Question

partricia benner nursing philosophies

Answer 1

Patricia Benner developed a philosophy of nursing known as "From novice to expert". This philosophy explains that nurses develop skills and an understanding of patient care over time through their clinical practice from a personal experience. She proposed that a nurse could gain knowledge and skills("knowing how") without actually learning the theory ("knowing that"). She focuses on clinical nursing practices and her belief that nursing knowledge grows over time.

This process can be broken down into 5 stages ---

1. Novice stage ---

a. This is a beginner stage, with no prior experience.

b. This stage deals with focusing on skills/ tasks.

c. Nurses follow what they are told, like simply the following instruction to perform tasks( as they are total beginners).

d. Relatively inflexible.

2. Advanced beginner ----

a. Gained prior experience in actual nursing settings.

b. Now their past experience guides their action.

3. Competent ---

a. Competent nurse is a nurse that now has 2-3 years of experience in the same field/specialty.

b. They are at this stage good at plannings the long-term goals, thinking analytically, and managing their time.

4. Proficient ---

a. Nurses have developed a more holistic understanding of nursing till now, which improves their decision-making and treatment.

b. Uses gained experience to anticipate needs.

5. Expert ---

a. They are able to instantaneously recognize demands to attain their goals, they know what needs to be done.

b. Intuitive grasp of clinical situations based on their deep knowledge and experience gained.

c. Profound background of experience.

d. Their performance is fluid, flexible, and highly-proficient.

The significance of this philosophy is that these levels reflect a movement from past, abstract concepts to past. Each step is to build stronger and stronger by past experiences and gained knowledge. This theory has changed the perception of what it means to be an expert nurse.