Background: Autonomy is the main component of professional nursing practice, which
leads to improve patient outcomes. Nurses who have a higher degree of autonomy in their practice
provide fine patient care. Aim: This study aimed to assess the relationship between professional
image and autonomy among staff nurses. Design: A descriptive correlational design was utilized for
conducting the study. Setting: conducted at Benha ophthalmic hospital which affiliated to Egyptian
ministry of health. Subjects: Convenience sample of 140 staff nurses. Tools of data collection:
The data in this study were collected by using two tools namely perceptions of professional nursing
tool (PPNT) & autonomy questionnaire. Results: More than half 51.4% of the studied nurses had a
moderate level of perception regarding professional image. While, nearly two third of the studied
nurses had a moderate autonomy. Conclusion: It concluded that there was a highly positive
correlation between staff nurses' professional image and their autonomy. Recommendation: Nurse
managers should encourage staff nurses to participate in decision-makings and provide continuous
in-service education to increase nurses' knowledge base to improve autonomy.