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Beyond expertise: theory, practice and the reflexive practitioner
Author(s) -
ROLFE GARY
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
journal of clinical nursing
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.94
H-Index - 102
eISSN - 1365-2702
pISSN - 0962-1067
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2702.1997.tb00290.x
Subject(s) - reflexivity , context (archaeology) , practice theory , nursing theory , reflective practice , epistemology , process (computing) , activity theory , repertoire , clinical practice , sociology , psychology , computer science , pedagogy , medline , medicine , nursing , social science , political science , paleontology , philosophy , physics , acoustics , law , biology , operating system
Summary• This paper reconsiders Benner's book From Novice to Expert , in which the expert is portrayed as a reflective practitioner who works intuitively, drawing almost unconsciously on a repertoire of context‐specific paradigm cases. • In the light of more recent writings on informal, practice‐based theory, it is suggested that there is a sixth level beyond expertise which is characterized by mindful practice and informal theory building. At this level, the practitioner constructs informal theory out of practice, applies that theory back into practice, and reflexively modifies the theory as a result of the changed clinical situation. • Seen in this way, theory and practice are two parts of the same process, and the theory‐practice gap is closed.