Summary
Autonomy is a principle that surrenders ability to make critical health decisions to the victim. It is a sector of service provision characterized by several ethical issues. The practice of nursing and other health related services is often subject critical decision making that may not always conform to the wishes of the stakeholders but are rather significant. In all fairness, there are several cases of entanglement and ethical horn-locking that face practitioners every day. In many cases, those at the decision-making end often experience cases of ethical dilemma in which they are normally forced to take actions that can be detrimental to the wellbeing of the parties involved (Allen, 2013). There are certain ethical codes of conduct that govern the behavior of a practitioner and their relationship with the patient.
As provided by ANA codes of conduct, patients are subject to informed decision making and any action aimed at caring for their health is governed by specific ethical principles and expectations that must be adhered to for proper coexistence. Autonomy is one such ethical requirement for a practicing nurse. It is important for nurses to conduct themselves in ways that conform and provide autonomy to the patients and the parties involved. Majorly, there are critical areas of autonomy that should be observed by the practitioners to ensure there is autonomy in relation to the patient and issues affecting them. There are several types of autonomy that applies in health care. Autonomy guarantees the parties involved freedom from others’ control and it gives one the powers to exercise authority over themselves in matters pertaining to their health (Allen, 2013). It requires that one is subjected to informed consent and any action taken should be self-fulfilling.
The different aspects of autonomy include the following;
Informed consent-under this form of autonomy, the practitioner is required to have the patient well informed about the intended action and only carry on when the patient deem the implementation of such action is approved.
Confidentiality-confidentiality gives the nurses a responsibility to keep private any information regarding the patient and is considered confidential. In this regard, the practitioner is expected to keep them private unless the patient consents to its disclosure.
Truth-telling- the patient is often bound to truthfulness. Any information given to them by the practitioner is highly regarded as truth and can they must equally provide the practitioner with what is believed to be the truth for proper treatment (Allen, 2013). It will ensure that they receive the best service and quality in that case.
Example cases of autonomy and utilitarianism
Autonomy: it is a serious breach of confidentiality as the information regarding a patient should not be disclosed to anybody expect on recommendation of the victim. Miss Ann had breached the confidentiality of the patient in this case.
References
Allen, James F. (2013). Health Law & Medical Ethics for Healthcare Professionals. Upper Saddle River, NJ. Pearson Education, Inc
