Bioethics, medical law and human rights form an integral part of clinical medicine in South Africa. The demand for postgraduate ethics education as an important component of continuing professional development (CPD) is spiralling. Several factors have prompted this demand: the compulsory ethics CPD requirement of the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA), unprecedented medical litigation in the private and public health care spheres and a heightened awareness of the pervasiveness of ethical challenges in clinical practice.

This online ethics CPD program has been developed in response to the growing demand for postgraduate education in bioethics, medical law and human rights in urban, peri-urban and rural South Africa.

The program requires you to read specific chapters in the book “Bioethics , Medical Law and Human Rights: A South African Perspective” and to answer a few multiple choice questions (MCQs) on the chapters. At present the program has MCQs on 8 chapters:

The chapters are:

• Chapter 5: Respect for patient autonomy
• Chapter 6: Beneficence
• Chapter 7: Non-maleficence
• Chapter 11: Professionalism
• Chapter 13: Ethics in the consulting rooms
• Chapter 18: Ethics at the end of life
• Chapter 19: Organ transplant ethics and the law
• Chapter 22: Research ethics and scientific integrity

After reading through each of the chapters you will have an opportunity to answer the MCQs. If you successfully answer 3 out of 4 questions, you will be awarded 2 CPD points per chapter. Some chapters are shorter and have only 3 questions, for those chapters 2 out of 3 questions need to be answered correctly. You may thus earn anything from 2 to 16 Ethics CPD points depending on how many chapters you register for.

You require 5 ETHICS CPD points per year so you can obtain some points this year and the other points on different chapters next year.

If you are not successful on your first attempt to answer the required number of questions, you will be allowed a second chance. If you are unsuccessful on your second attempt, you will need to re-read the chapter and try again the next day. Your third attempt will be your final attempt and if unsuccessful, you will need to re-register and pay for that chapter.

The cost of registration is based on a charge of R100.00 per CPD point. The proceeds of the program will provide financial support to the Division of Medical Ethics and Law, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Stellenbosch to promote ethics teaching in South Africa and the African continent.

In accordance with HPCSA guidelines issued in 2022, the Division of Medical Ethics and Law as the provider/facilitator of CPD activities, will submit proof of completion/attendance directly to the HPCSA to update a practitioner's CPD record. This will reflect on the HPCSA medical professional’s profile and the practioner will receive an e mail from the HPCSA to confirm CPD activity.

Once you have registered you have 2 weeks in which to complete a specific chapter.

I wish you many hours of enjoyable reading and stimulating reflection!

Keymanthri Moodley
Professor & Director
Division of Medical Ethics & Law
WHO Collaborating Centre in Bioethics
Department of Medicine
Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences
Stellenbosch Univeristy