Institute:Office of National Coordinator (ONC) Workforce Training Curriculum
Component:The Culture of Health Care
Unit:Ethics and Professionalism
Lecture:Ethics and professionalism
Slide content:Nonmaleficence The obligation to not intentionally create unnecessary harm or injury to the patient Applies to both commission and omission Commission Omission Act that causes harm Failure to act when one should act Example: performing needless surgery Example: intentionally withholding a helpful drug 8.2 Table: Nonmaleficence (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0, 2012). 8
Slide notes:Nonmaleficence is the expectation that health care professionals wont intentionally injure a patient. Medical students learn the famous saying that doctors should First, do no harm. There are two types of maleficent acts: acts of commission and acts of omission. An example of an act of commission is giving a patient a drug for the sole purpose of harming the person. Acts of omission might be less obvious. An example is intentionally withholding a drug from a patient who is expected to benefit from the drug. 8