Virtuous principles as an ethic for nursing

A theoretical analysis of virtuous principles--beneficence, non-maleficence, autonomy and justice provides a response to the question: 'How ought ethical nursing practice be characterised?' These virtuous principles promote human flourishing and sustain and strengthen nursing practice. Beneficence, described as acting to benefit others, incorporates a balance of benefit over harm and requires nurses to take action. Non-maleficence calls nurses to refrain from inflicting harm and defines prohibitions over actions. Autonomy, defined as self-governance and self-determination, may have limitations so that absolute or perfect autonomy might be unrealistic. Finally, Justice, a problematic concept, is aligned with fairness and what a patient deserves.