Professional Practice, Ethics and Maltese Healthcare Law
What the exam tests
This domain tests whether you can practise safely within the Maltese legal and ethical framework. Understand the core duties: obtaining valid informed consent, assessing and respecting capacity, confidentiality and its lawful limits, mandatory reporting, safe prescribing and record-keeping, and recognising and managing impaired colleagues. Know the structure of the Maltese health system - the Ministry for Health, the Department of Health Regulation, and the role of the Medical Council of Malta in registration, fitness-to-practise and professional discipline.
Concepts to master
Gain competence with the legal basis for consent (including treatment of minors and adults lacking capacity), the meaning of professional secrecy under Maltese law, the duty of candour after harm, and the principles of medical registration and continuing professional development. Understand when disclosure is permitted (public interest, statutory obligation, court order) and the role of the Data Protection Act. Familiarise yourself with the Medical Council's code of ethics and its complaints and fitness-to-practise procedures.
Traps
Questions often hinge on the difference between what is ethically desirable and what is legally required. Distinguish confidentiality from absolute secrecy - the law permits disclosure in defined circumstances. Do not assume a family member can consent for a competent adult. Watch for scenarios where a patient refuses treatment: a capacitous refusal must be respected even if it seems unwise.
Worked rule of thumb
For any ethics scenario, run the four-principles check (autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, justice) and then ask: 'What does Maltese law require, and what does the Medical Council code advise?' Where they conflict, law prevails; document your reasoning.
Revision strategy
Read the Medical Council of Malta's published guidance and the relevant Maltese legislation directly; practise applying principles to short vignettes.