IHPSO CORE EDUCATION
Four shared foundations for IHPSO Professionals.
IHPSO Core Education creates a shared professional foundation across different backgrounds. Four required courses connect Ethics, Scope, Evidence and Safety with practical decision frameworks for professional practice.
SHARED FOUNDATION
Different professions. Shared Professional Standards.
IHPSO Professionals may come from very different fields. Core Education therefore does not grant new statutory professional authority and does not replace foundational professional qualifications. It creates a shared organization-wide foundation for how Professionals approach ethics, competence boundaries, scientific evidence and risk. All four Core Courses are required within the Professional Membership Pathway and are completed successfully once.
THE FOUR CORE COURSES
Ethics. Scope. Evidence. Safety.
Together, the four courses form the universal IHPSO Professional Core Requirements. Each course contains ten lessons with Professional Scenarios, IHPSO Professional Checks, Key Points and a final assessment. The content is field-independent and provides the shared foundation for the first Standards Field, Health, and future Standards Fields.
Ethics & Professional Conduct
Integrity, transparency, professional relationships, informed choice, confidentiality, conflicts of interest, claims, boundaries and accountability.
Scope of Practice
Competence, qualification, role, education versus regulated services, biomarkers, interventions, red flags, referral and scope accountability.
Evidence & Scientific Communication
Study designs, bias, causation, biomarkers, surrogate endpoints, Evidence Classification, claims and scientific integrity.
Safety & Risk Fundamentals
Hazard, risk, individual factors, risk stacking, exposure, operational safety, red flags, controls, monitoring and incidents.
ASSESSMENTS
Understanding is assessed.
Each Core Course ends with a 20-question assessment. The required pass mark is 80 percent. A failed assessment does not satisfy the relevant Core Requirement. Assessments may be repeated until a score of at least 80 percent is achieved. Only successful completion is recorded for the corresponding Core Requirement in the IHPSO system.
COURSE 01
Ethics & Professional Conduct
Professional credibility begins with conduct that can withstand scrutiny. The course covers integrity, responsibility, professional relationships, informed choice, confidentiality and privacy, conflicts of interest, truthful claims, respect, professional boundaries, ethical decision-making and accountability. Estimated duration is 2.5–3 hours. Successful completion leads to the “IHPSO Ethics Trained” Education Badge and the “IHPSO Certificate – Ethics & Professional Conduct”.
COURSE 02
Scope of Practice
Professional quality also means recognizing when knowledge, qualification or role is insufficient for an action. The course establishes the IHPSO scope logic based on competence, professional role, applicable rules and context. It covers education and coaching, boundaries with diagnosis and treatment, biomarkers and wearables, supplements and devices, red flags and referral, multiple professional roles, and the IHPSO Scope Decision Framework. Estimated duration is 2.5–3 hours. Successful completion leads to the “IHPSO Scope Trained” badge and the “IHPSO Certificate – Scope of Practice”.
COURSE 03
Evidence & Scientific Communication
Evidence-informed practice means more than citing a single study. The course covers study designs, critical reading of research, correlation versus causation, mechanisms, biomarkers and surrogate endpoints, the five-level IHPSO Evidence Classification, evidence communication, health claims and scientific integrity. Estimated duration is 3–3.5 hours. Successful completion leads to the “IHPSO Evidence Trained” badge and the “IHPSO Certificate – Evidence & Scientific Communication”.
COURSE 04
Safety & Risk Fundamentals
Professional safety means risk management, not zero risk. The course covers hazard and risk, individual risk factors, contraindications and interactions, risk stacking, dose and exposure, devices and operational safety, red flags and stopping criteria, informed choice, the IHPSO Safety Decision Framework, monitoring and incident response. Estimated duration is 3–3.5 hours. Successful completion leads to the “IHPSO Safety Trained” badge and the “IHPSO Certificate – Safety & Risk Fundamentals”.
CREDENTIALS
Four Education Badges. Four Certificates. One shared Professional Core.
Each successfully completed Core Course is recorded in the IHPSO system as a fulfilled Core Requirement and may be associated with its designated Education Badge and Certificate. The four badges are Ethics Trained, Scope Trained, Evidence Trained and Safety Trained. These credentials document IHPSO Education Completion. They record what was completed and when, and they remain valid records of that completion regardless of the current Membership status. They are not a government licence, medical authorization or automatic expansion of statutory Scope of Practice, and they are not by themselves evidence of current IHPSO Membership.
PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIP
Core Education is part of the Membership Pathway.
Payment alone does not create Active Professional Status. Professional Membership requires successful completion of all four Core Courses, passing each assessment with at least 80 percent, and fulfilment of the other applicable Membership Requirements. At launch, Professional Membership is USD 199 per year. The first Membership year includes all four Core Courses and their assessments. Renewal is currently USD 199 per year and is not a commitment for future years. A completed Core Course stays completed. Renewing a Membership does not require retaking a course that has already been passed, and a completed course remains documented after a Membership expires. Completion is a record of education. It is not the same as an active Membership and does not by itself create Active Professional Status.
A shared foundation for responsible Professional Practice.
Explore the four Core Courses and learn how Core Education, Professional Standards and Membership work together.
View Membership Requirements