Concepts of Brenner’s Theory

Brenner’s Theory as Discrete and Observable

The middle-range theory developed by Brenner proclaims that “as novice nurses become experts and develop clinical expertise through experience and the acquisition of knowledge, critical thinking is developed and used for clinical decision-making” (Martin, 2002, p.243). Since critical thinking is a thought process that nurses must utilize in order to make informed decisions during a clinical simulation, Brenner’s middle-range theory is attributed to being both discrete and observable. The critical thinking concept in Brenner’s theory can be measured with the Elements of Though Instrument (ETI) and has been used in selected studies (Martin, 2002, p.43).

The concepts in middle-range theory can be out utilized in evidence-based practices. For instance, a study conducted by Thiele and colleagues demonstrated that during videotaped clinical simulations experienced nurses made a fewer number of decision-based errors as compared to inexperienced nurses (Martin, 2002, p.244). Brenner’s theory exemplifies how nurses gain more and more knowledge through experience in the clinical setting as they go through the four levels of expertise. These four levels include starting as a novice, progressing to an advanced beginner, then becoming competent, and finally entail becoming proficient, which all lead to the journey toward becoming an expert (Martin, 2002, p.245). This can easily be observed through clinical simulation and the number of decision-based errors nurses commit. A study that examined the decision scores in conjunction with the levels of clinical expertise displayed decision scores in which nursing students scored the lowest and experts scored the highest. These findings demonstrate that each level of expertise is significantly different than the other levels and experts definitely exhibit an entirely different critical thinking process as stated in Brenner’s theory.

Reference

Martin, C. (2002). The theory of critical thinking of nursing. Nursing Education Perspectives, 23(5), 243-7. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/220149314?accountid =32521