Nursing Autonomy Case Study

Select one of the essential nursing values of altruism, autonomy, human dignity, integrity, and social justice, to discuss the challenges professional RNs face in demonstrating the expected professional behaviors. Give a clinical example. In Professional Nursing Concepts and Challenges, the concept of autonomy is explored. Autonomy is defined as the principle that “asserts that individuals have the right to determine their own actions and the freedom to make their own decisions” (Black 2014). This is important to ensure, particularly in the hospital setting. Autonomy is an important nursing value that we, as healthcare professionals, must actively promote. In terms of a professional RN, maintaining autonomy may be challenging.

Specifically, “autonomy refers to the ability to act according to one’s knowledge and judgment, providing nursing care within the full scope of practice as defined by existing professional, regulatory, and organizational rules” (ANA, 2010). Therefore, according to the American Nursing Association, it is important to implement strategies that can work to enhance an RN’s autonomy. An RN’s autonomy can help promote patient outcomes,

As Marja Weston, RN, expands on the differences, control of nursing practice is related to a nurse’s autonomy. She describes this as the following: “autonomy over unit operations, or control over the context of practice is used, this domain refers to decision making related to the work of the unit, department, or organizational operations” (2008). As one may be able to infer already, this nursing autonomy is different from clinical autonomy which is concerned with “describes decisions made by nurses about individual patient care and consequently involves decisions made within the existing professional, regulatory, organizational, and departmental rules” (Weston,