Autonomy means that each person should be given the respect, time, and opportunity necessary to make his or her own decisions. As such, nurses respect and promote the autonomy of persons and help them to express their health needs and values and also to obtain desired information and services so that they can make informed decisions. According to Kantian ethics, autonomous people are considered as being ends in themselves in that they have the capacity to determine their own destiny, and as such must be respected. It is the duty of nurses to respect the patients and avoid treating them as something less than a person. The exception to this provision is that there are patients who are not capable of making decisions on their own behalf. Children, the elderly, or the mentally ill may be incapable of understanding information that would enable them to make an informed decision. If a nurse or family undertakes to make a decision on behalf of the patient, then no matter what their motive, they are denying to the patient the power of self-determination.
Provision number two states that the nurses primary responsibility is to the patient. The patient may be an individual, group or community. The duties of nurses, after all, are to promote the health and safety of their patients. It is natural to realize that the relationship between a nurse and a patient does impose the duty of acting in the patients welfare. The principle of beneficence and nonmaleficence are characteristic in the role of a nurse. The nurse and other health professions are expected to practice due care in avoidance of injury to his or her patient. They are expected to possess the knowledge and skills to perform their duties properly. They are expected to help patients by providing them with appropriate treatment. They also are expected to be prepared to make sacrifices for the sake of their patients. After all, a nurse who is not acting for the sake of the patients health would not be considered as a nurse.