Welcome to Gifts, Hospitality & Conflicts of Interest (Gifts)
Welcome to this course
Gifts, hospitality, and conflicts of interest are genuinely everyday territory, not rare, dramatic scenarios. A pharmaceutical rep’s lunch, a patient’s thank-you gift, a family connection to a colleague you’re assessing, a private clinic you also work at, these are the situations most professionals actually encounter, and the standard applied to all of them is genuinely consistent across UK regulators.
This course covers what actually counts as a conflict, the real test regulators apply, the wider territory most gift-and-hospitality training skips entirely, financial interest in referrals, secondary employment, sponsored training, and target-driven payment schemes, and a genuine, practical method for handling all of it well.
- Apply the genuine “may affect, or be seen to affect” test regulators actually use
- Distinguish between a patient’s genuine, unsolicited gift and a commercially-motivated one
- Recognise a financial interest in where you refer someone as its own, distinct conflict
- Handle secondary employment, private practice, and industry-sponsored training properly
- Declare, step aside, and refuse appropriately, worked through two complete cases
Who this is for
Any regulated health or social care professional. This is a genuinely common course, the underlying standard is consistent across GMC, NMC, GDC, HCPC, GPhC, and Social Work England, even though the exact wording differs slightly between each regulator’s own guidance.
This course explains the general standard around gifts, hospitality, and conflicts of interest. It is not legal advice. If you’re facing a specific, live situation involving a significant gift, financial interest, or genuine conflict, check your own organisation’s policy and, where appropriate, seek specific advice.
Structure How this course is organised +
Four modules, three knowledge checks, and a final 12-question assessment. Score 80% to unlock your certificate.
- Module 1 — what actually counts as a conflict, including financial interest in referrals
- Module 2 — handling it well, declaring, stepping aside, refusing, and record-keeping
- Module 3 — the wider territory, secondary employment, sponsored training, and target payments
- Module 4 — a structured method for genuine dilemmas, worked through two complete cases
Around 2 hours in total.
Part of Probity & Honesty — Common Courses +
This course sits within CrownEthics’ Probity & Honesty library, alongside Duty of Candour & Openness, and further courses on financial integrity and rebuilding trust.
