Staff RN’s in one large Midwestern medical center inpatient psychiatric acute care unit wondered if their lived experiences were the same as those reported in Benner’s works (Novice to Expert). The purpose of this exploratory research was to see if these nursing staff could (a) verbalize use of Benner’s model of Novice to Expert (1984) in their daily clinical practice and (b) if they could verbalize clinical practical elements that fit Benner’s Domains of Nursing Practice. The method was interpretive phenomenology, similar to Benner’s method. Two tape-recorded interviews were done with eight staff RN’s from an inpatient acute psychiatric unit using semi-structured questions. These RN’s were asked to self-evaluate in which of Benner’s five stages they belonged. Van Kaam’s method of phenomenological analysis was used to explore their levels of practice. Six themes emerged, including “knowing myself” and “what I do”. Content analysis was used to explore the domains of practice. Domains with the highest numbers of verbalizations were: diagnostic and monitoring, organizational and work-role competencies, and the helping domain. Findings for both questions supported those of Benner and affirmed what psychiatric nurses do in their daily practice. Being patient centered emerged for both questions. Nursing implications include planning unit staffing with a mix of RN’s who practice from novice to expert. The presentation will also offer insights into daily practice, such as “always watching one another” for fostering learning and using the “sixth sense” to manage the unit environment.
Session #1194 - Mental Health: Practice Issues
The 29th Annual MNRS Research Conference (April 1-4, 2005)