The Nurses' Emblem

" Excellence is an art won by training and habituation. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence ,then, is not an act but a habit." These were the words from the Greek philosopher Aristotle once coined.

We are all neophytes when we started our nursing career. If not all, majority of us had sweaty foreheads and palms on the first day of work as a newbie nurse. Although we are armed with an arsenal of knowledge from the academe, theory alone is not enough to deliver the holy grail of nursing which is quality patient care.

Every nurse aspires to deliver quality nursing care and Benner's theory on nursing attests that this is immensely attainable. None of us begun as experts in the nursing profession but we gain knowledge and experience through time.

The following are the stages of Clinical Competence according to Benner. Stage 1 Novice: Novices have a very limited ability to predict what might happen in a particular patient. Stage 2 Advanced Beginner: they have the knowledge and the know-how but not enough in-depth experience. Stage 3 Competent: competent nurses recognize patterns and nature of clinical situations more quickly and accurately than advance beginner. Stage 4 Proficient: Nurses are capable to see situations as whole rather than parts. Stage 5 Expert: Nurses recognize demands and resources in situation to attain goals. Focus is on the relevant problems and not irrelevant ones.

Overall, Benner’s theory revolutionized the essence of being the expert nurse who is not the one with the top-paying job, but the individual who is equipped with ample knowledge and experience necessary to attain quality patient care. Furthermore, the theory also demonstrates that past experiences hone us to become an excellent care provider, the expert nurse.