Developing professional autonomy in advanced nursing practice: The critical analysis of sociopolitical variables

The conceptual tools prevailing in scientific literature can carry an unexamined ballast of implicit references to current sociopolitical debates that dominate their times. Professional autonomy is not only freedom for action but also freedom for thought. The paper aims to increase external validity by enhancing the awareness of uncontrollable variables and their very real impact on results. The method is a critical review of use of the concepts of vulnerability, participation and autonomy generally related to the public health discourse. It raises practical uncertainties regarding the overestimated prerequisite of 'advanced' and 'evidence-based' practices when governing directives destined to be realized in social contexts fraught with unpredictability. This paper argues for the development of those skills necessary to analyse the influence of society-dependent concepts on our daily practices and the impact institutions have on the construction of our values, ideologies and practices.