Professional autonomy: a pilot study to determine the effects of a professional development program on nurses' attitudes.

: In this article, the authors describe a pilot study conducted to evaluate a component of a professional development program designed for Clinical Nurses in a general teaching hospital. Permission was obtained to use an established instrument for measuring attitude toward professional autonomy. A non equivalent pre-test/post-test, control group design was used. Results indicate that the program was influential in changing nurses' attitudes toward autonomy. Implications of using an instrument designed for an American cohort of nurses and modified to depict an Australian nursing culture are discussed.