Adaptation Of The Dreyfus Model Of Skilled Practice

The role and functions of nursing in a hospital or acute care settings have grown so complex that it is no longer able to standardize or routine practice. An increasing demand of shorter hospital stay and continuity of care would gain the need to develop a skilled care. Benner first introduced her theory From Novice to Expert in 1981, as an adaptation of the Dreyfus Model of Skill Acquisition by describing the structure of nursing knowledge acquisition. In the Dreyfus model, the practitioner is assumed to dwell with increasing skill and finesse in a meaningful, intelligible, but changing world.

Benner model attempts to define skill and skilled practice as mean implementing skilled nursing intervention and clinical judgment skills in actual

Novice nurses can be new graduates entering the new profession or nurse entering new clinical area where they have little to no experience (less than six months) with environment. The novice nurses must recall what was learned in the academic setting in order to make assessment and decision regarding the clinical situation. Subsequently, they use universal rules and protocols to guide their task performance, and make judgments based on didactic theory with limited practice in clinical

This stage is demonstrated by the nurses who have generally worked in a clinical environment for four to five years. The proficient nurses learn from experience what typical events to expect in a given situation and understand the manner in which plans need to be modified in response to these events. They usually continue to refine their reading of particular situations.

Stage Five-Expert At the expert level, nurses with their extensive background of experience has an intuitive grasp of situation which no longer relies on analytical principle (rule, guideline). The expert nurses have worked in a clinical environment for over five years. The expert’s performance become flexible, holistic rather than fragmented, and can quickly identify relevant information to make a knowledgeable clinical decision. Expert practitioners always know more than they can tell, and often rely on intuitive thought that results in holistic problem