The Career Development Of Nurses Essay

Patricia Benner, a well-known nursing theorist who published From Novice to Expert, theorizes how a nurse should progress through their career. Benner’s theory explains what stage of nursing one is in based on your education and the amount of time one has worked in a specific nursing field. She describes the five stages of the theory: novice, advanced beginner, competent, proficient, and expert. While this theory has its limitations, it is beneficial to the well-being of both the nurse and patient and that is proven by real world clinical practice.

Through my research for this paper I have found that RNs who have an associate degree or diploma are more likely to make errors during clinical practice. Nurses who hold Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degrees have a stronger foundation in which to build better communication, leadership, critical thinking and problem solving skills. The high demands placed on today's nurses really challenge all of these skills on a daily basis. Nurses with Bachelor of Science in Nursing degrees have a better understanding of the importance to be proficient in these skills. In a study of RN-to-BSN degree graduates from 1995 to

A Registered Nurse is a person who enjoys helping other people. They practically have the responsibility for many peoples lives. What’s interesting about a Registered Nurse is that they get to learn about all the parts of the human body. A Registered Nurse works in the medical field and needs to be ready with anything that comes their way. There could be a sudden death, some kind of medical issue that pops up, and even a patient just falls over and hurt themselves. As a Registered Nurse they need to be able to deal with blood, snot, vomit etc. The main thing a Registered Nurse has to be good at is being able, and wanting to help people in need.

As of 2008, there were about 753,600 Licensed Practical Nurses and 2,618,700 Registered Nurses in the United States (U.S. Department of Labor, 2010-11). In the year 2018, the LPN employment percentage is expected to rise 21% while the RN rate should be approximately 22% (U.S. Department of Labor, 2010-11). This may not seem that high, but it is, when one considers that the expected employment rate for a Dentist is only expected to be 16% (U.S Department of Labor, 2010-11). Nursing is a highly respected and sought after career because every person that enters this profession is able to make a difference and is needed by the general population for his/her skills and contributions to the medical field. When a person is contemplating entering

Slide 1: The expectations of nurses today are higher than ever with goals such as achieving top percentiles in nursing and patient satisfaction, to being among the top leaders in quality outcomes, and to build productive work relationships and environments. Nursing leaders serve as the primary link between staff, physicians, and the community. They are expected to be innovative, highly skilled, possess a certain degree of nursing knowledge, and produce qualified individuals to care for the growing population. According to Lorber, Treven, and Mumel (2016) “nursing leadership is pivotal because nurses represent the most extensive discipline in health care”. Because of this growing need for diversity in leadership and my background in the military, I decided to focus on the MSN Executive Track at Chamberlain College of Nursing.

A nursing theory allows the nursing profession to define and differentiate nursing care practice from other professional disciplines. The work of Patricia Benner has been crucial in setting a stage to standardize education and career progression for the nursing profession. The nursing care practice has been changing exponentially since the development of the theory From Novice to Expert. It has enabled facilities across the nation to achieve a higher level of patient care due to its ability to identify the needs of each of the stages of a professional nurse’s career progression.

Historically, the nursing field is one that has consistent positive job outlooks, as there is typically a continued shortage. Healthcare is the backbone of most communities, not just for its services, but also for the jobs it provides and the economy stimulation. Jill Bernstein, author for “Changes in Health Care Financing and Organization” states, “The health care industry is a critical component of the national, and most regional and local economies of the United States” (4). The nursing field has suffered challenges due to the economic, social, and the political downturn of the U.S. Nevertheless, there is still some noticeable growth taking place and opportunities available. This shows encouraging signs for new nursing graduates.

Patricia Benner is known as one of the most recognized theorist of our time. Patricia born in 1955 in Hampton, Virginia spent most of her childhood in California. It was there that she received her professional education. This paper will focus on her Novice to Expert theory using the Model of Skill Acquisition through defining concepts within her conceptual framework, identifying assumptions within her theory, discussing the significance of her theory as it relates to advanced practice nursing, and addressing how applicable her theory is to actual nursing practice.

I was always undecided regarding the career that I wanted to pursue. As I got older and looked at many choices in careers I realized that I wanted to have a career in the medical field. Being a nurse interests me because it requires the study of the human body along with other great opportunities that nurses have in this career. I want to become a nurse because I like being able to help those who are in need.

Nursing is defined as “as an application of scientific knowledge enhanced by artful practice in a socially responsible manner.” (Gregory 5). Nurses provide leadership as members of interdisciplinary teams, provide client centered care to promote health, prevent disease, and restore and maintain client integrity throughout the life span. (Krannich 71). This makes it one of the most interesting professions, in my opinion.

This paper will discuss the functions of caring within the nursing practice, as well as my own personal views regarding caring. I will review the Benner model of Clinical Nursing and the Dreyfus Model of Skill Acquisition in relationship to my own personal skills. I will identify my competencies within each domain of the Benner Model. I will reflect upon my own personal nursing practice in terms of my strengths and weaknesses. Also included will be a discussion of my own professional goals, areas of improvement needed within my practice and solutions for how I can improve in order to help me achieve these personal goals.

Ive always wanted a rewarding career that revolved around helping people. I want to pursue a career as a nurse practitioner. I am not sure on what specialty I want. So given a assignment in my Introduction Health Sciences class where I have to shadow a nurse practitioner, it gives me the opportunity to explore a specialty and see what it really is like in their typical work day. An advanced practice registered nurse, by the name of Mary Carlson at Parkland Medical Center was willing to let me shadow her for a day. Carlson graduated with her BSN from Boston College. She then pursued a graduate degree from Boston University. Her official title is, Nurse Practitioner, Emergency Medicine.

Registered nursing is among the top 10 occupations with the largest job growth’’ according to The Bureau of Statistics but why? Registered nursing is all over the world. In every hospital you will find many registered nurses because it is a good career to get into. A job industry that will never run out of jobs is the heath industry because everyone in the world needs health care treatment. Students should look into healthcare careers id they want a successful life and career. Registered nursing need dedication although it does not take such a long time to complete this career it has its rewards in its outcomes.

I found this theory particularly interesting because I think it is patient centered in a unique way; other theories point out what the nurse can do to offer themselves to a patient. This theory draws attention to all the many layers of a person and health is more than just the absence of illness. Humans are complex beginnings and this theory, by Rosemarie Parse, reminds us that nursing is a science and an art. I know for myself, I can become lost in tasks and I have to remind myself that each patient is a person that came from a completely different walk of life.

"Brenner (1984) described the 5 stages of development for the professional nurse. The stages are (1) Novice (2) Advance Beginner (3) Competent practitioner (4) Proficient practitioner (5) Expert Practitioner. The stages progress from a nursing student to the professional practitioner through growth and knowledge." (Lopez-Boyd, 1997, p. 41) Nursing is a profession. Look around you, you see competent, caring individuals