Patricia Benner’s Novice to Expert Theory Patricia Benner’s research and theory provides the nursing profession with what we know as the Novice to Expert Model. Benner’s work is adapted from the Dreyfus Model of Skill Acquisition. In her work, Benner conceptualizes that nursing skills and experience are requirements for becoming an expert. Benner believes that nurses develop and accumulate global sets and paradigms about patients. She also supports that individuals interpret their own concerns, practices, and life experiences into their nursing care. The purpose of this paper is to present and analyze Patricia Benner’s Novice to Expert Theory. In her theory, she discusses five specific levels of nursing experience: Novice; Advanced Beginner;
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These nurses are taught rules on how to perform and help with tasks. The rules are context-free and independent of specific cases. They can be applied universally to any patient. The novice nurse is unable to discern individual patient needs. The rule-governed behavior of the novice is limited and inflexible. Generally, this level applies to inexperienced nurses that function at the level of instruction from nursing school.
In the advanced beginner level, the nurse demonstrates marginally acceptable performance. He or she has gained enough prior experience in actual situations to identify recurring essential situational components. These nurses are able to translate some academic and clinical principles to individual patients, but often lack the real life experiences that differentiate individual patients. Principle guided actions begin to be …show more content…
During my earlier days under orientation, I have asked to be assigned the more difficult patients so I could be exposed to as much as possible. I wanted to focus on mastering technical aspects of care. I’ve been exposed to multiple patients that required cardiac rhythms assessed, intravenous drip titrated to keep the heart rate and blood pressure within a certain range, hemodynamic monitoring, mechanical ventilation, multiple chest tubes and drains, and/or routine assessment of vitals every fifteen minutes. I still find myself getting caught up in the technical details at times so I refer to a more experienced nurse or my charge nurse as a resource. Practical knowledge and reflection is essential to one’s own nursing development and growth (Dracup & Bryan-Brown, 2004). On the drive home after each shift, I allow myself to reflect on what I need to work on so I can provide better care for my patients and for future patients. I try to identify my strengths and weaknesses. I continue study my critical care books and other references at work and at home. At work, I often ask for constructive criticism from
These nurses are taught rules on how to perform and help with tasks. The rules are context-free and independent of specific cases. They can be applied universally to any patient. The novice nurse is unable to discern individual patient needs. The rule-governed behavior of the novice is limited and inflexible. Generally, this level applies to inexperienced nurses that function at the level of instruction from nursing school.
In the advanced beginner level, the nurse demonstrates marginally acceptable performance. He or she has gained enough prior experience in actual situations to identify recurring essential situational components. These nurses are able to translate some academic and clinical principles to individual patients, but often lack the real life experiences that differentiate individual patients. Principle guided actions begin to be …show more content…
During my earlier days under orientation, I have asked to be assigned the more difficult patients so I could be exposed to as much as possible. I wanted to focus on mastering technical aspects of care. I’ve been exposed to multiple patients that required cardiac rhythms assessed, intravenous drip titrated to keep the heart rate and blood pressure within a certain range, hemodynamic monitoring, mechanical ventilation, multiple chest tubes and drains, and/or routine assessment of vitals every fifteen minutes. I still find myself getting caught up in the technical details at times so I refer to a more experienced nurse or my charge nurse as a resource. Practical knowledge and reflection is essential to one’s own nursing development and growth (Dracup & Bryan-Brown, 2004). On the drive home after each shift, I allow myself to reflect on what I need to work on so I can provide better care for my patients and for future patients. I try to identify my strengths and weaknesses. I continue study my critical care books and other references at work and at home. At work, I often ask for constructive criticism from