Medical ethics plays a critical role in delivering quality healthcare. Two core principles that guide the behavior of clinical staff are beneficence and nonmaleficence. These ethical standards shape how healthcare professionals promote, maintain, and restore their patients’ health. Decisions are made with careful ethical reasoning, protecting patients from undue harm and adverse events.
What is Beneficence?
Beneficence refers to the duty of healthcare professionals to act in the best interest of their patients, providing help and ensuring well-being. This concept is sometimes referred to as a fiduciary duty in the medical field. Care must be personalized, as treatments vary in effectiveness between individuals. The four moral guidelines that shape beneficence are:
- Rescuing individuals in danger
- Helping those with disabilities
- Removing harmful conditions
- Preventing harm from occurring
In geriatric care, beneficence involves evaluating decision-making capacity, promoting advance care planning, and recommending services like home care. Effective communication and evaluation reduce the risk of harmful actions, ensuring patients receive tailored, compassionate care.
What is Nonmaleficence?
Nonmaleficence is the principle that guides medical professionals to “do no harm.” Derived from the Latin phrase primum non nocere and linked to the Hippocratic Oath, this concept has been central to healthcare since the Middle Ages. The moral rules within nonmaleficence emphasize the following:
- Do not kill
- Do not cause pain or suffering
- Do not incapacitate
Nonmaleficence is especially vital in end-of-life care, where older adults nearing death need compassionate, individualized care. Doctors must make difficult decisions, such as whether to:
- Provide artificial nutrition and hydration
- Use appropriate medications for pain relief
- Maintain or discontinue life-sustaining treatments
Both beneficence and nonmaleficence are crucial in guiding ethical care, ensuring patients are treated with respect, compassion, and protection from harm.
WellPath Partners is your senior resource referral guide. Follow us on ALL social media platforms and join us weekly for more content and public health discussions.
By: Hope Merfalen
Senior Care Advising Intern at WellPath Partners
Health Care Administration Student, California State University, Long Beach
