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Investigación y Educación en Enfermería
Print version ISSN 0120-5307On-line version ISSN 2216-0280
Abstract
NARANJO, Nestor; FLOREZ, Inna and GOMEZ, Edna. “I didn't know anything, but I learned over time”: The process of nurses attaining autonomy in Intensive Care Units. Invest. educ. enferm [online]. 2023, vol.41, n.3, e09. Epub Oct 26, 2023. ISSN 0120-5307. https://doi.org/10.17533/udea.iee.v41n3e09.
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
Keywords : professional autonomy; intensive care units; critical care cursing.