A profession is characterized by advanced theoretical and systematic knowledge, which can provide that profession with autonomy and authority. This paper examines the factors affecting the realization of complete professional autonomy such as the market and capital, patients, and the state. The primary factor of weak autonomy is due to the undifferentiated interests of professionalism from the influence of capital. The second factor is the ineffective system of self-regulation over physician behavior. The third factor is the underdevelopment of medical values, which could override the current conflicts between physicians and the state.
Fibrinogen ; Humans ; Professional Autonomy

PURPOSE: The purpose of this research was to examine the relationship between types of conflict management style, role conflict, professional autonomy and organizational commitment of hospital nurses, and to identify factors influencing organizational commitment. METHODS: Participants were 165 conveniently selected nurses from one general hospital in Gangwon province. Data were collected from March 28 to April 6, 2018 using self-report questionnaires. RESULTS: There was a significant difference in the level of professional autonomy and organizational commitment depending on the nurses' styles of conflict management. A statistically significant positive correlation between professional autonomy and organizational commitment was found, and a negative correlation between environmental barriers in role conflict and organizational commitment. Participants' professional autonomy and environmental barriers in role conflict explained 17.9% of organizational commitment. CONCLUSION: These finding indicate that professional autonomy and environmental barriers are both very important factors influencing organizational commitment. Accordingly, it is necessary to improve nurses' organizational commitment, enhance autonomy and reduce environmental barriers for nurses performing nursing roles.
Gangwon-do ; Hospitals, General ; Nursing ; Professional Autonomy

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to identify the correlation between level of professional autonomy and clinical decision making abilities in clinical nurses, and to provide basic information for promoting competency nurses in making independent decisions. METHOD: Data were collected from July 1 to July 18, 2008, and participants were 202 clinical nurses in general hospitals. Collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics: frequency and percentage and Pearson correlation coefficients with the SPSS WIN 14.0 program. RESULTS: The professional autonomy index for the nurses was 159.63 points. The clinical decision making ability index was 119.79 points. The most highly ranked factor in clinical decision making was search for information and unbiased assimilation of new information. There was a statistically significant difference in professional autonomy according to age, clinical experience, and type of duty. Relation between level of professional autonomy and clinical decision making showed a positive correlation. CONCLUSION: As a results show a significant correlation between professional autonomy and clinical decision making in clinical nurses, improvement in professional autonomy of clinical nurses, would be promoted through continuous support and training.
Decision Making ; Hospitals, General ; Professional Autonomy

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to identify the relationship between professional self-concept, professional autonomy, self-esteem, and job satisfaction of clinical nurses. METHOD: Data were collected from a convenience sample of 289 clinical nurses who worked in one of 4 hospitals located in B City. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-test, ANOVA, Pearson correlation coefficient, and multiple regression. RESULTS: There were significant differences in job satisfaction according to marital status, current position, shift pattern, and average income. There was a significant positive correlation between professional self-concept and professional autonomy, self-esteem and job satisfaction. Job satisfaction showed a significant positive correlation with professional autonomy and self-esteem. The significant factors influencing job satisfaction were professional self-concept, self-esteem and professional autonomy, which explained 29.5% of the variance in job satisfaction. CONCLUSION: The results of this study indicate that the important role-related variables of professional self-concept, self-esteem and professional autonomy of clinical nurses are significantly related, and that as, professional self-concept is an important factor for job satisfaction of clinical nurses, strategies to increase professional self-concept need to be developed.
Job Satisfaction ; Marital Status ; Professional Autonomy

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to define the effects of relational bonds and professional authority in organizational commitment of Intensive Care Unit (ICU) nurses. METHODS: A questionnaire was distributed to 200 ICU nurses working in 3 tertiary hospitals. The survey content included the Organizational Commitment Questionnaire (OCQ), Relational Bond Questionnaire (RBQ) and Schutzenhofer Professional Nurse Autonomy Scale (SPNA). RESULTS: The score for OCQ was 2.59, for RBQ, 3.23, and for SPNA, 2.93. Organizational commitment was related to relational bonds (β=0.45; p<.001; SE=0.08). These factors accounted for 21.6% of the variability in organizational commitment. CONCLUSION: Results indicate that ICU nurses' organizational commitment could be improved through increasing relational bonds and retaining experienced nurses which suggests a need to develop work systems designed to increase and maintain high relational bonds in ICU nurses.
Critical Care* ; Intensive Care Units* ; Professional Autonomy ; Tertiary Care Centers

Why should physicians be ethical? First of all, it is one of the categorical imperatives (golden rules) to be an ethical person. So as a human being, all physicians should endeavor to be an ethical member of the society. However, there is another important reason for physicians to be ethical, more ethical than any other members of the society. Medicine, the so-called learned profession, is defined by the knowledge held by their members and by the application of that knowledge to the needs of fellow citizens. The relationship between physicians and patients can only be secured when physicians succeed in obtaining trust from the public. Society will accept the professional autonomy and monopoly market power held by the medical organization only if the organization shows continuing effort of self-regulation according to their strict code of ethics. At now, physicians are facing a powerful challenge from the modern society that denies professional authority and stresses independence and self-sufficiency of individual social members. There is a clear tendency that modern society no longer sees medicine as a benevolent help by the paternalistic physicians to the patients in need but as a mere trade between providers and consumers. Any unethical behavior of physicians may justify the intrusion by the third party into the traditional doctor-patient relationship in the name of fair trade. In this sense, ethics of physicians may be the best policy to defend the long tradition of Hippocratic medicine.
Codes of Ethics ; Ethics* ; Humans ; Paternalism ; Professional Autonomy ; Self-Control

This study was done to identify the professional autonomy of clinical nurses perceived by staff nurses and doctors. The subjects consisted of 410 nurses and 219 doctors who are working at 4 general hospital in Daegu and Pusan. The nurses were working surveyed by means of July 7 to September 27, 1997. The results are as follows : 1. The score which the nurses perceived clinical nurses' professional autonomy is 159.05 points. This score means mid level of professional autonomy. 2. The score which the doctors perceived clinical nurses' professional autonomy is 140.37 points. This score means mid level of professional autonomy. 3. The extent of the perceived clinical nurses' professional autonomy between two groups was remarkably high in the nurses group(P=.000) 4. The relationship between general characteristics and the perception of professional autonomy by nurses showed a significant difference in regard to the age, the marital states, educational level, the period of nursing career and the state of position. The score of professional autonomy by age was highest 41 years old or more, while the lowest was for 26-30 years old(P=.008). The score of professional autonomy of a married nurse was higher than an unmarried(P=.003). The score of professional autonomy by the period of nursing career was highest 9 years or more, the lowest was for 3-6 years(P=.009). Also, the higher the educational level(P=.000) and the state of position(P=.049), the higher the score of professional autonomy. But there were no statistically significant difference in regard to the religion and the field of work. 5 .The relationship between general characteristics and the perception of professional autonomy by doctors showed no statistically significant difference.
Adult ; Busan ; Daegu ; Hospitals, General ; Humans ; Nursing ; Professional Autonomy*

BACKGROUND: TV dramas can affect the identity of a person or group that the public perceives by presenting virtualized characters and events. The image of a doctor in the medical drama can influence the identity of a contemporary physician group. The authors analyze several medical dramas in Korea from the viewpoint of medical professionalism and try to contribute to the enlightment of the image of the doctor.METHODS: Among the medical dramas that have been broadcast since medical professions began to appear, 5 dramas were selected for analysis. The author reviewed them by four major areas of medical professionalism: contribution to society, compliance with the four principles of medical ethics, professional autonomy, and recognition from society and scored an upper-middle-lower grade.RESULTS: ‘Contribution to society’ and ‘recognition from society’ were well-founded in all dramas, except ‘Doctor Stranger’. In the case of ‘compliance with the four principles of medical ethics’, ‘Golden Time’ and ‘Romantic doctors Kim’ most frequently violated it. The ‘medical ethics principle’ was frequently infringed on ‘Doctor Strangers’, In the case of ‘Doctors’, the violation of the ethics principle was reduced as the conflict between the drama characters were emphasized. ‘Professional autonomy’ is best demonstrated by stubborn doctors appearing in ‘Golden Time’ and ‘Romantic Doctors Kim’.CONCLUSION: It is necessary to criticize the doctors image in the current drama from the view point of the medical professionalism and to continue to teach the drama writer about medical professionalism.
Compliance ; Drama ; Ethics ; Ethics, Medical ; Humans ; Korea ; Professional Autonomy ; Professionalism

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of professional autonomy, organizational commitment, and perceived patient safety culture on patient safety management activities of nurses in medium and small-sized hospitals.METHODS: A cross-sectional design was employed. Self-reported questionnaires were completed by 121 nurses with at least 3 months of working experience in medium and small-sized hospitals located in B city. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, a t-test, a one-way ANOVA, Pearson correlation coefficients, and a multiple regression analysis.RESULTS: Professional autonomy (r=.22, p=.016), organizational commitment (r=.34, p < .001), and perceived patient safety culture (r=.55, p < .001) had a statistically significant positive correlation with patient safety management activities. The factors that might affect patient safety management activities were professional autonomy (β=.23, p=.003) and perceived patient safety culture (β=.55, p < .001). The explanatory power of these factors for patient safety management activities was 33.5% (F= 21.19, p < .001).CONCLUSIONS: The development of repetitive and continuous education programs is needed to improve a nurse's professional autonomy and perceived patient safety culture.
Education ; Humans ; Organizational Culture ; Patient Safety ; Professional Autonomy ; Safety Management

PURPOSE: This study aimed to explore professional autonomy, nursing work environment, and clinical decision making ability and to determine predictors of clinical decision making ability among clinical nurses. METHODS: A cross-sectional design was used in this study and 263 clinical nurses were selected from advanced-level hospitals with over 500 beds located in D metropolitan city. Independent t-test, ANOVA, Pearson's correlation coefficients and hierarchical multiple regression analyses were done with the SPSS/WIN 20.0 program. RESULTS: Clinical nurses reported moderate levels of professional autonomy, nursing work environment and clinical decision making ability. Marital status, professional autonomy and nursing work environment accounted for 25% of variance in clinical decision making ability required in various clinical settings. Importantly, being married, higher level of professional autonomy, and greater satisfaction with work environment were significantly associated with better decision making ability. CONCLUSION: Findings indicate that improving the quality of decision making in the healthcare settings requires awareness of the multiple effects of individual, occupational and environmental features. Nurses' ability to make effective clinical decisions may rely on personal characteristics, the degree of autonomy in their job, and nurses' satisfaction with their work environment.
Decision Making* ; Delivery of Health Care ; Humans ; Marital Status ; Nursing* ; Professional Autonomy*