# Situation: A registered nurse has worked for 4 years on the orthopedic and eye surgery ward of a private tertiary hospital. The nurse's professional identification card (PIC) expires in 5 months. The nurse wants to become the ward's resource nurse for orthopedic care. The nurse will guide a colleague on the ward. The head nurse describes the colleague: plans each shift with deliberate, conscious goals and organizes a full assignment well; handles routine care without prompting; but still sees each client as a list of separate tasks and becomes slow and rigid when several clients change at the same time. In Benner's novice-to-expert model, which stage fits this colleague?

> source: MyMerci (mymerci.kr)  
> url: https://mymerci.kr/pages/nclex_q.php?qn_id=630364  
> language: ko  
> subject: Nursing Practice IV — Care of Clients with Problems in Nutrition and Gastrointestinal, Metabolism and Endocrine, Perception and Coordination

## 문제

Situation: A registered nurse has worked for 4 years on the orthopedic and eye surgery ward of a private tertiary hospital. The nurse's professional identification card (PIC) expires in 5 months. The nurse wants to become the ward's resource nurse for orthopedic care.

The nurse will guide a colleague on the ward. The head nurse describes the colleague: plans each shift with deliberate, conscious goals and organizes a full assignment well; handles routine care without prompting; but still sees each client as a list of separate tasks and becomes slow and rigid when several clients change at the same time. In Benner's novice-to-expert model, which stage fits this colleague?

## 보기

1. Competent **✔ 정답**
2. Advanced beginner
3. Proficient
4. Expert

**정답: 1**

## 해설

The competent nurse plans consciously and deliberately, organizes a full workload, and handles routine care independently, but lacks the speed and flexibility of the proficient nurse. The proficient nurse perceives situations as wholes and recognizes what matters most, while the advanced beginner still needs guidance to set priorities.

## 심화 해설

The colleague is at the competent stage
In Benner's novice-to-expert model, the competent nurse plans each shift with deliberate, conscious goals, organizes a full workload well, and handles routine care without prompting, but still lacks the speed and flexibility of the proficient nurse. The colleague described sees each client as a list of separate tasks and becomes slow and rigid when several clients change at once. Conscious, deliberate planning with good organization, but without seeing situations as wholes, defines the competent stage.

The five stages
Benner adapted the Dreyfus model of skill acquisition to nursing. Each stage reflects a shift from reliance on rules toward intuitive, holistic understanding based on experience.

| Stage | Key features |
| --- | --- |
| Novice | No experience in the situation; relies on context-free rules |
| Advanced beginner | Marginally acceptable performance; recognizes recurring aspects; still needs help setting priorities |
| Competent | Conscious, deliberate planning; organized and efficient; lacks speed and flexibility |
| Proficient | Perceives situations as wholes; recognizes what matters most; adjusts quickly when things change |
| Expert | Intuitive grasp of situations; acts fluidly without relying on rules |

Why the other stages do not fit
An advanced beginner shows marginally acceptable performance and still needs guidance to set priorities; this colleague organizes a full assignment without prompting. Watch out! The difference between competent and proficient is the most tested distinction. The proficient nurse sees the situation as a whole, recognizes which changes matter most, and adapts plans quickly. This colleague still sees separate tasks and becomes rigid when several clients change, so the colleague has not reached proficiency. An expert acts from an intuitive grasp of situations and would not become rigid.

Using the model in guiding a colleague
Knowing the stage helps the resource nurse choose teaching strategies. A competent nurse benefits from case discussions and simulations that require managing several changing clients at once, and from exercises that ask, "What is the most important thing happening here?" These build the pattern recognition and holistic perception that move a nurse toward proficiency. Reflection on real situations and feedback from more experienced nurses are especially useful at this stage.

Exam takeaway
Key point! Competent = deliberate, conscious planning and organization but limited speed and flexibility. Proficient = sees the whole picture and adapts quickly. When a description mentions seeing clients as separate tasks and rigidity under change, choose competent.

## 임상 시나리오

Benner's Competent StagePlacing a colleague on the novice-to-expert scale
Competent: plans with deliberate, conscious goals, organizes a full workload, and handles routine care independently, but lacks speed and flexibility.

Advanced beginner still needs help setting priorities. Proficient perceives situations as wholes and adjusts quickly when several things change.

Case discussions and simulations with several changing clients help a competent nurse build holistic perception.

CautionDo not confuse organized, deliberate planning with proficiency. Seeing clients as separate task lists signals the competent stage.

## 핵심 개념

- **Benner's novice-to-expert model** — A five-stage model of nursing skill development from novice to expert.
- **Competent stage** — A stage marked by conscious, deliberate planning and organization but limited flexibility.
- **Proficient stage** — A stage in which the nurse perceives situations as wholes and recognizes what matters most.
- **Advanced beginner** — A stage of marginally acceptable performance in which help setting priorities is still needed.
- **Expert stage** — A stage of intuitive, fluid performance based on deep experience.

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