Problematising autonomy and advocacy in nursing
- Authors: Cole, Clare , Wellard, Sally , Mummery, Jane
- Date: 2014
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Nursing Ethics Vol. 21, no. 5 (2014), p. 576-582
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: Customarily patient advocacy is argued to be an essential part of nursing, and this is reinforced in contemporary nursing codes of conduct, as well as codes of ethics and competency standards governing practice. However, the role of the nurse as an advocate is not clearly understood. Autonomy is a key concept in understanding advocacy, but traditional views of individual autonomy can be argued as being outdated and misguided in nursing. Instead, the feminist perspective of relational autonomy is arguably more relevant within the context of advocacy and nurses' work in clinical healthcare settings. This article serves to highlight and problematise some of the assumptions and influences around the perceived role of the nurse as an advocate for patients in contemporary Western healthcare systems by focusing on key assumptions concerning autonomy inherent in the role of the advocate. © The Author(s) 2014.
Nursing assessment of older people who are in hospital : Exploring registered nurses' understanding of their assessment skills
- Authors: Penney, Wendy , Poulter, Nola , Cole, Clare , Wellard, Sally
- Date: 2016
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Contemporary Nurse Vol. 52, no. 2-3 (2016), p. 313-325
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: Background: Nurses worldwide are expected to take a leading role in caring for older people. Considerable literature dedicated to the range and application of assessment skills used by nurses vary. There is limited knowledge of registered nurses' (RNs) views of their assessment of older adults.Aim: The aim of this project was to explore RNs current perceptions of nursing assessment, and the core skills they identified as necessary.Design: A qualitative descriptive design study was conducted in three inpatient units in one regional hospital in Victoria.Method: Date were collected through participant observation of RNs (n = 13) followed by 1:1 semi-structured interviews. Data were analysed thematically.Conclusion: This research has illuminated that an ill-defined repertoire of skills was used by RNs when assessing older persons. Skills identified appeared to be based on years of personal-professional experience. Differences were noted between the descriptions nurses gave and what was observed during interactions with older persons.