2. Novice to Expert Model
-Introduction
-5 Levels of Skill Acquisition
-Theory Influence
-Visual Representation
-Journal Reviews
-Relevance/Critique
-Conclusion
-References
Outline
3. Patricia Benner RN, PhD, FAAN, FRCN
Born August 1942
Hampton Virginia (Sitzman,2011)
Institutions University of California
San Francisco (UCSF) (Sitzman,2011)
Author From Novice to Expert (1984)
AJN Book of Year ‘84,’90,’96, 2000
Notable 2011 Living Legends
Awards American Academy of Nursing
http://www.educatingnurses.com/
http://novicetoexpert.org/Current Projects
(Abolfazli, 2000) (linkedin.com)
(linkedin.com)
(linkedin.com)
4. Theory Influence
1980: Brothers Stuart and Hubert Dreyfus
proposed a model of five distinct stages of
increasing skill through formal instruction and
practice (Dreyfus, S.E.1980).
5. Theory Model
1982: Benner describes five stages of learning
through the use of the Dreyfus Model and applies it
to nursing practice, in her published book, Novice to
Expert: Excellence and Power in Clinical Nursing Practice
(Benner, 1982).
1. Novice
2. Advanced Beginner
3. Competent
4. Proficient
5. Expert
8. Competent
2 to 3 years
Feeling of mastery
See long-term goals
Lack speed and flexibility
Distinguish relevant/irrelevant
Good preceptor for novice nurse
9. Proficient
3 to 4 years
Event related plan of care
Uses past experience
Preceptor for competent nurse
Take on leadership roles
Most nurses operate at this stage
11. A caregiver bragging about the skill he/she provides is less than helpful
Effective care-giving requires more than just rules or intent
Apprenticeship- is a metaphor for the embodiment of skillful, cognitive, and
ethical experiential learning required in practice disciplines
Requires perceptual acuity, skilled know-how, and knowledge that facilitates
being present with others in ways that foster excellent practice
Formation in Professional Education: an Examination
of the Relationship Between Theories of Meaning and
Theories of the Self (Benner, 2011)
Journal Review 1of 2
The need for transformation from the clinical gaze to developing skills into experiences
that lead into relationships between patients and clinicians, through skill acquisition.
12. Novice to Expert requires movement through all the practice development
stages; a deep & sustained reflection on practice during each stage
Competent and Proficient stages begin the use of ‘gut feeling’: connecting
with patients on a different level from the usual physical.
Expert nurse: intuitive stage; moves from linear, two-dimensional thinking to a
more fluid three-dimensional thinking.
Proficient nurse sees pattern of behavior for what it is – another form of
practice. Once the practice is trusted, than able to use process more freely.
Journal Review 2 of 2
Expert Nursing Practice: a Mathematical Explanation of
Benner’s 5th Stage of Practice Development (Lyneham, 2009)
Explanation of why newly-registered nurses function differently in comparison with
nurses that have been practicing over a number of years.
14. Theory Relevance
“Intuition” encouraged rather than discouraging nurses from
examining this aspect of practice.
Experience and practice develops the nurse.
Expert designation not the highest paid or most prestigious
position, but the nurse who provides “the most exquisite care”.
Understanding the nuances that can be observed at various
stages of skill acquisition leading to more relevant clinical
viable programs for nursing education and advancement.
Upsets the paradigm that calls for all nursing theories to be
developed by researchers/scholars: rather the practice itself
could and should inform nursing.
15. Theory Critique
1. Simplicity Considered the simplest of nursing theories.
2. Scope all areas related to stages of learning a skill.
3. Accessibility National States Boards of Nursing Inc.
“Transition to Practice” Novice-to-Expert chart (NovicetoExpertChart, 2011).
https://www.ncsbn.org/Preceptor-NovicetoExpertchar.pdf
16. Theory Uses
Importance of career ladders
Guide clinicians to staff appropriately per
nursing experience.
Reward experience RNs
Emergence of clinicians/specialist positions
in patient care settings.
Education; selecting appropriate preceptors
for staff orientation.
17. Conclusion
Changing my Perception
Well now I know! Some nurses never reach the expert level, and perform at
the competent and proficient levels. This project has opened my eyes to step
back and understand the skill acquisition levels as described by Benner.
I often say…
“she has been practicing longer than I have been alive,
why doesn’t she get this?”.
For my own development, I must remember ‘the expert’ level does not signify
that development stops, as expert practitioners need to evaluate their practice
and keep up-to-date with evidence based practice.
~Thanks,for reading
18. References
Abolfazli, M. (2010, photographer). Patricia Benner 2010 [digital image]. Retrieved May 22, 2015, from
http://pub.ucsf.edu/magazine/200306/spirit.html
Benner, P. (2011). Formatoin in the Professional Education: An examination of the Relationship between Theories of Meaning and
Theories of the Self. Journal of Medicine and Philosophy , 342-353.
Benner, P. (1982). Novice to Expert. The American Journal of Nursing , 402-407.
Dreyfus, S. E. (1980, February). " A Five-Stage Model of the Mental Activities Involved in Directed Skill Acquisition". Retrieved May
22, 2015, from Washington, DC: Storming Media.: www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD=ADA084551%26Location=U2&Doc.pdf)(pdf)
linkedin.com. (n.d.). Retrieved May 23, 2015, from linkedin.com/pub/patricia-benner: https://www.linkedin.com/pub/patricia-
benner/18/855/a19
Lyneham, J. P. (2009). Expert Nursing Practice: A Mathematical Explanation of Benner's 5th Stage of Practice Development. Journal of
Advanced Nursing , 2477 - 2484.
NovicetoExpertChart. (2011). Retrieved May 22, 2015, from ncsbn.org: https://www.ncsbn.org/Preceptor-NovicetoExpertchar.pdf
novicetoexport.org. (n.d.). Retrieved May 23, 2015, from novicetoexpert.org/about-the-novev-team-2/about-patricia-benner-rn-phd-
faan-frcn/: http://novicetoexpert.org/about-the-novex-team-2/about-patricia-benner-rn-phd-faan-frcn/
Sitzman, K. L. (2011). Patricia Benner - Model of Skill Acquisition in Nursing . In Understanding the Works of Nurse Theorists:A
Creative Beginning 2nd Edition (pp. 165-176). Jones and Bartlett.
Editor's Notes
Presentation was prepared for 301 Professional Nursing: taught by Professor Carol Gabriele
