Is nursing an autonomous profession?
An autonomous profession is one run by the members of that profession.
If nurses manage other nurses at the topmost levels of management, that would be an example of autonomy.
But if nurses are being managed, ultimately, by lawyers and business models, then it is not autonomous.
Imagine nurses working in the field. They see an issue with a policy or procedure that was imposed upon them by management. These nurses give feedback that this policy or procedure is incongruent with patient needs and safe care.
An autonomous organization would welcome and value feedback.
But if nurses are ultimately beholden to "the bottom line", that is, the profits of the company for which they work, then their feedback is not likely to be welcomed, their job satisfaction is likely to suffer, and patient care is likely to decline.
Feminist theory can be used to empower any disenfranchised group. Traditionalists and conservatives need not write off feminist theory, listen please just for a moment.
With the nursing profession consisting of so many women, and with feminists decrying patriarchal hierarchies, one wonders why the nursing profession persists in submitting itself to the hierarchy of health-care for profit.
Let's re-aquaint ourselves with that part of feminist theory that means empathy, listening, evidence-based practice, compassion, and helping the weak and vulnerable.
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Nursing ethics and conceptualizations of nursing: profession, practice and work
Background.
Nursing has been understood as a calling, vocation, profession, and
most recently, a practice. Each of these conceptualizations has
associated with it an ethics that has emphasized parti...
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