How It's Used

"Most investors, with varying degrees of concern and confusion, probably did nothing, amid gathering worry that a healthy market correction might be turning into the first bear market in 25 years and that the world's economic problems could tip the American economy into recession.

"As maxims go, it's hard to beat 'First, do no harm.' But paralysis in the face of change is another thing entirely.

"Whatever your personal circumstances and the condition of your portfolio, financial experts say there are a number of steps that every smart household should at least consider in today's highly unsettled -- and sobering -- environment."

—Robert D. Hershey, Jr., “Markets in Turmoil: An Overview,” The New York Times, September 6, 1998.

"First, do no harm. That is the overriding precept of medical practice. The paramount objective of managed care -- profit -- is diametrically opposed to this precept. Under the pretext of containing costs, managed care has introduced strictures inimical to the physician's best judgment and the patient's best interest. This poses a grave obstacle to competent health care. Intrusive government and the interposition of corporate managed care have imposed regulations that not only are burdensome and costly (more than 20% of health care expenditures), but are subverting the crucial physician-patient relationship."

—Michael DeBakey, M.D., “Rx for the Health Care System,” The Wall Street Journal, October 8, 1998, p. A18.

“…Lawrence Diller, a behavioral pediatrician in Walnut Creek, Calif….said that helping families come up with parenting strategies could ease children's anxieties. 'Children are highly responsive to their environments, and the home is the practice arena to deal with life,' he said. 'This is not parent-blaming -- children are difficult to raise. But when the parent makes changes, you see very rapid changes in the child.'

"'It doesn't negate the value of the medications,' he added. But 'with uncertainty on both sides, effective psychosocial treatments -- first do no harm -- take preference.'"

—Shankar Vedantam, “Drug Found to Curb Kids' Debilitating Social Anxiety,” The Washington Post, April 26, 2001, p. A01.

“Follow the lead of the medical profession, whose founding principle is 'First, do no harm.' Negative or abusive language in the workplace does harm. Banish terms like 'stupid,' 'useless,' 'hopeless,' and 'dumb.' And repeating negative language, even when you're rejecting it, is never wise.”

—Peter Feniak, “Choose your words carefully, somebody might be listening,” The Globe and Mail, June 9, 2004, p. C7.

“The better-heeled portion of the American bourgeoisie has a new motto: First, Do No Harm. Just a few weeks ago, I wrote about a man who built a million-dollar luxury house from salvaged wood, and commissioned a custom dining room table, made from a 'wind-fallen elm.' Shortly afterward, I read in the Independent newspaper about a boutique hawking wedding gowns stitched from 'peace silk,' 'made from silkworms that live out their life cycle rather than being boiled alive.'"

—Alex Beam, “Killing Me Softly with Lobster Tale,” The Boston Globe, June 21, 2006, p. E1.

Also Known As (AKA)

Primum non nocere, Primum nil nocere

Links

Beyond eAlmanac
Wikipedia article on "First, Do No Harm"