Abstract In this article, the writer explains that Patricia Benner presented a theory that dealt with how nurses acquire knowledge from the time the nurse is a student, up to the time when the nurse has gathered enough experience to decide based on personal judgment. The writer maintains that although some argue about its nature, whether it is a theory or a philosophy, its influence on the development of the nursing as a clinical practice and an academic discipline is undeniable. This paper gives a description of the person behind the theory and her contributions to nursing. The writer explains why Patricia Benner's theory is significant and shows how her theory has helped revolutionize nursing. in addition, a concise description of the theory content and how it is applied in clinical practice is presented. This paper also features views of authors that discredit or celebrate this theory. A discussion of the theory's weaknesses and strengths is discussed, as well as current development and theories that have developed from Benner's theory.
Outline:
Introduction
Patricia Benner and the Theory
Clinical Applications
Conclusion and Evaluation
Bibliography
From the Paper "The proficient stage involves a nurse who can see the situation as a whole. He is able to appreciate the situation as a whole, and not as disjointed elements. He sees some elements as important, while others are inconsequential. He can organize and understand problems intuitively, but he still needs to be analytical before he decides and executes an appropriate management plan. He sees problems that may arise in the future, and includes them in the nurse's plan of action.
The final stage is the expertise stage, where the nurse has developed an intuitive eye in assessing and managing his patients. He has a deeper understanding of the situation and can make a decision without relying on analytical principles."
This paper discusses the five stages from the novice to expert theory created by Patricia Benner and the incident, which triggered the author's "Ahha" experience.
Abstract The paper explains that an "Ahha moment" is usually a sudden realization of an understanding of a concept. The author relates that her "Ahha" happened during an operation in which she, as a surgery nurse, was able to use her prior experience to pick up cues from the situation and act quickly, thus demonstrating Benner's fifth stage of professional nursing development. The paper stresses that experience is essential for the development of professional expertise.
From the Paper "In Stage One of Benner's theory, the novice has little or no experience. The circulating nurse who had to be told to get the crash cart is an example of this stage. Stage Two is identified as the advance beginner. According to Benner, in this stage the nurse has experienced enough real situations to make judgments. In Stages Four and Five, the nurse is able to see the big picture. These two stages define expertise. A nurse finding herself in these two stages could trigger an "Ahha experience". Hence, in the scenario, being able to extract from prior experiences highlighted my appreciation of the concept that nursing experience is crucial for the development of expertise skills."
Abstract The assignment offers an in depth review of two theories of nursing and the applicability to nursing the elderly. The paper examines each theory as to the content, theory and applicability to nursing the elderly. The paper applies an extension with respect to applying the two theories to a real life situation. The paper explains that the situation involved a personal encounter with a stroke victim.
From the Paper "The nursing profession, since the time of Florence Nightingale, has undergone significant change. No longer are nurses simply an extensive of the physician. Today nurses are, in their own right, important caregivers with respect to patient wellness. One of the most important factors promoting the importance of nursing in terms of patient wellness has been the development of favorable theories and educational programs supporting the nurse as an integral part of the patient's wellness program. Although it is of strategic interest to implement initiatives that support professional nursing practice, it is very challenging in the current cost-constrained healthcare environment to maintain professional nursing practice (Ritter-Teitel, 2002)."
Abstract This paper explores Patricia Benner's study on how nursing skills are acquired. Benner's work has been been seen as a new way of approaching this topic and has provided an interesting give and take on nurse training and development. The author discusses how Benner introduced the concept that expert nurses develop skills and understanding of patient care over time through a firm educational base in addition to a wide variety of experiences.
From the Paper "Based on a dialogue with nurses, Benner identified five levels of competency in the clinical nursing practice: novice, advanced beginner, competent, proficient and expert (Benner, 1984, p. xvii). Novices are beginners who have had no experience in the situations that will confront them. In order to help them perform in such situations, they are taught such objectifiable and measurable attributes such as weight, intake and output, temperature, blood pressure and pulse. They also learn context-free rules that guide action in respect to these attributes. For example, weight gain and intake that is consistently higher than output by greater than 500cc could indicate water retention. Such rule-governed behavior normal for the novice is very limited and inflexible, since they have no prior experience upon which to base decisions (Benner, 1984, p. 20-21). It must be stressed that not only students are novices. They can also be any nurse entering a clinical setting where he/she has had no experience with the patient population. "
Tags: training, competencies, professional, development
Abstract This paper uses the definition by Benner, Tanner and Chelsea that clinical judgment is often based on patterns of responses, the specific case and the people involved in the situation. The author points out that making a clinical judgment requires nurses to use critical thinking skills. The paper relates that often clinical judgment is based on the patient, family, diagnosis and the situation.
From the Paper "What is clinical judgment? How does a nurse decide what clinical judgment to make in different cases? The definition by Benner, Tanner, and Chelsea states that clinical judgment is often based on patterns of responses, the specific case, and the people involved in the situation. Making a clinical judgment requires nurses to use critical thinking skills. Often clinical judgment is based on the patient, family, diagnosis, and the situation. The definition of clinical judgment by Benner, Tanner, and Chelsea makes common sense. This definition of clinical judgment most nurses will agree that it is the best definition because past experiences and knowledge mixed with the relationship the nurse has with the patient and family are combined in making clinical judgments. "
This paper is a research proposal to study the relationship between levels of knowledge and clinical decision-making skills in third-year nursing students in pre-registration degree and diploma programs in a U.K. university.
Abstract This paper explains that novice nurses cannot come forth with any type of intuitive judgment without first having gained experience but the novice can bring to the clinical situation the years of experience gained in multiple clinical and life situations. The author proposes using a phenomenological interpretive methodology, which is based on the principle of hermeneutics and is of an interpretive qualitative nature. The paper discusses the procedure for using this focus group methodology with paired interviews of novice and expert nurses.
Table of Contents:
Objective
Introduction
Literature Review
Methodology
Data Collection
Data Analysis
Strengths/ Weaknesses or Limitations
Procedure of Focus Group Interview
Summary
From the Paper "Through use of this analysis, the competencies required as the individual moves from the stages of novice to expert are easily identified. Benner discovered through listening to expert nurse narratives that the key to their development of expertness was based in their ability to 'experience' nursing, and to integrate this experience into both existing and new knowledge. From this integration of experience and knowledge, new paradigms are developed and available in future 'like' situations."
Abstract This paper discusses how Patricia Benner's work "From Novice to Expert" fundamentally shifts the paradigm of nursing education from its current focus on conveying practical knowledge to the need to create nurses who are good decision-makers. It looks at how she creates a progressive typology of mastering the profession of nursing and how she provides a pedagogical map for nursing educators, mentors, and even administrators as to how to set expectations for levels of nursing competence.
From the Paper "Benner structures her book around her definitions of nursing confidence and competence, from novice to expert. Mastery at the highest level is defined by not by possessing technical knowledge, but on the ability to independently adapt nursing knowledge to different situations. The novice nurse, for example, is almost entirely rule-bound. No matter how well-educated he or she may be there is a strong level of dependence upon supervisors to define the rules. The novice often does not know how to contextualize his or her behavior. Without reference to life experience, for example, a nurse may not know when to put his or her knowledge in layperson's terms, so as to not frighten a patient with confusing terminology (Benner 20). "
