Autonomy

Self-directing freedom and especially moral independence. An ethical principle holds that the autonomy of persons ought to be respected. This concept relates to decisions concerning one's own health and health information as well.

Research on clinical autonomy from 6 studies conducted on nurses across the United States constructed the following definition: “Autonomy is the freedom to act on what you know in the best interests of the patient … to make independent clinical decisions in the nursing sphere of practice and interdependent decisions in those spheres where nursing overlaps with other disciplines … It often exceeds standard practice, is facilitated through evidence-based practice, includes being held accountable in a constructive, positive manner, and nurse manager support.” [3]

1-(Bioethics Thesaurus) 2- Patient's autonomy and informed consent

  ICUS NURS WEB J │ ISSUE 13│JANUARY - MARCH 2003 (NURSING.GR)

3- Kramer M, Schmalenberg C. The Practice of Clinical Autonomy in Hospitals: 20 000 Nurses Tell Their Story. Crit Care Nurse. 2008; 28:58-71. Accessed from http://ccn.aacnjournals.org/cgi/content/28/6/58 on April 4, 2010