Who described the 5 stages of nursing to progress from novice to expert?

• A. Kolb
• B. Erikson
• C. Maslow
• D. Benner

Answer: (D)

Patricia Benner described the five stages that nurses progress through as they develop expertise: novice, advanced beginner, competent, proficient, and expert. She adapted the Dreyfus model of skill acquisition to nursing practice, basing the progression on real-world clinical experience and how judgment evolves with practice. The idea is that beginners rely on rules and guidelines, advanced beginners start to see meaningful aspects of situations, and as experience accumulates, nurses move toward a holistic, intuitive grasp that characterizes experts. This framework is widely used in nursing education and mentoring because it helps educators tailor experiences and feedback to a learner’s current stage, guiding progression from basic task performance to expert clinical judgment. Other theorists you might encounter describe different ideas—for example, Kolb’s experiential learning cycle focuses on how experience is transformed into knowledge, Erikson’s psychosocial stages map development over the lifespan, and Maslow’s hierarchy outlines human motivation—none of which specifically describe the five-stage nursing progression Benner proposed.