Nurses' perceptions of their autonomy in wound management

Abstract

Although there is a plethora of nursing literature on nurse autonomy and wound management as separate issues, very few studies concerning nurse autonomy in wound management are available. The aim of this exploratory, descriptive study was to examine nurses' perceptions of their autonomy in wound management in a Maltese state-owned general hospital. A self-administered questionnaire designed by the researcher was delivered to twenty female nurses in a general medical and a surgical ward. The findings suggest that approximately half of the respondents perceive nurses in Malta as autonomous in wound care and half do not. However, the majority of respondents agreed that nurses in Malta are not leaders in wound management and are not allowed to choose wound care products since they are dominated by the medical profession. The respondents also appeared to be eager to achieve more autonomy in wound care, however at the same time do not want to lead in wound management. A number of factors were identified as affecting nurse autonomy in wound care including knowledge, working relationships, work overload, assertiveness, confidence, experience and research. Recommendations based on the findings include promoting a collaborative approach to wound care and encouraging research based practice. Moreover, suggestions for further research include the use of participant observational and larger scale studies to examine actual nurse autonomy as opposed to perceived nurse autonomy and to increase generalisability of the findings.