NURSING ETHICAL DILEMMA WITH USING INFORMATICS TECHNOLOGY

Abstract

An ethical dilemma or ethical paradox is a decision-making problem between two possible moral imperatives, neither of which is unambiguously acceptable or preferable. The complexity arises out of the situational conflict in which obeying one would result in transgressing another. Sometimes called ethical paradoxes in moral philosophy, ethical dilemmas may be invoked to refute an ethical system or moral code, or to improve it so as to resolve the paradox. Nurses face ethical dilemmas on a daily basis, no matter where they practice. Nursing information technology and healthcare are going hand in hand these days. Technology in nursing practice is not new.  The universal impact of technology in health care has created a new role for nurses. There are many ethical issues nurses can face in the workplace. These include quality versus quantity of life, pro-choice vs. pro-life, freedom versus control, truth versus cheating, resource allocation, and empirical knowledge versus personal beliefs. Information is a source of authority and, increasingly, the key to prosperity among those who have access to it. Thus, developments in information systems also involve social and political relations and therefore ethical considerations in how information is used are more important.