Medical Council notification · Written to Good medical practice

Professionalism and Professional Standards for Doctors for Doctors facing a Medical Council investigation, complaint or allegation

The allegation concerns your professionalism, behaviour or conduct as a doctor.

Communication — a patient or whānau not told openly, honestly or clearly
Manner — dismissive, rude or disrespectful to a patient or a colleague
Dishonesty — a record, claim, CV or declaration that is not true
Boundaries — a boundaries breach with a patient or a colleague
Consent — risks, alternatives or the patient’s choice not properly explained
Online conduct — a post, message or comment that was unprofessional
Cultural safety — care that fell short of the Council’s cultural safety standard
Any other — professional concern or allegation of unprofessional conduct

Facing an allegation of unprofessional behaviour or misconduct like these — from the Medical Council, a Professional Conduct Committee or the Health Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal?

Help with a Medical Council investigation, complaint or allegation starts here. This CPD course helps you remediate — and demonstrate the remediation, with a dated certificate for your written response, your portfolio or a Committee or Tribunal direction.

Buy this course — NZ$200 Bulk buy — any five or ten courses

Immediate access · certificate on completion · twelve months' access

2 CPD hours
Self-paced
Written for New Zealand
CPD certificate
Bulk buy: any 5 for NZ$850 · any 10 for NZ$1,400

At a glance

Who it is for: Any doctor facing a Medical Council notification, complaint or allegation, a Professional Conduct Committee investigation or a competence review about professional behaviour or conduct — an allegation of unprofessional behaviour or conduct
Authorities covered: The Medical Council of New Zealand, its Professional Conduct Committees and the Health Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal
Length: 10 sections, 59 lessons, 2 CPD hours
Format: Self-paced, online, immediate access, twelve months from purchase
Certificate: Issued by Healthcare Ethics Courses on completion, dated, with the course title and 2 CPD hours
Price: NZ$200 · any 5 for NZ$850 · any 10 for NZ$1,400

Certificate issued by Healthcare Ethics CoursesRemediation courses for regulatory processes.

2CPD hours, issued by Healthcare Ethics Courses

10Sections, nine closing with a reflective quiz

57Lessons, plus a post-course assessment

NZ$200One off. Twelve months' access

Who this course is for

Facing an allegation of unprofessional behaviour or conduct

The Council’s letter says your manner, a remark, your behaviour towards a colleague or a way of working fell short of Good medical practice. This course is how you account for it — and show you have remediated.

Dealing with a Medical Council notification or complaint

A patient, whānau, a colleague, your employer, the HDC or ACC has notified the Council and you have been asked for your comments. Most professionalism matters are decided on that response; this course gives it the structure the Council reads for.

Under investigation by a Professional Conduct Committee

The Committee has the file and wants your explanation before it decides what to recommend. It reads for the difference between an explanation and an excuse — and for dated, targeted remediation alongside your reflection.

Facing a misconduct charge or hearing before the Tribunal

A charge of professional misconduct has been laid, or a penalty is being decided. Remediation completed before the hearing — dated, documented — is weighed every time.

Under conditions, supervision or directed to complete CPD

Conditions on your practising certificate, a supervisor’s reports, a Committee recommendation or a return to practice after time away. The certificate records two dated CPD hours written to the Council’s own standard.

Expecting a complaint to reach the Council

A complaint to your employer, the Health and Disability Commissioner or ACC can become a Medical Council notification. Remediation done now is documented before it does.

The concerns this course speaks to

Communication with patients and whānau

A patient or whānau not told openly, clearly or in time; an explanation rushed or never checked. The Council treats communication as a professional standard in its own right, and the course sets out what a credible account of a communication failure looks like.

Manner and respect

Interrupting, talking down, telling a patient in pain they are overreacting, or speaking to a nurse in a way a ward remembers. Good medical practice requires courtesy and respect to patients and colleagues alike, and many workplace notifications describe behaviour towards staff.

Probity and an allegation of dishonesty

A note added later without saying so, an observation recorded that was not taken, an ACC claim that does not match the consultation, a CV or declaration that is not quite true. The Council treats dishonesty as misconduct regardless of clinical outcome; probity has a section of its own.

Professional and ethical boundaries

Gifts accepted, social contact outside the consultation, a relationship that began as care, a colleague or student treated as something other than a colleague. The Council’s sexual boundaries statement is explicit; the course treats the earlier, smaller steps as the point where the standard is engaged.

Consent and information

A procedure explained after the fact, alternatives not offered, a patient who did not understand and was not asked. Informed consent is an ethical and a legal duty in New Zealand, and a consent complaint is usually a professionalism matter too.

Conduct online and in the digital record

A de-identified case a small community can still identify, a comment about a patient group, a photograph from a ward. The Council judges online behaviour as professional behaviour, telehealth and social media included.

Cultural safety

Whānau excluded from a discharge discussion, a decision made without asking what mattered to the patient. The Council’s cultural safety standard makes this a conduct and a competence matter, and the course gives it its own section.

Interests, scope and any other concern

A referral to a facility you have a share in, hospitality not recorded, practice beyond your scope without supervision or referral. Any allegation of unprofessional behaviour or conduct is measured against a heading of Good medical practice — the course shows you how to find it and answer it.

Facing a Medical Council investigation, complaint or allegation? This course helps you remediate — and demonstrate it.

Buy this course — NZ$200

What the course covers

Ten sections and 59 lessons, with a reflective quiz closing each of the first nine and a post-course assessment at the end.

Section 01

Introduction — Why Professionalism Matters in New Zealand Medicine

Six lessons

Section 02

Core Attributes of Professionalism

Eight lessons

Section 03

Regulator Perspectives — Medical Council of New Zealand Standards

Six lessons

Section 04

Common Lapses in Professionalism and Their Consequences

Seven lessons

Section 05

Reflection, Insight, and Remediation in Professionalism Cases

Five lessons

Section 06

Weak vs Strong Demonstrations of Professionalism

Seven lessons

Section 07

Case Studies — Professionalism Across Clinical Contexts in New Zealand

Seven lessons

Section 08

Professionalism in Communication, Documentation, and Digital Practice

Four lessons

Section 09

Embedding Professionalism into Identity, Cultural Safety, and Resilience

Seven lessons

Section 10

Conclusion and Key Takeaways

Key takeaways and the post-course assessment

Show every lesson title

Section 01 · Introduction — Why Professionalism Matters in New Zealand Medicine: What Is Professionalism in New Zealand Medicine?; Why Professionalism Matters for Patients; Why Professionalism Matters for Regulators; Professionalism and Professional Identity; Consequences of Professional Lapses; Professionalism in Modern New Zealand Practice.
Section 02 · Core Attributes of Professionalism: Honesty and Probity; Accountability; Respect and Cultural Safety; Clinical Competence; Professional Boundaries; Communication and Collaboration; Reflection and Insight; Resilience and Professional Identity.
Section 03 · Regulator Perspectives — Medical Council of New Zealand Standards: The Role of the Medical Council of New Zealand; Core Duties Outlined in Good Medical Practice; Professional Misconduct and Fitness to Practise; Cultural Safety and Partnership; Reflection, Insight, and Remediation; Shared Themes Across MCNZ Guidance.
Section 04 · Common Lapses in Professionalism and Their Consequences: Dishonesty and Lack of Probity; Poor Communication and Disrespect; Boundary Violations; Failure to Maintain Competence; Conflicts of Interest; Digital and Social Media Misconduct; Consequences of Professionalism Lapses.
Section 05 · Reflection, Insight, and Remediation in Professionalism Cases: Reflection — Honest Self-Examination; Insight — Recognising Seriousness and Impact; Remediation — Taking Corrective Action; Weak vs Strong Responses in MCNZ Proceedings; Integration of Reflection, Insight, and Remediation.
Section 06 · Weak vs Strong Demonstrations of Professionalism: Documentation Falsification; Informed-Consent Failure; Boundary Concern; Disrespectful Communication; Conflict of Interest; Digital Professionalism Breach; Lessons Across Cases.
Section 07 · Case Studies — Professionalism Across Clinical Contexts in New Zealand: General Practice — Confidentiality Breach; Hospital Ward — Disrespectful Behaviour; Emergency Department — Unsafe Prescribing; Telehealth — Consent and Privacy; Academic and Research — Data Integrity; Cultural Safety and Whānau Engagement; Lessons Across Contexts.
Section 08 · Professionalism in Communication, Documentation, and Digital Practice: Professional Communication; Professional Documentation; Digital Professionalism; Integration Across Practice.
Section 09 · Embedding Professionalism into Identity, Cultural Safety, and Resilience: Professionalism as Identity; Daily Habits That Reinforce Professionalism; Cultural Safety and Te Tiriti Partnership; Reflection and Accountability as Ongoing Practice; Building Resilience to Sustain Professionalism; Mentorship and Role Modelling; Sustaining Professionalism Across a Career.
Section 10 · Conclusion and Key Takeaways: Conclusion; Key Takeaways.

How to respond to a Medical Council notification, complaint or allegation

The Medical Council, a Professional Conduct Committee and the Health Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal all read the same written response. It has to do four things, and the course teaches each one.

The Council reads your response before it decides anything.

DescribeThe events in order, in plain words, without the adjectives a reader hears as advocacy.Weak and strong responses to six scenarios show the tone that works.
OwnThe heading of Good medical practice the conduct fell short of — respect, honesty, boundaries, consent, cultural safety — named by you before the Council names it.The course takes the standard heading by heading, so you can name it.
The effectWhat the conduct meant for the patient, the colleague or the team, in their terms rather than yours.Reflection and insight have a section of their own.
ShowDated evidence that something has changed, which someone other than you can check.This course is the dated item you attach — and it tells you how to build the rest.

Apologise for the conduct, not for the complaint — and treat the first draft as the one you do not send.

Take advice from your indemnity insurer, your union or a lawyer before you respond to anyone.

Facing a Medical Council investigation, complaint or allegation? This course helps you remediate — and demonstrate it.

Buy this course — NZ$200

How this course helps with a Medical Council investigation

The Council’s question is about the future, not the past

The Council protects the public, so it asks one question of a professionalism concern: can this doctor be relied on to behave differently? It answers from three things — reflection that is specific, insight that accepts the seriousness without qualification, and remediation targeted to the lapse that someone else can check. Paired weak and strong responses to the same six scenarios show why one doctor continues under supervision and another does not.

Remediation that can be checked

A certificate for this course is one dated item. The course sets out the rest of a credible remediation portfolio for a professionalism matter: supervision or mentoring with written reports, a records or consent audit repeated after an interval, patient or colleague feedback gathered on purpose, and reflective writing that cites Good medical practice by heading — with the cultural safety training and peer review the Council recognises where that is the concern. For the stages from the first letter to the Tribunal, see the Council investigation process, explained.

Read the primary sources

Who wrote it

Dr Shehzad Iqbal

Course author and facilitator, Healthcare Ethics New Zealand

Dr Iqbal has designed and delivered ethics, probity and professionalism training for healthcare professionals since 2020, working with registrants across regulated health professions, online and face to face. He combines clinical practice with formal postgraduate training in healthcare law and ethics.

MBBS · MRCS · MRCGP · Postgraduate Certificate in Healthcare Law and Ethics, University of Dundee

Written and reviewed by Dr Shehzad Iqbal. Last reviewed September 2026.

In short

Professionalism and Professional Standards for Doctors is a two-hour, self-paced remediation course for doctors registered with the Medical Council of New Zealand facing a notification, investigation, complaint or allegation, written to Good medical practice. It sets out what the Council means by professionalism, the lapses its notifications often describe — communication, honesty in records and claims, boundaries, consent, undeclared interests, online conduct and cultural safety — and what a credible response to a notification, a Professional Conduct Committee or the Tribunal contains. Ten sections, the first nine closing with a reflective quiz, a post-course assessment, and a dated certificate from Healthcare Ethics Courses on completion. The course is remediation and dated evidence of it; it does not decide the outcome of any matter, and it is not a substitute for advice from your indemnity insurer, your union or a lawyer.

What the Medical Council means by professionalism

The Council does not define professionalism as a personality; it defines it as behaviour that can be observed, recorded and, when absent, notified. Good medical practice sets it out under headings — the patient as the first concern, honesty and integrity, respect for patients and colleagues, informed consent, confidentiality, boundaries, competence and cultural safety — and a professionalism notification is a claim that one of them was not met. The course takes the headings in that order: the behaviour expected, the behaviour that produces notifications, and how the Council weighs the gap — the risk, whether it was a single event or a pattern, and whether the doctor has understood it.

In New Zealand professionalism includes cultural safety — practice that Māori and other patients and their whānau experience as safe — and it follows the doctor into telehealth, the electronic record and social media. The course closes on the habits that hold on a bad day: the pause before the reply, the note written at the time, the interest declared before it matters.

What these words mean

The three terms that decide where a matter goes, and the other words the course uses.

Professional Conduct Committee: A committee the Council appoints when a notification raises a question of conduct rather than competence or health. It investigates, hears from the doctor and recommends: no further action, counselling, a competence review, conditions, or a charge before the Tribunal.
Professional misconduct: The Tribunal’s ground under s 100 of the Act: malpractice or negligence in your scope of practice, or conduct that has brought or was likely to bring discredit to the profession. Dishonesty, a boundary breach and a breach of confidence are among the findings made under it.
The three routes under the HPCA Act: Fitness to practise is the phrase practitioners use for the whole process. Under the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003 the Council or Board takes one of three routes: a competence review (your practice against the required standard); the health process — the Act’s fitness to practise provisions, for impairment by a mental or physical condition; or a referral of your conduct to a Professional Conduct Committee, which can lay a charge of professional misconduct before the Tribunal. Which route your letter names tells you how the matter is being treated.

Professionalism, reflection, insight, remediation and the other terms the course uses

Professionalism: In the Council’s usage, the observable behaviours Good medical practice requires of every doctor: honesty, respect, accountability, competence, boundaries and cultural safety. Not a quality of character but a standard of conduct, which is why it can be the subject of a notification.
Good medical practice: The Medical Council of New Zealand’s statement of the standards of clinical competence, cultural competence and ethical conduct expected of doctors, set under the Act. It is the document a professionalism notification is measured against, and the document a response should cite by heading.
Notification: The Act’s word for a concern about a doctor reaching the Council — from a patient, a colleague, an employer or the doctor themselves. A notification is not a finding; it opens a process in which the Council first asks the doctor to respond.
Reflection: A structured written account of what happened, why, what standard it fell short of and what has changed. Distinguished from an apology by its specificity, and from an explanation by the fact that it does not argue the conduct was reasonable.
Insight: Acceptance of the seriousness of a lapse and of its effect on patients, colleagues and public trust, without minimising it or shifting responsibility. The Council treats limited insight as the strongest indicator that a lapse will recur.
Remediation: Corrective action targeted to the lapse and verifiable by someone else: CPD on the standard concerned, supervision or mentoring with reports, audits repeated over time, feedback gathered on purpose. Generic CPD, however much of it, counts for little on its own.
Cultural safety: Care that the patient and their whānau experience as safe, respectful and in partnership, with the doctor examining their own assumptions and the power in the relationship. In New Zealand a cultural safety failure is a professionalism matter, not a question of manners.

The provisions a professionalism concern about a doctor engages

Professionalism is conduct, and the Medical Council’s standards say what professional conduct is for the profession. These are the standard itself and the provisions of the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003 a professionalism notification about a doctor runs under.

Medical Council — Good medical practice

The Council’s current statement of 1 November 2021, with its statements on informed consent, patient records, sexual and professional boundaries and disclosure of harm. Every professionalism notification about a doctor names a part of it. Read it.

For this course: The course takes Good medical practice heading by heading as behaviour, so that a professionalism response names the heading the conduct fell short of.

Section 71 — referral to a Professional Conduct Committee

A conduct concern — behaviour towards patients or colleagues, honesty, respect — is referred to a Professional Conduct Committee of two doctors and a layperson, which investigates independently and asks for your written response. Read it.

For this course: A professionalism concern is a conduct concern and is referred here; the course explains what the Committee of two doctors and a layperson will ask.

Section 100 — the grounds of discipline

The Tribunal may discipline for professional misconduct — malpractice or negligence, or conduct likely to bring discredit to the profession — among other grounds. Discredit is judged by what the public and the profession would make of the conduct. Read it.

For this course: Conduct that brings discredit to the profession is a ground of discipline in its own words, and professionalism matters are where it is often engaged.

Section 101 — the penalties

Censure, conditions, suspension for up to three years, cancellation of registration, a fine of up to NZ$30,000 and costs. Censure is the least of the penalties; insight, remediation and conduct since the events are weighed every time. Read it.

For this course: The Tribunal’s penalties in professionalism cases run the full range, and the course teaches the evidence that moves a penalty toward the lighter end.

Also engaged: Section 118 — the Council sets the standards a notification is measured against · Section 34 — colleagues and employers must notify a risk of harm, which is why many professionalism notifications come from the workplace · Section 80 — what a Professional Conduct Committee may recommend, from counselling to a charge · Section 36 — a competence review where the conduct points to wider concerns.

What happens after a notification reaches the Medical Council

The stages a professionalism notification about a doctor can pass through. At every one the same three things are read: whether you understand what happened and why it mattered, whether you have said so in your own words, and whether you have done something someone else can check.

The notification and the Council’s triage
A patient, colleague, employer, ACC or the Police writes to the Council, and the Council writes to you for your comments. Most professionalism matters are decided here, on your response — no further action, educational guidance, or a referral to one of the routes below.
A competence review, where the conduct suggests wider concerns
If the behaviour points to a wider problem with how you practise — often communication or records — the Council may review your competence; reviewers read your records, watch you work and talk to colleagues.
The health route, where a condition may be part of it
Where the conduct may be connected to fatigue, substance use or illness, the Council’s Health Committee takes it under the Act’s fitness to practise provisions — supportive, confidential and not disciplinary, with conditions where needed.
A Professional Conduct Committee, where the question is conduct
Where the notification alleges a breach of professional standards, a Committee of two doctors and a layperson investigates, reads your response and may interview you. Its recommendation — from no further action to a charge — turns on your insight more than on the original event.
The Tribunal, if a charge is laid
The Health Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal hears the charge, usually in public, and decides whether the conduct is professional misconduct. Penalties run from censure to cancellation; insight, remediation and conduct since the events are weighed every time, and any conditions or order are reviewed against what has changed.
Interim suspension or conditions, if the risk requires it
Where there is a risk of serious harm the Council may suspend your practising certificate or impose interim conditions at any stage, and the Tribunal may once a charge is laid. An interim order is a precaution, not a finding, and is reviewed.

Facing a Medical Council investigation, complaint or allegation? This course helps you remediate — and demonstrate it.

Buy this course — NZ$200

Not a doctor? New Zealand regulates 18 professions under the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003, and the process is the same for all — courses for every registered profession →

Frequently asked questions

What does the Council want to see in my written response?

A plain account of what happened, without argument; the heading of Good medical practice the conduct fell short of, named by you first; the effect on the patient, colleague or team; what you have done since, with dates; and what would be different next time.

Should I take advice before I respond to the Council?

Yes — before you write anything to the Council, a Professional Conduct Committee, the Tribunal or your employer. Your indemnity insurer, your union or a lawyer should read a response before it goes. Nothing on this page is legal advice, and no course determines the outcome of a matter.

Does completing this course count as remediation?

It is one dated piece of it. Remediation the Council recognises is targeted to the lapse and checkable by someone else — CPD on the standard concerned, supervision or mentoring with reports, an audit repeated after an interval, feedback gathered on purpose, and reflection that cites the standard. No provider is accredited by the Council and no course decides a matter; check the wording of any direction with your indemnity insurer or lawyer.

The complaint is about my manner, not my clinical care. Is that really a Council matter?

Yes. Good medical practice requires courtesy and respect towards patients and colleagues, and communication is the issue often raised in complaints. A single bad-tempered exchange rarely goes further than a request for your comments; a pattern, or an exchange a patient found humiliating, can go to a Professional Conduct Committee — and the response usually decides which.

I added to a patient record after the event. Is that dishonesty?

A later entry dated as a later entry is ordinary practice. An entry written to look contemporaneous, or an original altered to remove something, turns a clinical or communication concern into one about honesty — which the Council treats as misconduct whether or not the patient was harmed.

Will the Council see cultural safety as a professionalism issue?

Yes. The Council’s cultural safety standard and its expectations under Te Tiriti o Waitangi make the way a doctor works with Māori patients and their whānau a matter of professional conduct, and the course gives cultural safety its own section.

What happens if the Council is not satisfied by my response?

The Council may order a competence review, appoint a Professional Conduct Committee or, where there is a risk to the public, impose interim conditions or suspension; a Committee may lay a charge before the Tribunal. Each stage reads what you did after the last one, which is why dated work done early matters.

How is this course different from the Ethics course for doctors?

This course is about conduct — the behaviours the Council’s standard requires and the lapses that produce notifications. The Ethics course is about the reasoning behind a decision. A notification about how you behaved usually starts here; one about a decision usually starts with Ethics.

How long does it take, and how long do I have access?

The course is 2 CPD hours, self-paced, with twelve months’ access from purchase. The certificate is issued on completion, dated, with the course title and the CPD hours, for your recertification programme, a portfolio or a response.

Notifications rarely raise one issue. These are the courses that pair with this one.

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