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An adult in a calm indoor setting.

Plastic surgery · Decision making

Informed
Surgical
Consent

A conversation that continues.
A decision that remains the person's.

Use fictional adult elective-surgery cases to examine the questions, alternatives and material risks behind a voluntary choice, and the record and review that support it.

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Eleven fictional cases on choices, material risks, voluntary dialogue and continuing consent.

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Lessons in the full curriculum
11
Thematic modules
4
Format
Case-based study
Delivery and access
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For qualified teams and supervised trainees

Consent is more
than a signature.

This course is for appropriately qualified plastic-surgery and perioperative professionals, supervised advanced trainees, clinical coordinators, and educators working within their roles in adult elective plastic and cosmetic surgery.

Eleven fictional cases follow patient priorities through discussion of a proposed intervention, alternatives including no surgery, possible benefits, material harms, uncertainty and practical recovery questions. Learners organize unanswered questions, a provisional decision record and later changes to the plan.

A worksheet or signed form does not establish a real person's understanding, voluntariness, capacity or consent. The accountable treating and anesthesia professionals make patient-specific decisions under applicable local law and policy; the exercises do not authorize a learner to do so.

Skills you will practice

Make room for
an informed choice.

01

Locate the decision

Distinguish an ongoing exchange and the person's choice from a booking, sales conversation or signed form.

02

Map accountable roles

Separate procedure, anesthesia and administrative questions and route them to the appropriate professionals.

03

Compare meaningful options

Organize the proposed intervention, reasonable alternatives including no surgery, potential benefits, material harms and uncertainty.

04

Support voluntary dialogue

Notice accessibility or pressure concerns and preserve opportunities to ask, defer, decline or reconsider without making a legal finding.

05

Record what remains open

Draft a contemporaneous fictional account of questions, responses, choices and outstanding review points.

06

Review changed purposes

Recognize when a changed plan needs renewed discussion and distinguish care images from teaching or public use questions.

Course curriculum

Four modules.
Eleven case lessons.

Open each lesson for an objective, four developed topics, a fictional exercise with pass criteria and source-mapped reading. Each module ends with a synthesis checkpoint.

$19 Foundation: lessons 1–9$29 Full: lessons 1–11

Module 01 · Lessons 1–3

Foundations, Roles, and Patient Priorities

Establish consent as a voluntary, continuing conversation in which an adult may decline or change their mind; identify responsible professional roles and elicit goals without converting pressure or a booking into consent.

Older adult seated by a window with an open blank notebook, looking thoughtfully outside.
Illustrative pause to consider personal priorities before a possible decision; no consent or clinical choice is shown.
01Consent Is a Process, Not a Signature

Learning objective

Given a fictional pre-signed form, distinguish the information exchange, voluntary choice, record, and later review; write a provisional status that preserves the adult's option to decline, reconsider, or withdraw.

In this lesson

  • A decision develops through dialogue: A proposed operation, a leaflet, a sales conversation, and a form each serve different purposes. The adult must have relevant information and an opportunity to ask questions and decide; a signature by itself does not show what was understood or freely chosen. GMC consent guidance; AMA informed consent.
  • Choice includes no action: The adult may agree, defer, decline, or ask to revisit the decision. Keep a choice to take no action visible in the record instead of translating it into “noncompliance.” The treating professional explains what the available choices would mean in this person's circumstances. GMC options dialogue; NICE shared decision making.
  • A form is one record, not the event: Written material can support a discussion and a dated form can record an agreement, but neither replaces the person-specific conversation and contemporaneous note of questions, responses, and uncertainty. Do not treat an empty or ticked field as proof of comprehension. GMC recording decisions; ASPS ethics.
  • The decision is checked before intervention: The adult can change their mind, and a prior decision should be reviewed before care begins. The core question is whether the choice still stands in light of current information; complex changes to plan or risk are developed in Lesson 10. GMC reviewing decisions.
Independent fictional exercise

Fictional adult Alex electronically signed a generic form on the day a procedure was booked. Alex later asks whether declining is still possible and says no operating professional has yet discussed alternatives. Produce a four-row process audit (information, adult's question, responsible professional, current status) and replace “consent complete” with a neutral note.

Pass criteria: Pass only if the response treats Alex's signature as a record rather than complete dialogue, preserves the possibility of no surgery and a changed choice, identifies missing discussion with the responsible professional, and includes a pre-procedure check. It must not decide that the form is legally valid or invalid, pressure Alex toward a choice, or claim consent was obtained.

02Who Holds the Surgical and Anesthesia Conversations?

Learning objective

Map a fictional adult's surgical, anesthesia, and administrative questions to the responsible professional roles and correct a handoff that falsely calls scheduling or a shared form complete consent.

In this lesson

  • The intervention conversation has an accountable owner: UK cosmetic guidance places the consent discussion with the person performing or supervising the intervention; other surgical settings may allow a suitably trained, qualified delegate under their own rules. The learner records which rule and professional apply, rather than assuming that any staff member or the surgeon everywhere must use the same process. GMC cosmetic communication; RCS surgical practice.
  • Anesthesia needs its own discussion: The anesthesia professional's assessment and consent process addresses the proposed anesthesia, relevant choices, risks, and the adult's questions. An operation form does not silently settle the anesthesia choice, and an anesthesia review does not authorize a surgical procedure. RCoA perioperative guidance.
  • Coordinators and trainees support but do not substitute: A coordinator can arrange accessible information, record questions, and book the proper review. A supervised trainee contributes within scope. Neither can transform an administrative handoff, deposit, or general explanation into consent on behalf of an accountable professional without applicable authority. GMC support and scope; ASPS ethics.
  • Role rules are local and procedure-specific: Australian cosmetic-surgery regulation offers another example of consent accountability and day-of reconfirmation, but its role and timing requirements apply in Australia. For a fictional cross-border worksheet, state jurisdiction as an unknown before judging a process. Australian cosmetic guidelines; RCS cosmetic standards.
Independent fictional exercise

Fictional adult Bea has met a coordinator, who provides an operation form and says “the surgeon and anesthesia team are covered.” Bea has a procedure question and asks how anesthesia options will be discussed. Create a role-and-question map for the operating professional, anesthesia professional, coordinator, and supervised learner, then rewrite the coordinator's statement.

Pass criteria: Pass only if the response separates the procedure and anesthesia conversations, routes Bea's two questions to qualified owners, keeps coordinator and trainee work within scope, and notes that local law and policy determine delegation. It must not claim that either form or scheduling completes consent or invent a universal role rule.

03Goals, Expectations, and Undue Pressure

Learning objective

Separate a fictional adult's own stated goals from an outside person's wishes and a promotional deadline, then formulate non-leading questions and a qualified-review route without diagnosing pressure or predicting benefit.

In this lesson

  • Ask what the adult wants and why: Record the hoped-for appearance or functional change in the adult's own words and invite discussion of what that change may and may not address. A broad wish for confidence or a relationship change is a life hope, not an operation's assured benefit. GMC cosmetic communication; RCS cosmetic standards.
  • Notice the source of an expectation: Partner comments, a social-media image, and a clinic's own advertising can shape perceived options. Ask who introduced an image or claim and whether the adult shares that goal; do not diagnose coercion or assume the image predicts a result. GMC voluntariness guidance; Australian advertising FAQ.
  • Separate information from sales pressure: A time-limited offer or another person's financial commitment can make reflection harder. The treating professional should address voluntariness and support under applicable standards; the learner can flag the issue and preserve time without setting a universal waiting interval. GMC voluntariness guidance; GMC maintaining trust.
  • Leave multiple decisions open: The adult may request further information, meet privately with the appropriate professional, defer, or decline. A coordinator's “committed” label cannot settle suitability, expectations, or willingness. GMC cosmetic communication; Australian cosmetic guidelines.
Independent fictional exercise

Fictional adult Cora wants a subtle change but says a partner selected the clinic and paid a deposit; a social-media image and a discount ending tonight shaped the choice. Write a five-line note preserving Cora's own goal, each external influence, two respectful private-conversation questions, and a provisional decision status.

Pass criteria: Pass only if Cora's own preference stays distinct from the partner's and promotion's influence, questions are non-leading, the deadline is not used to force a decision, and qualified review and deferral or no surgery remain open. The response must not diagnose coercion or distress, promise a relationship benefit, or declare consent invalid from one clue.

Module checkpoint

Module 1 checkpoint — A booking is not a voluntary decision: Fictional adult Dani has a booked cosmetic operation and an electronically signed form. A partner chose the procedure and paid, the clinic posted a guaranteed-looking image, and no accountable procedure or anesthesia conversation is recorded. Produce a source-and-goal table, a role map, four non-leading questions, and a provisional pathway note. Pass only if the response preserves Dani's own account, identifies the possible pressure without diagnosis, distinguishes both professional discussions from the form and booking, and leaves further information, deferral, no surgery, and later withdrawal open. It must not claim a valid or invalid legal consent or predict an outcome.

Module 02 · Lessons 4–6

Options, Material Risks, and Practical Implications

Prepare balanced, individualized discussion questions about the proposed procedure, alternatives, material risks and benefits, uncertainty, recovery, follow-up, and distinct anesthesia consent.

Two adults gesture around four blank cards arranged on a wooden table.
Illustrative comparison of possible choices and questions; the blank cards do not prescribe a clinical option or document consent.
04Explaining the Procedure, Alternatives, and No Surgery

Learning objective

Build a four-branch option matrix for a fictional adult that includes the proposed operation, another reasonable option, postponement, and no surgery, with missing information assigned to the treating professional.

In this lesson

  • Define the proposed intervention in understandable terms: The adult needs the nature, aims, and limits of what is proposed, including which aspects remain uncertain. A course worksheet identifies missing explanations; it does not teach an operative technique or assert what procedure the person should choose. GMC options dialogue; ASPS ethics.
  • Reasonable alternatives deserve a real branch: The treating professional should explain alternatives relevant to this person's goals and situation, with their own benefits and harms. The learner can note where “surgery or nothing” conceals other possibilities, without inventing that an unassessed alternative is clinically available. GMC consent guidance; NICE shared decision making.
  • No surgery and postponement are meaningful choices: For elective care, doing nothing now and deciding later must be discussed as options where relevant. Document consequences as questions rather than portraying non-intervention as failure or as always risk-free. AMA informed consent; GMC cosmetic communication.
  • Compare through the person's priorities: An adult may value a modest change, privacy, time away from work, or avoiding a particular harm differently. The option table should hold those priorities next to unknowns for qualified discussion; it must not rank options on the learner's behalf. RCS cosmetic standards; Australian cosmetic guidelines.
Independent fictional exercise

Fictional adult Ellis wants a modest change, worries about time away from caregiving, and receives a brochure offering only “operate now” or “cancel.” Ellis asks whether another approach or no intervention is reasonable. Make a four-branch option matrix with aim, possible trade-off, unresolved fact, and question for the operating professional.

Pass criteria: Pass only if the proposed operation, at least one professional-review alternative, postponement, and no surgery appear distinctly; Ellis's caregiving priority is visible; and each unverified option is labeled as such. The answer must not recommend a technique, promise a result, claim no surgery has no consequences, or decide candidacy.

05Material Risks, Benefits, and Uncertainty

Learning objective

Audit a fictional benefits-only consent summary and draft person-relevant risk and uncertainty questions without estimating a personal probability or claiming the procedure is safe or unsafe for that adult.

In this lesson

  • Material means relevant to this decision: Potential harms include those serious in general and those that the adult would attach particular weight to. Ask what the person most wants to avoid, alongside the clinician's explanation of known harms; a generic exhaustive list is not a person-specific risk dialogue. GMC options dialogue; NICE shared decision making.
  • Possible benefit is not a guarantee: Describe the hoped-for change and the limits of what is known, including the possibility of no improvement or an unwanted result, as questions for the responsible professional. A marketing claim or prior patient story cannot set this adult's expected outcome. ASPS ethics; RCS cosmetic standards.
  • Communicate uncertainty honestly: If evidence or an estimate is limited, mark that limit rather than inventing precision. Where a qualified professional uses numbers or visual aids, they must explain relevance to the person's circumstances; the course supplies no personal complication probability or threshold. GMC consent guidance; AMA informed consent.
  • Risks span procedure and anesthesia but keep owners distinct: A surgical harm question does not settle anesthesia harms or choices. Capture anesthesia concerns for the anesthesia professional's separate conversation; do not let a brochure's single “minimal risk” line cover both. RCoA perioperative guidance; Australian cosmetic guidelines.
Independent fictional exercise

Fictional adult Farah values a subtle appearance change but says an unwanted visible change would be especially troubling. A leaflet promises “excellent results with virtually no risk” and supplies no individual assessment or anesthesia information. Prepare a claim/evidence/unknown/qualified-question audit and three questions reflecting Farah's priorities.

Pass criteria: Pass only if the response rejects the leaflet's certainty without inventing a numeric risk, includes unwanted outcome and possible limited benefit, identifies anesthesia as a separate discussion, and asks for a person-specific account from the responsible professionals. It must not diagnose, forecast Farah's result, or call the procedure safe or unsafe.

06Recovery, Follow-up, and Distinct Anesthesia Consent

Learning objective

Turn a fictional fixed-recovery promise into a practical question card and separate surgical aftercare questions from the anesthesia professional's consent and follow-up responsibilities.

In this lesson

  • Practical recovery matters to the choice: Ask the treating team about expected variability, time away from work or caring duties, support needs, and uncertainty rather than repeating a single “back to normal” date. The answer is person- and procedure-specific; the course supplies no recovery schedule. Australian cosmetic guidelines.
  • Follow-up and contact are part of informed planning: A decision discussion should make room for how routine review and questions after the procedure will work, including named contact routes. A blank contact field is an unresolved planning issue, not proof that follow-up is unnecessary. Australian cosmetic guidelines.
  • Anesthesia consent is distinct: The anesthesia professional explains the intended anesthesia, relevant choices, potential harms, and context-specific implications, and checks the adult's agreement under applicable guidance. The learner records an unanswered anesthesia question instead of selecting a method or merging it into surgical consent. RCoA perioperative guidance.
  • Timing examples stay local: UK anesthesia service guidance encourages information with time for reflection where possible, and Australian cosmetic rules include their own specific timing. These do not establish a course-wide waiting period or a guarantee that a day-of signature repairs an earlier missing conversation. RCoA perioperative guidance; Australian cosmetic guidelines.
Independent fictional exercise

Fictional adult Gia cares for a relative. A clinic leaflet says “normal activities in one week,” gives no follow-up contact, and bundles “surgery and anesthesia consent” into one unchecked box. Write a six-question planning card divided between the operating and anesthesia professionals, plus a neutral correction to the fixed recovery claim.

Pass criteria: Pass only if the response covers recovery variability, caring support, follow-up contact, and distinct anesthesia questions; it must leave estimates to the qualified teams. It cannot promise a date, select anesthesia, give aftercare or complication triage instructions, or claim the shared box establishes either consent.

Module checkpoint

Module 2 checkpoint — Options must remain balanced: Fictional adult Hal receives a brochure naming only the proposed operation, promising a fixed recovery date and “minimal risk.” Hal values privacy and caregiving time, asks about no surgery, and has had no anesthesia conversation. Produce an options matrix, a material-concern and uncertainty register, a practical recovery/follow-up question card, and a separate anesthesia handoff. Pass only if the response includes postponement and no intervention, preserves Hal's priorities, rejects guarantees without substituting personal risk numbers, routes procedure and anesthesia questions to their owners, and leaves the decision open rather than recommending an operation or declaring consent complete.

Module 03 · Lessons 7–9

Voluntary Dialogue and the Decision Record

Support accessible communication and understanding, route capacity or pressure concerns to qualified review, allow reflection and a changed choice, check that the decision still stands before intervention, and describe a contemporaneous decision record.

Two adults seated in conversation, one gesturing with an open hand while the other listens.
Illustrative conversation in which an adult can raise questions before a decision; no consent or clinical assessment is shown.
07Accessible Dialogue and Checking Understanding

Learning objective

Identify three barriers in a fictional consent conversation, arrange appropriate communication support questions, and use teach-back to test the clarity of an explanation without treating the answer as proof of consent.

In this lesson

  • Communication format follows the adult's needs: Ask about preferred language, hearing, vision, literacy, and information format before relying on a standard leaflet. Reasonable adjustments and a qualified interpreter where needed help the responsible professional conduct the conversation; family translation should not be assumed adequate or neutral. GMC support and scope; RCS surgical practice.
  • Make room for questions and priorities: Short, plain explanations, time to pause, and an invitation to raise personally important concerns make a dialogue more than one-way disclosure. A decision aid can support but not replace the clinician's conversation. NICE shared decision making; GMC consent guidance.
  • Teach-back checks the explanation: Invite the adult to describe, in their own words, the options or concern they understood, then clarify anything missed without scoring the person. Correct recall does not by itself establish capacity, voluntariness, or valid consent; poor recall may reveal that the explanation needs to change. NICE shared decision making; GMC capacity guidance.
  • Anesthesia information needs equal access: Language and sensory support must cover the separate anesthesia conversation as well as the operation discussion. Record which support was requested and whether the relevant professional used it; the learner does not choose an anesthetic or certify comprehension. RCoA perioperative guidance; GMC support and scope.
Independent fictional exercise

Fictional adult Iris prefers another language, reads a translated leaflet with difficulty, and uses a hearing aid. A relative answers every question while a staff note says “understands; form signed.” Prepare an access-and-understanding plan with three specific supports, two non-leading teach-back prompts, and a corrected provisional note.

Pass criteria: Pass only if the response asks Iris's own communication preferences, routes interpreter and hearing-access needs to the responsible team, allows time and questions, and treats teach-back as feedback on the explanation. It must not assume the relative can interpret, judge capacity from hearing or language needs, or claim a signed form proves understanding or consent.

08Capacity Questions, Voluntariness, and Reflection

Learning objective

In a fictional pressured consultation, separate communication support, a possible decision-specific capacity question, and voluntariness concerns; write a qualified-review route without declaring an adult incapable or imposing a universal reflection period.

In this lesson

  • Start with support, not a label: Capacity is decision- and time-specific in the UK framework, and adults are presumed able to decide unless an applicable assessment shows otherwise. An inability to repeat jargon, disagreement with a clinician, or a need for an interpreter is not itself incapacity. The learner asks what support and qualified review are needed. GMC capacity guidance; AMA informed consent.
  • Voluntariness needs a private opportunity: A partner, employer, clinician, or advertisement may influence an adult. Ask what the person wants when they can speak freely, and flag apparent pressure for the responsible professional without making a legal coercion finding. GMC voluntariness guidance; GMC cosmetic communication.
  • Reflection is meaningful, not a universal countdown: The adult needs suitable time and support to consider options and ask questions. Australian cosmetic regulation includes a specified seven-day example; RCS England's UK surgical standard specifies at least two weeks for cosmetic surgery. Their scopes differ, and neither becomes this course's global waiting rule. Australian cosmetic guidelines; RCS surgical practice.
  • A changed choice stays possible: The adult may decide not to proceed or withdraw a prior agreement; a deposit or signed form does not remove that possibility. The responsible team addresses the consequences and checks the decision before intervention. Complex changes to procedure or evidence are analyzed in Lesson 10. GMC consent guidance; NICE shared decision making.
Independent fictional exercise

Fictional adult Jae says the proposed surgery is wanted, but a partner insists on attending every conversation and answers questions for Jae. After a technical explanation, Jae asks to hear it again and wants more time; a note labels Jae “lacking capacity” and says a deposit prevents cancellation. Create a support/pressure/qualified-owner table and rewrite the note.

Pass criteria: Pass only if the response avoids a capacity or coercion verdict, requests a private opportunity and accessible re-explanation, keeps qualified assessment available if a real decision-specific concern remains, and preserves time, refusal, and withdrawal. It must not apply an Australian or UK interval globally or treat payment as consent.

Selected reading

09Recording the Conversation and Decision

Learning objective

Draft a dated fictional decision record that includes the adult's priorities, options, personally significant concerns, questions and responses, decision or deferral, professional owners, and a pre-procedure recheck field.

In this lesson

  • Record the dialogue, not just a signature: Note what was proposed, which alternatives and harms were discussed, what mattered to the adult, and any information not yet resolved. A form may accompany this account; a checked box or template phrase does not show the content of the conversation. GMC recording decisions; ASPS ethics.
  • Attribute the decision accurately: Record who explained what, the adult's own expressed choice, and whether the choice was to proceed, defer, or take no action. Do not write “consent complete” if an anesthesia question, risk issue, or requested discussion remains open. NICE shared decision making; AMA informed consent.
  • Make unresolved items actionable: A good record names the question, recipient, date or status of the response, and who will bring it back to the adult. A coordinator may organize this handoff, but the relevant qualified professional documents their own substantive discussion under local policy. RCS surgical practice; RCoA perioperative guidance.
  • Keep the final check visible: Before the intervention, the responsible team checks whether the adult still agrees and has new questions or a changed preference. The record should make reconsideration or withdrawal possible rather than treating the original signature as irrevocable; Lesson 10 examines more complex changed-plan facts. GMC consent guidance; Australian cosmetic guidelines.
Independent fictional exercise

Fictional adult Lena's chart has a signed form and the phrase “risks explained.” Lena earlier asked about no surgery and an unwanted visible result, but the responses are absent; an anesthesia question remains open. On the proposed procedure morning Lena says, “I am not sure I still want this.” Produce a dated source-and-question record, an owner list, and a corrected decision-status line.

Pass criteria: Pass only if Lena's exact changed preference is preserved, the missing alternatives and material-concern responses remain open, anesthesia is routed separately, and a qualified pre-procedure review occurs before any agreement is described as current. It must not treat the prior form as irrevocable, assume withdrawal is final without listening to Lena, or pronounce legal consent valid or invalid.

Selected reading

Module checkpoint

Module 3 checkpoint — A supported decision remains reviewable: Fictional adult Mira prefers an interpreter and asks for a private conversation because a partner is speaking for them. A generic form is signed, but Mira's concern about an unwanted outcome and no-surgery option is unanswered. At pre-procedure check-in, Mira says they may want to wait. Produce an access-and-support plan, qualified-review question register, dated dialogue record, and decision-status line. Pass only if the response addresses Mira directly, arranges language and privacy support, avoids a capacity or coercion verdict, leaves reflection, no surgery and withdrawal open, records the unanswered concerns and their owners, and routes Mira's current choice to the responsible professional before intervention.

Module 04 · Lessons 10–11

Continuing Choices and Image Permissions

Explore complex changed-plan review and distinguish care-related images from teaching or promotional uses requiring purpose-specific consideration of consent, other valid authority, and privacy rules.

Capped camera, plain closed box, and blank translucent sleeve on a wooden table near a window.
A capped camera, closed box, and blank sleeve illustrate questions about making and using images; no patient image or permission is shown.
10Changed Plans, Withdrawal, and Renewed ReviewFull course

Learning objective

Compare an original fictional decision with a changed procedure, new information, and changed adult preference; identify which elements require a renewed qualified conversation without making an operative or legal decision.

In this lesson

  • Scope of an earlier agreement has limits: A signed record describes what was discussed and agreed at that time. If the proposed operation, extent, setting, or relevant risk information changes, the responsible professional must review what the adult now understands and wants; a learner does not infer permission for a broader intervention. GMC reviewing decisions; GMC support and scope.
  • Changed facts can change the choice: New clinical information, additional risk, a long interval, or a revised recovery plan may matter differently to the same adult. List the new fact, source, potential decision relevance, and question for the qualified team, rather than automatically approving or cancelling surgery. GMC consent guidance; NICE shared decision making.
  • Withdrawal is distinct from an operative dispute: An adult's changed mind must be heard and reviewed through the applicable pathway. The professional explains any implications while respecting the adult's choice; a coordinator cannot override that choice by pointing to a deposit or a form. GMC reviewing decisions; Australian cosmetic guidelines.
  • Renewed review crosses the right roles: A changed surgical plan may also change anesthesia questions and the adult's practical priorities. The treating and anesthesia professionals revisit their respective conversations, and the record distinguishes what has been discussed from what remains pending. RCoA perioperative guidance; RCS surgical practice.
Independent fictional exercise

Fictional adult Noah agreed to a limited elective operation after discussing a modest aim. A later message proposes a broader procedure because a new finding may alter the original plan; it also changes expected recovery. Noah says they prefer to wait and asks whether the original form covers the change. Create a before/after/unknown/owner matrix and a neutral renewed-review agenda.

Pass criteria: Pass only if the response records the changed scope and recovery as new information, preserves Noah's wish to wait, routes surgical and possible anesthesia implications to their qualified owners, and treats the earlier form as limited to its documented scope. It must not decide which procedure is best, claim automatic re-consent or invalidity under all laws, supply a risk estimate, or override withdrawal.

11Clinical Images, Teaching, and Promotional UseFull course

Learning objective

Audit a fictional image-use request across care, internal teaching, and public promotion; separate purpose, identifiability, proposed audience, permission or other valid authority, storage, and open questions.

In this lesson

  • Images made for care have a clinical purpose: A photograph in the care record may support assessment, planning, or follow-up under applicable clinical and privacy rules. Its existence does not itself authorize a website gallery or a newly proposed teaching recording. The learner records origin, purpose, and who has access before discussing reuse. GMC care recordings; GMC recording decisions.
  • Teaching uses need a precise authority question: UK GMC guidance requires consent before making a new recording for teaching or training and explains what the person should be told. Some genuinely anonymized or coded care recordings may be reused for healthcare-related teaching without fresh consent under the companion care-recordings guidance; identifiability, prior permissions, and local rules still need qualified review. Do not convert either statement into “all teaching always needs a new form” or “anonymized means free to use.” GMC teaching recordings; GMC care recordings.
  • Public media and promotion are a separate purpose: A clinic website, advertisement, or broadly accessible social channel changes audience, discoverability, and privacy implications. A treatment or internal-teaching permission is not a blanket marketing release; the responsible team must examine valid authority and any local advertising restrictions. GMC public-media recordings; GMC maintaining trust; Australian advertising FAQ.
  • Record choices and withdrawal limits accurately: Ask how images are stored, who can see them, how a proposed use will be described, and how an adult's objection or changed preference will be handled under applicable rules. Online circulation may limit what can later be recalled; avoid promising complete deletion or using a clinical decision to pressure agreement to promotion. GMC teaching recordings; Australian cosmetic guidelines; RCS surgical practice.
Independent fictional exercise

Fictional adult Priya has clinical photographs in a care record. A teaching coordinator proposes an internal seminar; a marketing worker separately wants a before-and-after post on the clinic's public social channel. A draft checkbox says “I consent to surgery, photos, teaching, and advertising.” Build a three-use authority matrix with image origin, audience, identifiability, permission or other lawful-basis question, and unresolved review owner; rewrite the checkbox as separate questions.

Pass criteria: Pass only if the response separates clinical, teaching, and public uses, recognizes the limited anonymized or coded care-image teaching exception as a qualified question rather than an automatic permission, and treats public promotion as separately reviewable. It must not claim a surgery signature authorizes every use, assume cropping guarantees anonymity, publish a real image, promise deletion from the internet, or impose one jurisdiction's rule worldwide.

Module checkpoint

Module 4 checkpoint — A changed plan and a new image use need separate review: Fictional adult Quinn previously agreed to a limited procedure and care-record photographs. The surgeon later proposes a broader operation with different recovery implications; Quinn now prefers no surgery. A team member suggests using existing photos in an internal teaching session and a public gallery. Produce an original-versus-new decision table, a qualified-review and withdrawal handoff, and a care/teaching/public image-use matrix. Pass only if the response preserves Quinn's current choice, treats the broader procedure as requiring renewed person-specific discussion, separates surgical and anesthesia implications, and evaluates each image use by purpose, identifiability, authority, and local rules. It must not treat the prior form as blanket permission, assume all teaching needs fresh consent or all anonymized reuse is free, approve a public post, or decide a legal outcome.

Selected reading · 20 sources

Independent case-based study

Read the case.
Name the question.
Keep choice open.

The displayed curriculum contains 11 objectives, 44 developed topics, 11 independent fictional exercises with pass criteria, four module checkpoints and 20 source-mapped readings. Learners can work through the questions in their own notes. Current delivery details and access timing are confirmed by email before payment.

  1. Trace the person's prioritiesKeep the adult's own goals separate from outside expectations and promotional pressure.
  2. Build a balanced question recordSet out options, material harms, uncertainty and practical implications without choosing for the adult.
  3. Revisit the decisionTrack unresolved questions, changed information and different purposes for clinical images.
Adult seated at a table looking at a laptop, with a blank sheet and pen nearby.
An adult studies independently at a laptop with a blank sheet nearby; the screen and course materials are not shown.

Fictional case exercises

Practice the questions
behind a decision.

Each displayed lesson contains a fictional prompt and pass criteria; each module adds a synthesis checkpoint. These educational cases are not real-patient records, consent forms, clinical assessments or authorization to proceed.

Patient-priority and role map

Options and material-risk question record

Accessible, voluntary-dialogue audit

Provisional discussion and decision note

Changed-plan review questions

Care, teaching and public-image purpose map

Two course packages

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One-time package price in USD.
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Lessons 1–9 · Modules 1–3

Foundation package

$19USD · one-time

Explore patient priorities, accountable roles, meaningful options, material risks, voluntary dialogue and the provisional decision record.

  • Lessons 1–3: consent foundations, roles and priorities
  • Lessons 4–6: options, risks and practical implications
  • Lessons 7–9: voluntary dialogue and decision records
  • Nine independent fictional exercises and three checkpoints
  • Source-mapped reading for lessons 1–9
Choose the $19 package

All 11 lessons · 4 modules

Full course

$29USD · one-time

The complete curriculum adds continuing choices, a changed plan and distinct purposes for clinical images.

  • Everything in the Foundation package
  • Lessons 10–11: changed plans and image-use questions
  • Eleven independent fictional exercises with pass criteria
  • All four module checkpoints
  • Source-mapped reading across the full curriculum
Choose the $29 package
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Who is this course for?

It is intended for qualified plastic-surgery and perioperative professionals, supervised advanced trainees, clinical coordinators, and educators acting within their roles in adult elective plastic and cosmetic surgery.

What does each package cover?

The $19 USD Foundation package covers lessons 1–9, modules 1–3, nine fictional exercises and three checkpoints. The $29 USD Full course covers all 11 lessons, four modules, 11 exercises and four checkpoints, adding changed-plan review and image-use questions.

Does a completed worksheet or form establish consent?

No. The cases are fictional and the educational tasks cannot establish understanding, capacity, voluntariness, a valid real-world consent or permission to proceed. The responsible qualified professionals follow applicable local law and policy.

Are the same waiting period and professional role rules used everywhere?

No. The course compares official guidance with its jurisdiction and setting limits. The treating team must apply the current local rules for the actual intervention; neither a UK nor an Australian example is a universal minimum.

Does permission for a care photograph allow every later use?

No universal rule follows from making a care image. Teaching and public promotion can involve different purposes, privacy duties and permissions, which must be assessed under applicable guidance. The course supplies no blanket image release.

Are faculty, recordings or certificates included?

The displayed curriculum contains fictional exercises, checkpoints and source-mapped reading. Faculty, recordings, duration, access period, certificates and accreditation have not been confirmed; current delivery details are supplied by email before payment.

How do I apply and get access?

Choose a package and submit your name and email. We send payment details manually with current delivery and access timing for review before payment. Submitting the form does not provide instant access.

Do the illustrations show consent or a real patient?

No. The seven images are fictional editorial illustrations of conversation, reflection, questions and independent study. They show no signed authorization, real patient image, clinical decision or treatment result.