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In past decades, biomedical technology has created such advances that many health care professionals and consumers are overwhelmed by the apparently unlimited choices in treatment decisions. Problems in human reproduction, preservation of life, research on human subjects, and allocation of scarce resources are just a few of the categories of concerns that we now face. These dilemmas are complex both from conceptual and ethical perspectives. Thus, it becomes more and more difficult to define such important concepts as “human life” or ‘extraordinary treatment,” and to apply these concepts to clinical situations. It has become almost impossible to objectively interpret and apply ethical principles which should guide actions of health care providers.

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Literature on clinical judgment is discussed as a background for proposing an integrated model of diagnostic-therapeutic and ethical reasoning. Information processing and nursing process components related to problem identification and problem solving serve as a framework for the integration of the two domains of clinical reasoning. Discussion focuses on the integration of process components, identification of areas of research, and the use of the model in education and practice.