The Concept Of Autonomy Coursework Example

The Concept of Autonomy
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation

The Concept of Autonomy
Autonomy is delineated as the freedom associated with the making of discriminatory and binding decisions, which are consistent with an individual’s space of practice and the freedom associated with acting on the choices made. For people to have the ability of proficiently in making decisions centered on their autonomy, they must possess principles based on a critical reflection on the regulations as well as influences that are within. Autonomy, in concept analysis, comprises the aptitude to self-govern through making informed and flexible choices based on one’s scope (Lindberg, Fagerström, Sivberg & Willman, 2014). This concept is unclear in nursing since most definitions are based on the writers as well as the context of the material, and it ends up being defined differently by various nurses. The term has many definitions in nursing, and most nursing administrators delineate or define it as the ability to self-govern, the liberty to perform and self-determination when it comes to decision making and nursing.
Literature review
The term autonomy, from the literature, is seen to be dependent on culture. Similarly, it is rare to find the term as a separate concept as it is mostly linked to others like work or structural autonomy, professional nurse autonomy, attitudinal autonomy, and woman’s autonomy. A lot of theories and researchers of this concept pointed out that the term lacked a unified delineation.

The concept originates from Greek words auto (self) and nomos meaning law. Therefore it is a self-law. Many sources, as well as sciences, have studied the concept and many delineations have been suggested. Concerning linguistics, Oxford English Dictionary described the concept as independence. As per Merriam-Webster dictionary, autonomy is a state to self-govern, i.e. responsiveness and self-directing. The synonyms of the concept include liberty, freedom, self-governance, and independence.
In sociology, individual autonomy is viewed as a kind of a person’s freedom to act, where one decides their line of action as per themselves. Moreover, woman’s autonomy has been delimited as a woman’s capability or lack of it to make choices in the house (Spear & Kulbok, 2014). It is also delineated as a social influence concept suggested by self-determination theory reflecting social influences that do not pressurize. On the other hand, Weston (2008), elucidated that autonomous nurses are required to make decisions independently. Furthermore, Ballou (2011), suggested an operational delineation of the concept as the exercise of independent judgment undertaken to come up with the desired result. To summarize in my perspective, autonomy is a crucial feature that arises from power, trust, authority, and liability with the aim of improving the quality of nursing care.
Three attributes of autonomyThe main reason for identifying or recognizing the attributes of the concept is to set apart the idea from others that are related to it. Many attributes of autonomy are pinpointed by going over the available literature that is linked to the concept (Cole, Wellard & Mummery, 2014). Self-governance is the essence of this concept and is established on a set of laws and philosophies some scholars refer to it as the right, accountability and ability to create or establish the environment. This involves making choices that are in line with one’s professional practice to be in control over working conditions, self as well as practice. The other attribute of this concept is independence, which is essential in reflecting the freedom of practitioners. Other characteristics include decision making, capacity, competence, knowledge, and capability. Lastly, judgment is another attribute of this concept, centered on experience and knowledge and encourage people to make right decisions to become autonomous.
Antecedent and consequence of autonomy
Antecedents are events or conditions that take place before the process of autonomy begins. First and foremost, an individual should possess the capabilities to prioritize the aspect of knowledge that is related to the situations. Secondly, self-discipline is crucial for making judgments. Responsibility is another that should be there before an individual starts acting. Consequences, on the other hand, are the products of the autonomous process (Fitzpatrick & McCarthy, 2016). Accountability is the most apparent consequence of this particular concept, which requires persons to be answerable in case of anything. The process will also result in an improvement of self-trust, self-efficiency, and self-awareness.
Empirical referent for autonomy
These are observations or measures that offer evidence that autonomy has occurred or is occurring. For this case, it includes observing incidents which have occurred due to nurse decisions and factors that might have contributed. For instance, examination of a case might tell that a particular decision was made due to pressure or against the demand by a nurse who knew what was ethical and right. Doing a random questioning of patients about the decisions and actions made by nurses can provide evidence regarding the occurrence of this concept.
Autonomy in nursing is increasingly becoming an issue in the system of healthcare that usually encourages dependency on matters of decisions. Nurses are among the key participants in the decision-making practice. Models that are in existence for the development of the theoretical approach of this concept have limited literature. Autonomy support, besides, is delineated as a social influence concept suggested by self-determination theory reflecting non-pressuring types of social influence. Furthermore, the model for nursing autonomy is crucial for nurses who work at different functional levels. As per Meyer’s model, Patient-Autonomy in Care was established to include functional needs as well as the special vulnerability of patients during their stay in health care system (Castro, Van Regenmortel, Vanhaecht, Sermeus & Van Hecke, 2016). This is supported by research carried out in 2014 which pointed out that an in-depth understanding of this concept is necessary to elucidate and cultivate the nursing profession in the fast-changing healthcare environments.

References
Lindberg, C., Fagerström, C., Sivberg, B., & Willman, A. (2014). Concept analysis: patient autonomy in a caring context. Retrieved 12 March 2018, from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jan.12412/abstractCole, C., Wellard, S., & Mummery, J. (2014). Problematizing autonomy and advocacy in nursing. Nursing Ethics, 21(5), 576-582.
Fitzpatrick, J., & McCarthy, G. (2016). Nursing Concept Analysis. Google Books. Retrieved 13 March 2018, from https://books.google.co.ke/books?id=WkFWCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA157&lpg=PA157&dq=Concept+analysis:+patient+autonomy+in+a+caring+context&source=bl&ots=HupmKZnwSj&sig=vrBVOym1a4KI-fAqOicsWANbBDs&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi5lvHWq-jZAhXKqY8KHV63A3MQ6AEIbDAJ#v=onepage&q=Concept%20analysis%3A%20patient%20autonomy%20in%2Castro, E. M., Van Regenmortel, T., Vanhaecht, K., Sermeus, W., & Van Hecke, A. (2016). Patient empowerment, patient participation and patient-centeredness in hospital care: a concept analysis based on a literature review. Patient education and counseling, 99(12), 1923-1939.
Weston, M. J. (2008). Defining control over nursing practice and autonomy. Journal of Nursing Administration, 38(9), 404-408.
Ballou, K. A. (2011). A concept analysis of autonomy. Journal of professional nursing, 14(2), 102-110.
Spear, H., & Kulbok, P. (2014). Autonomy and Adolescence: A Concept Analysis. Wiley Online Library. Retrieved 16 March 2018, from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.0737-1209.2004.021208.x/full