The concept of empowerment is one that is often discussed in the context of modern nursing practice. Empowerment has become somewhat of a 'buzz' word in the health care system and is often used out of context and without a true understanding of it's meaning or implications to practice. This essay will attempt to conceptualise empowerment, specifically in nursing practice. Three areas will be analysed in an attempt to provide a simple overview of the empowerment approach to nursing. First, definitions of empowerment, second methods of empowerment, and finally barriers to empowerment will be explored.
             The first emergence of the concept of empowerment in health care can be traced to the Alma Ata Declaration of 1977 (Falk-Rafael, 2001). In that document health was recognised as an issue of social justice, a fundamental human right. Following that empowerment became the central ideology of the "new public health" (Grace, 1991) aligning with the Ottawa Charter's definition of health promotion as a "process of enabling people to increase control over, and to improve their health."
             The word Power is derived from the Latin verb "potere" (to be able). Simply, power can be defined as that which enables one to achieve their goals (Davidhizar and Dowd, 1999). With this definition in mind it would then follow that the empowering nurse needs to move from the traditional role of understanding and caring, to a role of facilitating the patient to define for themselves the direction in which their health care plan should develop in order to achieve their goals, thus enabling them to work towards maximizing the quality of their lives (Melville, 1997). According to Aoki (2002), empowerment can also be defined as a collective process acknowledging, promoting and enhancing an individual's ability to meet their own needs, decipher problems and muster the necessary resources to be in con...