Patricia Benner developed the Level of Expertise Model which categorizes nurses' skills development into 5 levels - novice, advanced beginner, competent, proficient, and expert - based on their clinical experience. As nurses gain experience over time through education and a variety of situations, they progress from relying mainly on rules to intuitively grasping clinical situations. Benner's theory changed how nursing expertise was defined by emphasizing providing excellent patient care rather than job title or prestige.

1. Patricia Benner’s
Level of Expertise Model
By:
Jeffrey S. Evangelista, RN

2. Patricia Benner, R.N, Ph.D, F.A.A.N,
F.R.C.N
 is a Professor Emerita at the University
of California, San Francisco
 BA in Nursing - Pasadena College/Point
Loma College
 MS in Med/Surg nursing from UCSF
 PhD -1982 from UC Berkeley
 1970s - Research at UCSF and UC
Berkeley

3. Has taught and done research at UCSF since
1979
Published 9 books and numerous articles
Published ‘Novice to Expert Theory’ in 1982
Received Book of the Year from AJN in
1984,1990,1996, 2000

4.  expert nurses develop skills and understanding of patient care
over time through a sound educational base as well as a
multitude of experiences
 one could gain knowledge and skills ("knowing how") without
ever learning the theory ("knowing that")
 conceptualizes in her writing about nursing skills as
experience is a prerequisite for becoming an
expert

5. • From Novice to Expert
• The Primacy of Caring
• Interpretive Phenomenology
• Expertise in Nursing Practice
• Clinical Wisdom and Interventions in Critical Care

7. Benner’s Theory
 categorized nursing into 5 LEVELS OF EXPERTISE : ( NACPE )
Novice
Advanced beginner
Competent
Proficient
Expert
 believed experience in the clinical setting is key to nursing

8. NOVICE
beginner with no experience
governed by rules to help perform tasks
Rule-governed behavior is limited and
inflexible
Ex. “Tell me what I need to do and I’ll do it.”

9. NOexperience
VatasInflexible
imited
ce
0 year

10. ADVANCED BEGINNER
Demonstrates acceptable performance
Has gained prior experience in actual
situations to recognize recurring meaningful
components
Principles, based on experiences, begin to be
formulated to guide actions

11. Advance Beginner
cceptable performance
1-2 years

12. COMPETENT
Nurse with 2-3 years experience on the job in the
same area or in similar day-to-day situations
More aware of long-term goals
Consciously plans nursing

13. Competent
onsciously plans nursing care
2-3 years

14. PROFICIENT
Perceives and understands situations as
whole parts
More holistic understanding improves
decision-making
Learns from experiences what to expect in
certain situations and how to modify plans

15. Proficient
ercieves sitiuation as a whole
3-5 years

16. EXPERT
No longer relies on principles, rules, or guidelines
to connect situations and determine actions
Much more background of experience
Has intuitive grasp of clinical situations
Performance is now fluid, flexible, and highly-
proficient

17. ExPert
ntuitive grasp of nsg situation
lexible
luid
5 years ↑

18. Different levels of skills reflect changes in 3 aspects of
skilled performance:
1. Movement from relying on abstract principles to using past
concrete experiences to guide actions
2. Change in learner’s perception of situations as whole parts
rather than in separate pieces
3. Passage from a detached observer to an involved performer,
no longer outside the situation but now actively engaged in
participation

19. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE THEORY
• These levels reflect movement from reliance on
past abstract principles to the use of past
concrete experience as paradigms and change in
perception of situation as a complete whole in
which certain parts are relevant
• Each step builds on the previous one as abstract
principles are refined and expanded by
experience and the learner gains clinical
expertise.

20. • This theory changed the profession's
understanding of what it means to be an
expert, placing this designation not on the
nurse with the most highly paid or most
prestigious position, but on the nurse who
provided "THE MOST EXQUISITE NURSING
CARE”.

21. THE END