PROFESSIONAL AUTONOMY AND THE NURSE: AN INTEGRATIVE REVIEW

Abstract

A nurse’s professional autonomy corresponds to the carrying out of nursing actions by means of utilization of abilities, knowledge and attitudes to take decisions and resolve situations in his/her area of professional practice. The objective of this study was to verify which aspects of the nurse’s professional autonomy are present in Brazilian scientific research. In order to do this, an integrative review was undertaken which analyzed twenty-one Portuguese-language articles published between 2000 and 2009. The data banks researched were: LILACS, SciELO, and BDENF, using the search terms professional autonomy, nursing, and the word autonomy. As results, two categories emerged: Nursing: the development of submissive practice and Possibilities of autonomous practice for the Nurse, consisting of nine subcategories which approach suggestions for professional autonomy. In developing factors such as the utilization of scientific knowledge, professional responsibility and political insertion, the nurse will be exercising his role with autonomy.

Keywords

• Professional autonomy
• Professional practice
• Nursing