As a doctor practising in Australia, each year you must allocate CPD time to consider and develop your Professionalism and Ethical Practice according to your scope of practice and role(s).

Good medical practice: a code of conduct for doctors in Australia states that:

Doctors have a duty to make the care of patients their first concern and to practise medicine safely and effectively. They must be ethical and trustworthy. Doctors have a responsibility to protect and promote the health of individuals and the community.

Professionalism includes self-awareness and self-reflection, as well as a duty to keep skills and knowledge up to date, refine and develop clinical judgment as experience grows, and contribute to the profession.

Getting started

When planning your annual CPD, we suggest starting with the Good Medical Practice: A code of conduct for doctors in Australia, which describes what is expected of all doctors registered to practise medicine in Australia.

Becoming familiar with, and maintaining your understanding of, the code is important and valuable — and helps you meet the annual requirement of at least one activity for Professionalism and one activity for Ethical Practice.

You determine your own priorities and CPD hours, however you must complete at least one activity each year relating to both Professionalism and Ethical Practice. Completing the reflection outlined in your annual Professional Development Plan (PDP) will help you meet this requirement. To complete your PDP, log in to myCPD home and open the PDP tool.

Consider the range of resources and activities offered by your medical defence organisation. Some may be RACGP CPD-approved activities, while others — including reading and reflection — can be logged for your program-level requirements.

For ideas on how to meet these requirements, refer to the RACGP's Professionalism and Ethics CPD solution.

Footnote
[1] The Medical Board of Australia, 2023.