Accountability, autonomy and delegation in nursing Essay

Accountability, autonomy and delegation in nursing - Essay Example Nursing is a professional practice that deals with helping people in achieving and maintaining good health thus normal body functioning. The profession is entirely on nurse giving services to the human race. Nurses are guided by some code of ethics which they must abide to in order to perform their duties as requiredThe practice authority is based on social agreement outlining the practice responsibility expectations to enter the profession one must go through the territorial and national nursing boards all of which are administered and defined by the law thus defining a scope of practice.Autonomy means self independence, self governance and ability to practice self control. In nursing it means the idea of giving health professional (nurses) formal authorities in making independent decision concerning patient care. Autonomy is a key and central idea in the health care field of the modern world. It applies to the nurses as it allows them to exercise equitable control and judgment over nursing professional.(MacDonald ,2002)In the modern World nurses have some set professional standards that guide them in their work and which they all must adhere to. The standards clearly indicate the right way on how things can be done under the profession and also the wrong things which ought not to be done. Like any other profession nurses have that freedom of practicing professional judgment and setting their own standards of performance and employing the members and patients. (MacDonald ,2002) Professional autonomy will therefore give some justification as to why nurses act as per their own judgment (profession) rather than waiting to be guided by the physicians what to do. In this case the nursing profession will not been subordinate to the medical expertise but it will rather be independent of the medical expertise. Though the nurses will be retaining a scope of autonomy judgment on how the orders are carried out. It is very possible that nurses will know some things which are not known by their physicians. Thus is because nurses undergo some formal training that enables them to gain wide range of experience in some areas as under the profession for example nurses will understand and perform sterile dressing procedures perfectly than the physician will do will this regard wherever a physicians orders the nurse to do something that is in conflict with the professional autonomy of the nursing expertise than the autonomy dictates that the nurses has a right to object the fulfilment of such orders. (MacDonald ,2002) Accountability defined on the black's law dictionary in the state of being responsible or answerable to your deeds. Nurses in the nursing profession are required to be answerable to the physicians, patients and nursing board. They should be held responsible in any thing done under their profession hence answerable. Accountability ensures that professionals' ethical, acceptable and legal nursing conducts are maintained by the nurses. Nurses are therefore expected to show accountability in their profession as ling as they are engaged in it. They should perform their duties with regard to the acceptance nursing care and the acceptable nursing care and the set out standards a thing that will demonstrate higher accountability on the nurse own actions.(Hage ,2000) Accountability goes hand in hand with liability. (Hage ,2000) The black's law dictionary defines liability as a condition of being potentially subject to an obligation. The nurse profession carries moment's duties and obligation which guides the nurse on what to do. Nurses should therefore be held liable for anything that happened under his docket and should be held responsible for example. (Hage ,2000) A nurse should follow the procedures and policies as laid down by his employer and should follow the