Importance Of Autonomy In Nursing

To many people, the word “autonomy” simply means the fundamental freedom of choice and independence. Many of us will not go beyond those words and understand how it can be applied in a medical setting. Patient autonomy is the right of a patient to make decisions about their individual medical care without the influence of their healthcare provider. This concept is put in place because it gives an individual the freedom to choose their course of treatment, whether the healthcare professional’s own values conflict with it or not. Without autonomy, patients would be forced to go through procedures, surgeries, and other treatment protocols that do not fit their lifestyle, belief system, or personal situation at that very moment. It is inherent in most adult human beings to …show more content…
Patient autonomy is just a subset of autonomy. Employee autonomy has been associated with improved outcomes as well. Nurse education and hospitals with better care environments (nurse autonomy and control over nursing practice) were found to directly correlate to significantly lower mortality rates. A more positive relationship between colleagues has been shown to aid in better decision making and overall performance. Nurses can improve autonomy by communicating and organizing their work to make sure that they have the ability to act on nursing decisions using logical clinical reasoning. Promoting autonomous actions and examining them can help the physician to reflect on their own decision making in order to better their practices. At the same time, teaching, coaching, and supporting physicians will promote a better environment for increasing autonomy. Medical practice impacts patient outcomes. Autonomy among employees enriches the medical profession and quality of patient