Autonomy is the capacity for an agent to act of their own free will.
In the context of bioethics, it is an ethical principle that patients should be given the information and freedom necessary to make informed decisions as agents about their healthcare..
The autonomy of patients is commonly treated as the predominant principle in current discussion of medical ethics—the other three principles in the Beauchamp—Childress formulation being benevolence, non-maleficence, and 'justice'..
However, when, for example, a patient autonomously decides to undergo a complicated surgery, we can reasonably consider her as autonomous with respect to that surgery even though she does not autonomously choose each action performed during the operation..
Personal autonomy is the capacity to decide for oneself and pursue a course of action in one's life, often regardless of any particular moral content.
Political autonomy is the property of having one's decisions respected, honored, and heeded within a political context..
Autonomy: The right to self-determination.
Autonomy in nursing means providing adequate information to allow patients to make their own decisions based on their beliefs and values, even if they aren't the ones the nurse chooses..
The concept first came into prominence in ancient Greece (from the Greek auto-nomos), where it characterized city states that were self governing.
Only later–during the European Enlightenment–did autonomy come to be widely understood as a property of persons..
Autonomy is a term used to describe a person's or government's ability to make decisions, or speak and act on their own behalf, without interference from another party.
Although it is used in many different contexts, autonomy is most often an important element of political, philosophical, and medical conversations..
An employee that is allowed autonomy is self-motivated, inspired to achieve, and more likely to engage with work.
The inevitable result is a boost in productivity.
Self-aware, free-thinking employees are setting out to achieve professional goals their own way..
An employee that is allowed autonomy is self-motivated, inspired to achieve, and more likely to engage with work.
The inevitable result is a boost in productivity.
Self-aware, free-thinking employees are setting out to achieve professional goals their own way..
It simply implies that the patient is cognisant and is able to determine for himself how they should be treated.
It is imperative for clinicians to respect the patients position or state.
Some authors regard autonomy as a prima facie and paramount principle in ethical debate..
The focus in modern bioethics on the importance of patient autonomy – with its emphasis on informed consent and patient rights – has transformed medical practice and clinical research.
We analyze the concept of autonomy and distinguish two ways in which autonomy is morally important for bioethical questions.
Thus, in Percival's book on ethics in early 1800s, the importance of keeping the patient's best interest as a goal is stressed, while autonomy and justice were not discussed.
However, with the passage of time, both autonomy and justice gained acceptance as important principles of ethics.
The principle of autonomy provides the patient the option to delegate decision-making authority to another person.
Therefore, the appropriate course would be to take the tactful approach of directly informing the patient (with a translator if needed), that the diagnosed disease would require decisions for appropriate treatment.
DeGrazia, Human Identity and Bioethics, 95–106 endorses a hybrid of these two approaches.
Kihlbom, ‘Autonomy and Negatively Informed Consent’, 147 endorses a coherentist approach.
Walker, ‘Respect for Rational Autonomy’ endorses a rationalist account.
Capacity for control, discretion or political self-governance
Capacity for control, discretion or political self-governance
