Background
Benner was born Patricia Sawyer in August 1942 in Hampton, Virginia.
Benner was born Patricia Sawyer in August 1942 in Hampton, Virginia.
She is known for one of her books, From Novice to Expert: Excellence and Power in Clinical Nursing Practice (1984). Benner described the stages of learning and skill acquisition across the careers of nurses, applying the Dreyfus model of skill acquisition to nursing practice. Benner is a professor emerita at the University of California, San Francisco (University of California, San Francisco) School of Nursing.
Her parents were divorced when she was in high school, which she described as a difficult event for her entire family.
Benner decided to become a nurse while working in a hospital admitting department during college. She earned an associate"s degree in nursing from Pasadena City College simultaneously with a bachelor"s degree from Pasadena College in 1964.
Benner earned a master"s degree in nursing from University of California, San Francisco in 1970 and a Doctor of Philosophy from the University of California, Berkeley in 1982. Benner joined the nursing faculty at University of California, San Francisco in 1982.
She held an endowed chair at University of California, San Francisco in ethics and spirituality for several years.
In 2004, she became director of the Preparation for the Profession program at the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. Benner is a professor emerita at the University of California, San Francisco School of Nursing and is a program leader with the school"s Doctor of Philosophy program in nursing health policy. She wrote her classic book, From Novice to Expert: Excellence and Power in Clinical Nursing Practice, in 1984, based on her work with the AMICAE Project.
Benner adapted the Dreyfus model of skill acquisition to the careers of nurses.
The work describes a five-stage career trajectory from novice nurse to expert. Benner"s model was based on qualitative research rather than quantitative studies, which has opened it to some criticism.
Working with Judith Wrubel in 1989, Benner expanded her model to incorporate the concept of caring with the stages of skill acquisition. In addition to the influence of the Dreyfus model, the new model was inspired by the work of philosophers Maurice Merleau-Ponty and Martin Heidegger.
lieutenant described four aspects of a person"s understanding (the role of the situation, the role of the body, the role of temporal concerns, and the role of temporality), as well as five dimensions of the body to which nurses attend.
Benner was named a Living Legend of the American Academy of Nursing in 2011. The Living Legends designation honors individuals with "extraordinary contributions to the nursing profession, sustained over the course of their careers.".
