Ethics and Ethical Standards for Osteopaths

About this course

Osteopathic care is hands-on, often involves undressing, touches areas of the body patients may feel vulnerable about, and is usually delivered in private practice where the osteopath is also running a business. These features make ethics central to everyday osteopathy: consent must be genuinely informed and continuing, boundaries must be clear, claims about treatment must be honest, and patients must never feel pressured into courses of care they do not need.

This course applies the core ethical principles to osteopathic practice, explains the General Osteopathic Council's role and the Osteopathic Practice Standards, and covers consent, harm and risk, advertising, candour, records, shared decision-making, vulnerable patients, boundaries, and how the GOsC responds when standards are breached.

CPD Value and How to Record It:

This course is designed to provide approximately 2 hours of learning, including reading, the reflection points, the reflective account and the assessment. In the UK, CPD is generally recorded as the time actually spent learning, so you should record the time you genuinely spend, which may be more or less than the estimate.

How the course fits your revalidation or CPD requirements depends on your regulator. For example, the NMC asks nurses, midwives and nursing associates to record 35 hours of CPD over three years, of which at least 20 must be participatory; self-directed online learning such as this course usually counts as individual learning unless you complete it with others. The GMC expects doctors to reflect on CPD for appraisal and revalidation rather than setting a fixed number of hours. The HCPC, GDC, GPhC, GOC, GOsC and GCC each set their own CPD requirements, so check the current rules that apply to you. Always keep your certificate together with your written reflection.

What you will learn

• Explain why ethics is central to osteopathic practice.
• Apply autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, justice and confidentiality to osteopathic care.
• Describe the Osteopathic Practice Standards and the GOsC CPD scheme.
• Advertise honestly, be candid when things go wrong and keep good records.
• Obtain valid, continuing consent for examination and treatment plans.
• Maintain professional boundaries and avoid financial exploitation.
• Respond to breaches with insight and remediation.

Who this course is for

Registered osteopaths in private, NHS and multidisciplinary settings, osteopathy students, and those responding to a concern.

Course content

10 sections · 2 CPD hours · 15 MCQs

Course facts

CPD value

Approximately 2 CPD hours (estimated learning time, including reflection and assessment); can contribute to the communication and consent element of your GOsC CPD cycle

Format

Self-paced reading with osteopathic practice cases, reflection points and a written reflective account

Standards covered

GOsC Osteopathic Practice Standards (2019) and guidance; GOsC CPD scheme; consent law including Montgomery; Mental Capacity Act 2005; advertising rules; fitness to practise

Assessment

15 scenario-based multiple-choice questions; pass mark 12 out of 15 (80%)

Questions about this course