Autonomy is defined as “self-governance” or “self-determination” which involves the ability to think, decide, and act on the basis of such thinking and decisions freely and independently. In medical practice, autonomy applies when the patient must have capacity for thought, intention and action when making decisions regarding any medical intervention and must be free from coercion or persuasion. In order for a patient to make a fully informed decision, they must understand all the risks and benefits of the procedure and the likelihood of success of the offered procedure and also the alternative procedure. In this case, the professionalism of a doctor is needed for a better explanation of the advantages and complications of healthcare procedures, as well as to provide good advice in the best interests of the patient in order to help him make a decision. With the necessary and sufficient information provided to the patient, he is able to make his own decision on where to apply autonomy. According to this principle, the patient also has the right to refuse the medical procedure and the doctor must respect his decision and not do anything that goes against the patient's will. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay According to Reyden in the South African Journal of Occupational Therapist (2008) regarding the right to respect for autonomy, since for doctors, they must fully understand the concept and implications of the ethical principle and professional duty of respect for patients or customer autonomy. Furthermore, they should not only embrace respect for patient/client autonomy in daily practice, but they should also be able to facilitate the development of this capacity in order to improve all interventions. As regards this case, the patient was a 10 year old girl who was deemed to be a minor under the law 21 below the age of maturity in the age of majority law of 1971 which stated, in Malaysia, that the age of maturity is 18 years old. In other words, she was an incompetent patient with no decision-making capacity. Therefore, your parents (your mother) can provide consent on your behalf. From the medical history, her mother decided to undergo spinal anesthesia (SA) for her daughter's ganglion cyst surgery instead of general anesthesia (GA) based on her knowledge at that time after being informed of the complications of GA who have overcome the risk of AS by the anesthetist in the anesthetic clinic. However, in the ward, one day before the date of her daughter's surgery, the anesthetist came to ask for GA's consent for surgery without asking her for her views and opinion. The patient's mother refused to sign the consent form which led to the procedure being canceled the next day. The patient was then discharged and rescheduled for surgery. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay Paternalism occurred in this case where the anesthesiologist tried to limit the autonomy of the patient's mother decided to ignore her decision and leave her without further questions or explanations about the situation. According to Ilemona et. al. (2012), the problem of paternalism usually occurs when there is conflict between the principles of autonomy and beneficence. For example, a doctor, who is paternalistic, intends to act in the best interests of the patient without fully considering and understanding the patient's point of view. They also do not realize how their assessment could be changed by good communication with the patient.