Professional autonomy in nursing: An integrative review

Aim To summarize knowledge of professional autonomy in nursing. Background Professional autonomy is associated with experienced meaningfulness of the work. This refers to participation in decision‐making and the ability to influence working practices. Evaluation In an integrative review, relevant st...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of nursing management Vol. 29; no. 6; pp. 1565 - 1577
Main Authors Pursio, Katja, Kankkunen, Päivi, Sanner‐Stiehr, Ericka, Kvist, Tarja
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published England John Wiley & Sons, Inc 01.09.2021
Subjects
Content analysis
integrative review
Leadership
nurse
Nurses
Nursing
Nursing administration
Professional autonomy
Professional practice
Recruitment
Work environment
Work skills
Workforce
nurse
professional autonomy
integrative review
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:Aim To summarize knowledge of professional autonomy in nursing. Background Professional autonomy is associated with experienced meaningfulness of the work. This refers to participation in decision‐making and the ability to influence working practices. Evaluation In an integrative review, relevant studies were retrieved from four databases. Quality was systematically evaluated using critical appraisal tools. PRISMA guidelines were followed. Inductive content analysis was used to analyse current knowledge of the focal subject. Key issues The search identified 27 relevant studies published between 2000 and 2019. Elements describing nurses’ professional autonomy were independence in decision‐making and ability to utilize one's own competence. Themes relating to nurses’ professional autonomy were shared leadership, professional skills, inter‐ and intra‐professional collaboration and healthy work environment. Conclusion Understanding the multidimensional nature of professional autonomy is essential to create attractive work environments. It is important to enable nurses to participate in decision‐making and develop nursing through shared leadership to enhance the recruitment and retention of a skilled workforce. Implications for Nursing Management The findings have anticipated utility for supporting nursing practice and nurse leaders’ understanding of approaches to foster nurses’ professional autonomy.
Bibliography:Funding information
This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not‐for‐profit sectors.
ObjectType-Article-1
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-2
content type line 14
ObjectType-Review-3
content type line 23
ISSN:0966-0429
1365-2834
1365-2834
DOI:10.1111/jonm.13282