JONA Volume 32, Number 6, pp 346-353 @2002, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Inc. Ethics and Computer-mediated Communication Implications for Practice and Policy Rebecca J. Torrance, MSN, RN Major Caterina E.M. Lasome, MSN, MBA, MHA, RN ofduty way popeonmod Janice B. Agazio, DNSc, CPNP, RN Computer-mediated communication, or email, has be- Despite the casual introduction of CMC into the come a common workplace practice. Interviews with nursing practice environment, the implications of Army nurse managers (n = 9) and their staff nurses CMC use are significant. Failure to consider the im- (n = 13) revealed that nurses incorporate the ethical plications could have detrimental and lasting conse- principles of autonomy, beneficence, nonmaleficence, quences on individuals, work groups, and the orga- and justice into their computer-mediated communica- nization at large. Because few organizations have tion use, but to varying degrees. Without clearly defined formal policies that define what constitutes respon policies to guide computer-mediated communication sible and appropriate use of CMC in the workplace,’ practices, informal norms evolve that have an impact and even fewer have training programs to assure on both individual and corporate communication. The these behaviors, informal and inconsistent CMC authors provide insight into the ethical considerations norms evolve among nursing personnel in the ab- that have an impact on computer-mediated sence of explicit institutional guidelines. Findings communication use. The spectrum of participant inter- from this study suggest that individuals incorporate pretation of appropriate use of this type of communi- standards of ethical judgment into their personal cation suggests the need for policies to establish clear CMC norms and encounters. boundaries for workplace usage. Policy recommenda- To better understand normative behaviors of tions are included. nurse managers and their staff and to inform institu- tional policy, CMC is examined in light of four basic Computer-mediated communication (CMC), often ethical imperatives: autonomy, beneficence, non- used synonymously with the term email, is rapidly maleficence, and justice. These widely accepted de- becoming as commonplace in the nursing environ- ontological, ethical principles are common to most ment as the "communication book" of earlier times. discussions of both traditional bioethics and of com- Similarly, the electronic bulletin board is replacing puter ethics." Aiken defines ethics as "declarations the corkboard as the clearinghouse for information 1202/80/20 40 =345 1SH9EX+2 necessary to keep current with institutional policies, Author affiliation: Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Ad- workplace activities, and reports from various com- vancement of Military Medicine, Rockville, Md (Ms Torrance); U.S. mittees. No longer are computer terminals the ex- Army Nurse Corps and School of Nursing, University of Maryland, clusive domain of administrators and educators. As Baltimore, Md (Ms Lasome); Graduate School of Nursing, Uni- technology becomes increasingly more integrated formed Service University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, Md into nursing practice and the delivery of healthcare, (Dr Agazio). Disclaimer: This research is sponsored by the TriService Nurs- nursing personnel at all levels are being given access ing Research Program, Uniformed Services University of the Health to CMC systems. With that access, however, comes Sciences; however, the information or content and conclusions do responsibility for appropriate use of the communi- not necessarily represent the official position or policy of, nor cation medium. Both individual users and manage- should any official endorsement be inferred by, the TriService Nurs- ment share that accountability; users have the duty ing Research Program, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, the Department of Defense, or the U.S. Government. of responsible use and management has the respon Corresponding author: Rebecca J. Torrance, MSN, RN, 12107 sibility of defining what constitutes responsible use. Snowden Woods Rd, Laurel, MD 20708 (ritorra@earthlink.net). 346 JONA . Vol. 32, No. 6 . June 2002