Page 60 - 2020 ARE eGuide for Clinical at Nonhospital Sites

Patient Rights: Ethical Principles

Some key ethical principles that are relevant to patients’ healthcare are:

• Respect for Autonomy – the capacity for self
determination
• Beneficence – the “first principle” of morality, the
dictum “do good and avoid evil”
• Non-malfeasance – the duty to do no harm

• Justice – fairness, to treat similar cases similarly
• Human Dignity – the intrinsic worth of every human
being
• Informed Consent – the right to consent or refuse
medical procedures
• Toleration – tolerance of views other than one’s own

Ethical dilemmas sometimes manifest in the context of
difficult treatment decisions, life limiting chronic
conditions, advance directives, and end-of-life care.