👤 By the CinnaRN Clinical Content Team🕐 Updated 2026-08-23🏷️ Management of Care🔖 Free to read, print, and share
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Use this quick-reference guide to spot, treat, and prevent Ethical Principles on the NCLEX. Keep it handy during review and on exam day!
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📒 The 1-minute cheat sheet
📌 The Six
Autonomy — patient's right to decide
Beneficence — act for the patient's good
Nonmaleficence — do no harm
📌 Also
Justice — fair, equal treatment
Fidelity — keep commitments
Veracity — tell the truth
✅ Apply
Respect a competent refusal
Advocacy = support informed choice
📚 Ethical Principles — full study notes
The cheat sheet above is your quick recall card. These notes go deeper — what it is, what to do first, what must be reported, and what to teach.
Core bioethics principles guide nursing decisions and NCLEX ethics items: autonomy (self-determination), beneficence (do good), nonmaleficence (do no harm), justice (fairness), fidelity (keep promises), and veracity (truthfulness).
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Key points
Understand these first
Autonomy — patient's right to decide
Beneficence — act for the patient's good
Nonmaleficence — do no harm
Justice — fair, equal treatment
Fidelity — keep commitments
Veracity — tell the truth
Respect a competent refusal
Advocacy = support informed choice
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Nursing priorities
What to do, in order
Autonomy governs refusal-of-treatment and informed-consent items.
Nonmaleficence governs restraint, medication-error, and safety items.
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Patient teaching
What patients must know
A competent patient's autonomy is respected even if the refusal seems unwise.
Advocacy = supporting the patient's own informed choice, not the choice you would make.
❓ Ethical Principles: NCLEX FAQs
What are the priority nursing interventions for Ethical Principles?
Autonomy governs refusal-of-treatment and informed-consent items. Nonmaleficence governs restraint, medication-error, and safety items.
What do I need to know about Ethical Principles for the NCLEX?
Autonomy — patient's right to decide. Beneficence — act for the patient's good. Nonmaleficence — do no harm. Justice — fair, equal treatment.
What patient teaching is important for Ethical Principles?
A competent patient's autonomy is respected even if the refusal seems unwise. Advocacy = supporting the patient's own informed choice, not the choice you would make.