Nurse empowerment through context, structure, and process.

Abstract

Empowerment is most often conceptualized and measured from an individual perspective. Yet, in the nursing practice environment it requires a more comprehensive perspective. In this article the author requires a more comprehensive perspective. In this article the author proposes that nurse empowerment most likely occurs when there is a congruent linkage among a nursing vision, structural components that involve nurse participation, and the use of a process of inquiry. An empowerment quotient for nursing could be measured on a continuum for each of these three components.