Patricia Benner (R.N., Ph.D., F.A.A.N, F.R.C.N.) is the Thelma Shobe Endowed Chair in Ethics and Spirituality in the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences in the School of Nursing at the University of California, San Francisco. Dr. Benner is a noted nursing educator and has just completed the first national nursing education study in 30 years under the auspices of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. Dr. Benner is an internationally noted researcher and lecturer on health, stress and coping, skill acquisition and ethics. Her work has had wide influence on nursing both in the United States and internationally.