Although clinicians may value respecting a patient's or surrogate's autonomy in decision-
making, it is not always clear how to proceed in clinical practice. The confusion results, in
part, from which conception of autonomy is used to guide ethical practice. Reliance on an
individualistic conception such as the “in-control agent” model prioritizes self-sufficiency in
decision-making and highlights a decision-maker's capacity to have reason transcend one's
emotional experience. An alternative model of autonomy, relational autonomy, highlights the …