Limitations Of Autonomy And Its Importance In Health Care

I believe that autonomy is very important in healthcare, but it has its limitations. First, we must understand what autonomy is. Autonomy can be defined as the ability to make decisions for one’s self. This can be referred to choice or the concept of free will. If one is not autonomous then he/she is highly influenced by others, or not cognitively capable of making decisions for himself. Therefore, we can connect autonomy to the ability one has in making decisions about their health care. Autonomy is applicable to health care in the way that patient’s are the ones to make the decision on their health. Although, often times people are capable of making their own decision but fail to make the right decision. For instance, in the Youtube video, …show more content…
I say this because they do not have the ability to make such decisions. For instance, I had an aunt who was mentally handicap. She was at a state where should could not be autonomous. Yes, she could make such decisions for herself like if she wanted a bandaid. Although, she did not understand many things, such as a monogram. Therefore, my grandparents were the ones who had to make the right decisions for her. Yet, they would take into consideration what she wanted or thought even if she did not understand. This is also an example of how age does not always promote autonomy. Autonomy has to be based on a maturity level. Dr. Diekema talked about this in his presentation of adolescents. He said that “autonomy is not age dependent”. Furthermore, youth and adults both make foolish …show more content…
Physicians should only inform patients, this will help promote autonomy in patients. Especially, if the care is directly that of the patient. The patient’s choice should be respected. There could be many reasons why the patient decides what they want. First, it is either the patient’s body or they have the best interest for the individual. As long as there is an understanding. For instance, in the case of the boy stated by Dr. Diekema, he did not want to proceed with a blood transfusion based upon his religious views. Although, this boy was aware that he would die without the transfusion. Therefore, he expressed autonomy. Also, it is ethical for health care professionals to promote autonomy. Respect for autonomy can include telling the truth, confidentiality, privacy of others, consent, and when asked, help others make important decisions (Childress and Beauchamp 107). One example of respect can be that, a physician tells that truth if a patient asks if she is pregnant. If the physician lied and told her that she was not pregnant. The physician denied her of information that would help in further action, therefore, he disrespected her