According to P. Benner: “Knowledge development in a practice discipline consists of extending practical knowledge (know-how) through theory based scientific investigations and through the clinical experience in the practice of that discipline.”
Her Theory:
Dr. Benner categorized nursing into 5 levels of capabilities: novice, advanced beginner, competent, proficient, and expert.
She believed experience in the clinical setting is key to nursing because it allows a nurse to continuously expand their knowledge base and to provide holistic, competent care to the patient.
Her research was aimed at discovering if there were distinguishable, characteristic differences in the novice’s and expert’s descriptions of the same clinical incident.
NOVICE:
Beginner with no experience
Taught general rules to help perform tasks
Rules are: context-free, independent of specific cases, and applied universally
Rule-governed behavior is limited and inflexible
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
COMPETENT:
Typically a 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
Gains perspective from planning own actions based on conscious, abstract, and analytical thinking and helps to achieve greater efficiency and organization
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
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
