1. Patricia E. Benner R.N., Ph.D., FAAN
By Courtney Madsen, Barb Lentz, Denise Lyon, Yvonne Robles, Dawn Kooiman, and Lynda Chase

2. Historical Evolution of Theory: Novice to Expert
Born in Hampton, Virginia
Grew up in California
Degrees:
Baccalaureate~ Pasadena College- 1964
Masters in Nursing~University of California- 1970
PhD~ University of California
Published From Novice to Expert
Became a Fellow in the American Academy of Nursing- 1985

3. Model as Framework for Patient Assessment Novice to Expert
The Novice: First Year of Education
No background experience
Instructor provides clear directions
Students are coached and need supervision
Advanced Beginner: New Graduate
Now have full legal and professional responsibilities
Style of evaluation still lacks
Continues to rely on textbook s/s and may have difficulties recognizing subtle variations

4. Model as Framework for Patient Assessment Cont.
Competent Stage: 1 to 2 Years in Practice
Time for planning of the immediate future related to learned information from past experiences
A nurse can now forecast using planning and analysis
More subtle s/s are now recognized

5. Model as Framework for Patient Assessment Cont.
Proficiency:
A nurse now has an enhanced ability to read a situation
Now open to correction an discomfirmation of a situation
Responsiveness to changes and critical thinking unfolds

6. Model as Framework for Patient Assessment Cont.
Expertise:
Now attends primarily to actions rather than assessment of signs and symptoms
The integrated rapid response is the hallmark of expertise
More proficient in an emergent situation

7. Model used in Clinical Practice
Implement a staff development program
A clinical ladder evaluation tool
Novice: ICU nurse transferred to the OR, these require very different nursing skills
Advanced Beginner: New graduate nurse on a med-surg floor would require a much more in-depth orientation than a nurse with previous experience
Competent: An OB nurse has the ability to care for a patient on a labor and delivery unit, but if a more difficult and serious situation arises a proficient or expert OB nurse would need to step in

8. Model used in Clinical Practice Cont.
Proficient: A cardiac rehab nurse recognizes changes in the patients ECG monitor while the patient exhibits exertion. The nurse immediately implements her skills from knowledge and expertise that appropriately prevent a worsening outcome
Expert: ICU nurse caring for a post open-heart patient in which he or she is able to anticipate needs from various tests and readings. This nurse also has the ability to teach using a through explanation to the patient and family.
An expert nurse exhibits leadership qualities and is a good preceptor to new nurses

9. Model used in Clinical Practice Cont.
Clinical Ladder Evaluation Tool: It can be used as an advancement program for nurses. A clinical ladder helps with retention of experienced nurses
“Clinical ladders recognize and reward nurses for their clinical development and expertise, while encouraging them to remain involved in direct patient care activities”
As a nurse moves along the ladder, they need to show proof of advancement in their practice such as continuing education and leadership qualities

10. Model within Nursing Education
The movement from novice to expert reflects learning and shows changes in three aspects of performance
Working paradigm shifts from reliance on abstract principles to concrete past experiences
Shifts from seeing situations as discreet unrelated parts, to seeing situations as part of a whole
Position shifts from detached observer to involved performer
Studies show novice professionals tend to govern their practice with rule-oriented behavior.
Must rely on rules they have learned in preparatory education to function

11. Interested in the Dreyfus model of skill acquisition and applied it to nursing Area of concern~ not how to do nursing, but rather, “how do nurses learn to do nursing?” Worked several years in intensive care, then became a nurse researcher Studied the nature of nursing practice and how nurses gain expertise Studied with Richard Lazarus who developed a theory of stress and coping Influenced by Heidegger, who stressed phenomenological descriptions of people defined by their concerns, practices, and life experiences

12. Metaparadigms
Person: A self interpreting being that becomes defined in the course of living a life. A person is embodied
Four major aspects of understanding
The situation
Their body
Their personal concerns
The fact that they are only temporary
When caring for the person, nurses tend to all four aspects
Health
Nursing

13. Metaparadigms cont.
Situation (Environment): Situation conveys a social interaction, interpretation, and understanding
Each situation is individual because their meanings, habits, and perspectives influence the situation
People will react differently in each situation because of their own personal interpretation Tomey, 2010, p. 149)
Health: Two aspects include health and well-being
Health~ can be assessed at the physical level
Well-being~ human experience of health
Health is not just the absence of disease

14. Metaparadigms cont.
Nursing: Nursing is viewed as a caring practice whose science is guided by the moral and ethical standards of care and responsibility

15. Current Research Status
Benner’s model serves as a map that directs care, and is used as a tool in current nursing practice
Her work is useful in that it frames nursing practice in the context of what nursing actually is and does
Many occupations have adapted this model to benefit their employees and their customers
Benner’s call is to “increase public storytelling” to validate nursing as an ethical caring practice, and “to extend, alter, and preserve ethical distinctions and concerns” (Benner, 1991, pp )
Her approach continues to be dynamic and specific for each institution

16. Unique Concepts
The model is situational, based on skill level and changes in performance
Performance is a function of a nurse’s familiarity with certain situations
Performance level can only be determined by expert judges and the outcomes of the situation
Clinicians at different levels of practice live in different clinical worlds
Author & project director of Achieving Methods of Intraprofessional Consensus, Assessment and Evaluation

17. Unique Concepts Cont.
Benner’s explanation of nursing practice goes beyond rules and theories – based on “reasonable behavior that responds to the demands of a given situation”
Incorporated Lazarus’s stress and coping theory – used this key concept to describe clinical nursing practice in terms of nurses making a positive difference by being a part of the situation in a caring way
Novice to Expert concept, shows that clinical experience becomes knowledge and theory
Benner differentiated between practical and theoretical knowledge

18. Strengths and Limitations
Continue to learn through experience
Experience becomes a prerequisite for becoming an expert
Lays ground work for the development of preceptors and mentors
Preceptors help new nurses deal with the uncertainty of the clinical setting
Not everyone fits into this model
You need to be able to classify in order for the theory to work
No room for advancement or no opportunity for a certification in a specialty area

19. Analysis: Benner proposes that one could gain knowledge and skills (“knowing how”) whithout learning the theory (“knowing that”) (Dracup, 2004) Accomplished by defining 5 levels of development The novice sees the patient as a list of tasks An expert sees all of the pieces and makes a whole

20. Insights:
This model can serve as a basis for developing a mentorship program at facilities to support new nurses as they enter the field
This is particularly important with the magnitude of nurses that graduate each year
Due to the changes in healthcare and advancements in technology more nurses will be needed
Longevity is increasing everyday and now healthcare will be available to more people in the future
Understanding this model and the five levels from Novice to Expert will assist nurses with excelling in their careers

21. References
Acclaim Images, LLC. Nurse Clipart. Picurtes and photos.
Alligood, M .R. & Tomey, A. M. (2010). Nursing Theorists and their Work. Maryland Heights, MO: Mosby, Elsevier ( )
Benner, P. (1982). From novice to expert. American Journal of Nursing, 82,
Benner, P. (1984). From novice to expert: Excellence and power in clinical nursing practice. Menlo Park,
California: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company.
Benner, P., & Tanner, C. (1987). Clinical judgment: How expert nurses use intuition. American Journal of Nursing, 87,
Benner, P., Tanner, C., & Chesla, C. (1992). From beginner to expert: Gaining a differentiated clinical world in critical care nursing. ANS Advances in Nursing Science, 14(3),
Benner, P. (2004). Using the Dreyfus Model of Skill Acquisition to Describe and Interpret Skill Acquisition and Clinical Judgment in Nursing Practice and Education. Bulletin of Science Technology Society. Vol. 24. No. 3 Pp Doi /
Brykczynski, Karen A (2010). Caring, Clinical Wisdom, and Ethics in Nursing Practice, A.M. Tomey, M.R. Alligood, Nursing theorists and their work (7th ed., pp ) Maryland Heights, MD: Mosby Elsevier
Dracup, K. and Bryan-Brown, C. (2004) From Novice to Expert to Mentor: Shaping the Future. American Journal of Critical Care, 13 (6), Retrieved from
Haag-Heitman, B. (1999). Clinical practice development using novice to expert theory. Gaithersburg, MD: Aspen.
Marshall, June (2006). Retain top nurses with a clinical ladder. HCPro’s Weekly Update on the ANCC Magnet Recognition Program.
University of California, San Francisco. (2006) Patricia Benner: Faculty Profile. UCSF of Nursing. Retrieved from