Professionalism and ethical practice
In the RACGP CPD Standards, professionalism and ethical practice is described as:
A GP’s social contract with the community, which involves trust between the GP and the patient, observing patient–doctor boundaries, commitment to scientific and clinical excellence, promotion of health, and interests of patients before other interests.
Similarly, in the Good medical practice: a code of conduct for doctors in Australia (the code) it 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 their skills and knowledge up to date, refine and develop their clinical judgment as they gain experience, and contribute to their profession.
Domain 4 – Professional and ethical role is one of the main units of the 2022 RACGP Curriculum and Syllabus for Australian General Practice, it provides competencies, learning outcomes, education topics and content areas as well as learning resources for GPs.