Individual nurse empowerment: A concept analysis

AIM: This concept analysis aims to distinguish the concept of nurse empowerment as an individual professional process rather than a job-related process and to identify ways in which a clarified understanding of individual empowerment can impact the discipline. BACKGROUND: The history of nursing as a gendered role has led to oppression in the profession as evidenced by lateral violence and attrition. Empowerment initiatives that focus on a nurse within an organization often provide false power. DESIGN: Walker and Avant's method was used for this concept analysis. DATA SOURCE: Published literature from 1990 to 2019 was identified from electronic health profession-related databases, and current definitions and uses of empowerment were pulled from empirical works and electronic databases. REVIEW METHODS: A review of abstracts and full text from articles relating to nurse empowerment was performed, and empirical studies used to provide an understanding of the concept as used today. RESULTS: True empowerment entails a nurse controlling her practice and career. Elements of individual empowerment can be pulled from existing work on structural and psychological empowerment. CONCLUSIONS: Analyzing nurse empowerment from an individual perspective allows us to move beyond the oppressive history of nursing and move the profession forward to impact our communities.