Beneficence And Nonmaleficence As One Of The Principles Of Medical Ethics

As a student who is currently striving to succeed in medical school in the near future, I am studying medical ethics to learn the basics and Principles of Biomedical Ethics and thus applying it in my career. There are four main principles of Biomedical Ethics mentioned in the book “Biomedical Ethics”. These principles are what professionals in the healthcare field always base their work off of and refer back to. For a medical procedure to be considered ‘ethical’, it should follow the four principles. The four principles are: autonomy, justice, beneficence, and nonmaleficence. Each of these principles are different but in the end are applied the same way.

Autonomy is the first principle that I will be explaining. “Autonomy is latin for self-rule. We have an obligation to respect the autonomy of other persons, which is to respect the decisions made by other people concerning their own lives.” (Gracyk) This means that as a caregiver, you must respect your patients opinions and beliefs. Therefore, it is better to keep your decision free from persuasion. In conclusion, a patient's decision is considered ‘autonomous’ when the patient makes their decision by choice.

The second Principle of Medical Ethics is justice. Justice in all aspects are interpreted in the same manner. In the healthcare field, you are obligated to treat patients equally and fairly. This means regardless of whatever care you are providing, you must always distribute your resources equally. Similar to Autonomy, respect should be considered when applying this principle. Patients should be treated like patients and should get a fair amount of care. To conclude, I believe a caregiver should cater to a patient's needs based on urgency and this all refers back to this Principle of Medical Ethics.

The third Principle of Medical Ethics is beneficence. The Principle of Beneficence is based on the idea of doing good for others and for the patient involved. This means you must take further steps such as demanding all health professionals increase knowledge and skills. Ideally, beneficence is seen as a protection against any harm and promoting good deeds. Lastly, I believe that beneficence is very important to keep close as a professional in the healthcare field.

The last and final Principle of Medical Ethics is nonmaleficence. Nonmaleficence is defined in medical terms as a requirement that a procedure does not harm any patient or anyone else involved. In some cases, professionals don’t intend to mean no harm but mishaps happen. The main idea of this principle is the idea of doing no harm whereas the principle of beneficence is bringing benefit and doing good by others. All four of the Principles of Biomedical Ethics are strongly related in the healthcare profession and is used greatly around the world.