Which ethical principle requires avoiding harm to patients?

• A. Nonmaleficence
• B. Beneficence
• C. Autonomy
• D. Justice

Answer: (A)

Avoiding harm to patients is the essence of nonmaleficence. In nursing, this means choosing actions that minimize risk, avoiding unnecessary or dangerous procedures, and stopping or modifying care when the potential for harm outweighs the benefit. It guides practices like careful medication administration, vigilant monitoring for adverse effects, and ensuring safety in all care decisions. This principle sits alongside beneficence, which is about doing good and promoting well-being, but the focus here is strictly on not causing harm. Autonomy centers on respecting patients’ rights to make their own choices, even if those choices involve risk or decline treatment, while justice concerns fairness and equal access to care. A practical way this plays out is avoiding a treatment with high risk and little probable benefit simply to satisfy another expectation, thereby preventing harm and honoring the patient’s safety.