Introduction
Professional autonomy remains an integral role among health professionals found within the health paradigm. The need to spearhead decision making in the healthcare setup is imperative for the health professionals to cater for the needs of their patients. In order to provide and perpetuate quality health care, it is important to analyze and put into consideration the aspect of professional autonomy. Therefore, quality care is pegged on respecting patients’ autonomy and engaging in healthcare practice with fundamental training that is relevant of promoting the law governing the healthcare professionals.
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This essay discusses the fundamental advantages and disadvantages of considering and adopting professional autonomy when tasked with an initiative of opening up a new ambulatory care center. Moreover, this essay provides a discussion on the key components of three sources that would potentially have influence on the effects emanating from the effectiveness of the design and structure of the new center.
Advantages of Professional Autonomy
According to Sandstrom (2006, pp. 99-100), professional autonomy involves the control and freedom health professionals have over decisions made regarding their work. Nevertheless, Skar (2010, p. 2226) elaborates, “Professional autonym means having the authority to make decisions and the freedom to act in accordance with one’s professional knowledge base”. The professional autonomy also includes the aspect of choosing procedures that are fundamental in the medical practice. The emphasis on why I would utilize professional autonomy in my organization’s new initiative is based on the advantages it boasts when adopted. One of the advantages of professional autonomy to the new ambulatory care center is that it will place profound value on healthcare professionals. The idea of making effective health decisions without interference from a secondary or tertiary body is imperative in the medical practice. Furthermore, this increases positive health environment that is perpetuated by the development of the professional relationship between the medical professional and a patient.
In this case, the adoption of professional autonym will enable the practitioners in the new proposed ambulatory care center to exercise their expertise through rational decision-making process in carrying out their daily duties. It is important to note that such authority and freedom will enable the health care professionals to enhance and put their learned skills and knowledge into practice. As such, the fundamental aspects of the autonomy of a patient, for example, informed consents, privacy and confidentiality will be practiced (Maclean, 2009). This advantage will further enable positive patient outcome as a professional determines the best practice for a patient. Another advantage for settling for the professional autonomy is the implication of the difference between a trade and profession. This distinction entails the nurtured knowledge that cannot be understood by other people outside the helm of medical and health care practice.
As such, adopting professional autonomy for the new ambulatory care center will not only grant the health professionals the privilege of self-regulation, but also motivate them in carrying out their work. When health professionals are motivated there is guarantee that whatever they are working on will be successively because they will input their best professional skills and knowledge as much as they can in the practice. The adoption of professional autonym at the new ambulatory care center will prove beneficial regarding the consistently changing healthcare environment. In this case, the new ambulatory care center will boast healthcare professionals who have the power to make rational decisions regarding the situation of a patient based on their learnt and practiced professional knowledge in medical and healthcare practice.
Disadvantages of Professional Autonym
The underlying factors that may prove a problem to the operation of the new ambulatory care center are the risks exposed to patients as the health professionals try ultimate dares that turn out to be health malpractice. With cases of patients’ autonomy being intervened, the ambulatory care center, therefore, fails considerably to provide and support quality healthcare as stipulated in its objectives. Furthermore, questioning professional liability at the new ambulatory care center may prompt the government and courts and put the latter in a sole position of directing the center’s medical practice. As such, self-regulation and privilege of making decisions is revoked and enhanced through monitoring.
Furthermore, this achieved through the professionals laws that stipulates health professionals being accountable for their actions on respective patients. Moreover, medical malpractice cases resulting from health professionals fundamentally forms the torts. In this case, the unintentional negligence resulting from the health professional may become a criminal case at the instance where the health of a patient under treatment is compromised. In addition, violation of a patient’s rights through invasion of privacy, for example, revealing confidential health records is also termed as a medical malpractice. This might present a detrimental menace to the new care centre, as medical malpractice cases resulting from the professional autonym perspective will be inevitable. This may jeopardize the operation of the care center as well perpetuate its immediate closure in the long run.
According to Gillingham and Seibel (2013), laws governing the healthcare industry are derived from three sources. First, the constitution, both federal and state constitutions of the United States stipulates how medical practice ought to be practiced. It stresses on professionalism and the priority of quality healthcare given to a patient. The other sources of law that governs the medical practice are the statuses drawn by the legislators. In addition, laws drawn from previous successful cases are used on present laws where a health professional or healthy facility is sued by a patient. In this case, they form the common laws, which are subject to change with subsequent cases (pp. 95-96).
Therefore, understanding the concepts of tort law and the criminal aspects of health care is imperative in ensuring that the new ambulatory care center provides patients’ with quality healthcare services. Moreover, the care center should aim at establishing trust and respect, which are the cornerstone of a professional relationship of a professional worker and a patient.
Conclusion
Conclusively, professional autonomy is an important concept in medical practice. Medical professionals should aim at utilizing the privilege of professional autonym in enhancing quality care rather than jeopardizing lives of patients. Consequently, the law punishes cases of medical malpractice resulting from a medical professional. The resulting tort and criminal laws gives emphasis on the decisions made in such cases where a patient’s health is compromised.
- Gillingham, E. T., & Seibel, M. W. (2013). Lafleur Brooks’ health unit coordinating, 7th edition. St. Louis, Mo: Elsevier.
- Maclean, A. (2009). Autonomy, informed consent and medical law: A relational challenge. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
- Sandstrom, R. W. (2006). The Meanings of Autonomy for Physical Therapy. Journal of the American Therapy, Vol. 87, pp. 98-106.
- Skar, R. (2010). The Meaning of Autonomy in Nursing Practice. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 19(15-16), 2226-2234.
