Which principle focuses on acting in the patient's best interest and promoting their good?

• A. Beneficence
• B. Autonomy
• C. Nonmaleficence
• D. Justice

Answer: (A)

Beneficence means taking action to benefit the patient, actively promoting their well-being and good. In practice, this guides you to choose interventions that provide real positive benefits, relieve suffering, prevent harm, and improve health outcomes, while carefully weighing benefits against risks. For example, prescribing an effective treatment that reduces pain or selecting preventive care that prevents complications are acts of beneficence because they aim to improve the patient’s condition.

Autonomy focuses on respecting the patient’s right to make their own decisions about care, nonmaleficence is the obligation to avoid causing harm, and justice concerns fair treatment and resource distribution. While those principles matter, the question centers on the duty to act in the patient’s best interest and promote their good, which is beneficence. In real situations, you balance beneficence with respect for patient preferences and safety, but the core idea remains: actively doing what is best for the patient’s health and welfare.