Name two ethical principles in nursing and provide an example of each.

• A. Autonomy and Beneficence; e.g., honoring a patient’s refusal of treatment and providing effective relief of suffering.
• B. Nonmaleficence and Justice; e.g., ignoring harm.
• C. Fidelity and Confidentiality; e.g., sharing patient information.
• D. Veracity and Autonomy; e.g., lying to patient.

Answer: (A)

Understanding nursing ethics in practice, autonomy and beneficence are two fundamental principles. Autonomy respects a patient’s right to make their own decisions about care, including choosing or refusing treatment, which is shown by honoring a patient’s refusal of treatment. Beneficence means acting in the patient’s best interest to promote well-being, such as providing effective relief of suffering through appropriate pain management and comfort measures.

The other options pair principles with examples that don’t align: nonmaleficence is about not causing harm, so “ignoring harm” contradicts that idea; justice centers on fairness, which isn’t illustrated by the example given; fidelity and confidentiality involve keeping promises and protecting privacy, yet the example describes sharing patient information; veracity is about truth-telling, and lying to a patient violates that principle.