating the code as a checklist of banned acts rather than principles applied to context.
- Assuming personal-time conduct is always outside the Board's reach.
- Confusing a boundary issue with a competence issue - they are analysed differently.