I agree with Barbara's comments on novices and experts.  The information is
from a book called "From novice to expert: Excellence and power in clinical
nursing practice." by P. Benner (1984). Menlo Park CA: Addison-Wesley
Publishing Company.
Novices exhibit rule governed behavior.  Benner says this limited and
inflexible behavior may give the novice a functional framework, but the rote
behavior impedes progress.
Advanced beginners continue to rely heavily on rules and guidelines, however
because of earlier experiences they can begin to recognize when a situation
is going awry and know when, where, and who to ask for help.
Competent practitioners usually have 2-3 years experience in the field.
They are gaining perspective and have feelings of mastery.  They lack speed
and flexibility.
Benner believes there is a major leap between competency and proficiency.
She states "only by dropping the rules can one become really proficient (p. 37).
Proficient practitioners have been in area 3-5 years and see the person as a
whole, not the parts,  They have a perception of the "expected" normal.
Deeper understanding developed through repeated experiences with different
situations guide this practitioner.
The expert approaches a situation from a holistic point of view.  The expert
takes in a situation, automatically sorts out what is important and
imperative, and what can slide.  She does this on an unconcious level.  This
is why many experts appear to focus on a situation by intuition.  Actually
it is the experience gained through many repetitions of the same general
sort that enables an expert to operate on this level (Benner, 1984).

I hope this is useful to you.  I'm sure you will recognize your stage and
the stages of people you work with.  Remember for the "expert" LC, the staff
will mostly be on the novice or advanced beginner level.  This is probably
where a lot of miscommunication and bad feelings begin.  Communication is
the name of the game, whether it is with moms, their families, or other
health care professionals.

Sorry for being so long, but I did a paper on this and I find the whole
concept intriguing.  Sincerely, Pat