1. Why this topic matters and how the series works
This module in the series
Legal and ethical issues — including complaints handling — is a GDC highly recommended CPD topic for the whole dental team. PrismCPD delivers it as three 1-hour modules. This is module 1. It maps to GDC Development Outcomes A, B and D.
Suggested study time
- Why the topic is highly recommended, and GDC Standards in daily work — 18 min
- Valid consent and material risk — 20 min
- Capacity, children and best interests — 17 min
- Knowledge check (MCQ) — 5 min
GDC Development Outcomes
- Outcome A: communication — explaining options, risks and next steps so the patient can decide.
- Outcome B: management and working with others — a practice that has a clear ethical system, not one clinician improvising.
- Outcome D (primary): professionalism — putting patients’ interests first and working within the law and GDC Standards.
What “highly recommended” means
The GDC does not set a fixed hour total for this topic the way it does for medical emergencies. It does expect you to keep legal and ethical knowledge current, including how you handle complaints. These three hours are PrismCPD’s structured cover of that expectation.
GDC Standards as a working tool
The Standards for the Dental Team are not a quiz you sat at registration. They describe how you treat people every session: put patients’ interests first; communicate clearly; obtain valid consent; protect information; have an effective complaints procedure; work with colleagues; stay within your competence; and raise concerns if patients are at risk.
If a decision feels uncomfortable, ask: whose interest am I serving, and can I explain this to a patient, a colleague and a registrar?
How the three modules fit
Work through them in numerical order: 1, then 2, then 3. There is no lock — you can open any module. Completing 1 first makes 2 and 3 easier.
- 1 (this module) — standards, consent, capacity.
- 2 — confidentiality, records, candour and raising concerns.
- 3 — complaints, boundaries, advertising and indemnity.
Each module is 1 hour. Together they are 3 hours.