Practice as a health care professional is based on a relationship of mutual trust between patients and health care practitioners. The term “profession” means “a dedication, promise or commitment publicly made”.To be a good health care practitioner, requires a life-long commitment to sound professional and ethical practices and an overriding dedication to the interests of one’s fellow human beings and society. In the course of their professional work health care practitioners are required to subscribe to certain rules of conduct. To this end the Health Professional Council of South Africa has formulated a set of rules regarding professional conduct against which complaints of professional misconduct will be evaluated. These rules are reproduced here.