What is the ethical principle of "non-maleficence" in medical ethics?

Question

Accepted Answer

The duty to "do no harm" - to avoid causing unnecessary injury, suffering, or risk to patients. Non-maleficence, often summarized as "first, do no harm" (primum non nocere), is the ethical duty of healthcare professionals to avoid causing unnecessary injury, suffering, or risk to patients. This principle requires that medical interventions not cause more harm than good, that practitioners maintain competence to avoid harming patients through incompetence, and that potential risks of treatment are carefully weighed against potential benefits. Non-maleficence is one of the four foundational principles of biomedical ethics identified by Beauchamp and Childress, alongside autonomy, beneficence, and justice.

Always telling patients the complete truth describes the principle of veracity or truthfulness, which is important in medical ethics but distinct from the specific duty to avoid causing harm. Treating all patients equally regardless of ability to pay describes the principle of justice in healthcare, which concerns the fair distribution of medical resources rather than the specific avoidance of harm. Advancing medical knowledge through research describes a professional and social obligation that must be balanced against the duty not to harm individual research participants.

Non-maleficence is a foundational bioethics concept on the Ethics in America DSST exam. Students should understand how it relates to the other three principles (autonomy, beneficence, justice), how it applies in clinical decision-making (risk-benefit analysis), how it intersects with end-of-life issues (euthanasia, physician-assisted death), and the distinction between acts that cause harm and omissions that allow harm to occur.

DSST Ethics in America: Question of the Day

Get a free DSST Ethics in America question every day

Ready for the full DSST Ethics in America? Earn 3 college credits.