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"I didn't know anything, but I learned over time": The process of nurses attaining autonomy in Intensive Care Units
Nestor Naranjo1, Inna Florez2, Edna Gómez3
1Nurse, Master, Assistant Professor. Faculty of Nursing, University of Cartagena, Cartagena, Colombia. nnaranjoe@unicartagena.edu.co.
Objective:
Understand the social processes experienced by nursing professionals and the meanings underlying autonomy in adult Intensive Care Units in the city of Cartagena (Colombia).
Methods:
A qualitative study with a grounded theory approach was conducted. Fifteen semi-structured interviews were carried out with nursing professionals, and the analysis was based on the coding technique proposed by Strauss & Corbin.
Results:
Of the respondents, fourteen were female and one was male, with ages ranging from 23 to 57 years. Experience in intensive care units ranged from 1 to 28 years, and none had postgraduate studies. After thematic analysis, the central category was obtained from four categories: adaptation process, applicability of autonomy exercise, building autonomous competence, and limitations to the exercise of autonomy.
Conclusion:
Nursing professionals achieve their autonomy through a social process, based on different stages of learning when facing the environment of the units. It is grounded in decision-making and the power to act freely. However, barriers continue to hinder it, including limitations imposed by institutions, protocol-based interventions, social status, and individual differences among professionals.
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