Environmental law principles and applications

¶ … Theory-Practice Gap

The development of nursing theory has followed the natural sciences paradigm which has been commonly referred to as the technical rationality model (Rolfe, 1993). Therefore, the term theory, in nursing is used in a general manner to refer to the systematic concepts, deductions, and definitions that are interrelated as to explain, describe, or predict interconnections and relationships. As with other sciences especially chemistry and physics, theory and research has been used in nursing as to provide or build a firm and established foundation knowledge in nursing. The foundation of research is normally phenomenon and the research findings are normally accepted with minimal if any questions. However, there are serious implications for these findings in actual field work because the natural sciences paradigm creates a difference between the researcher and the professional who works at the field level.

In nursing, this paradigm creates a scenario where theory is elevated above practice, there is a rift between theorists and practitioners, and practitioners are turned to mere implementers of theories they played no role in their development. For instance, theorists can develop a clinical model and after it is published; practitioners pick it up for application in clinical settings. Such a model is based on an assumption that people, are predictable as the case with an inanimate object. It is however important to note that, people cannot be balkanized into a single assumption, but rather, they can only be predicated based on statistics (Rolfe, 1993). As a result, such a model creates a dilemma in its applicability to real-life situations. This paper therefore is meant to address this theory-practice gap by offering suggest on strategies to overcome it. This will be done primarily through review of the available literature.

A reflection

In the nursing profession, the main stakeholders with regard to theory and practice are students, nurses, and teachers. Based on literature, the theory-practice gap has created a variety of challenges that face these groups. The first challenge for this issue is how the nursing course (theory) is taught to students and how the knowledge acquired is applied (practice) in the field. There is a clear difference between the two and this has raised concerns among various researchers (Levin, 2010; Sellman, 2010; Holzemer, 2008). As a result, various researchers have undertaken studies with the aim of understanding the gap between theory and practice in the nursing profession, and to offer potential strategies that can close the gap.

The theory-practice gap has created worries on the development of the nursing profession. The groups affected the most by these worries are the nursing students as they encounter challenges in the system that should interlock theory and practice in the nursing profession (Levin, 2010). This challenge is best illustrated in the inability of nursing students to effectively and clearly respond to the nature and aspects of theory and practice (Rafferty, Allcock & Lathlean, 1996; Silva, 1999). According to research, nursing students are at crossroads when they are required to translate their classroom gained knowledge to actual practice in the clinical settings. Growing research continues to show the gap that exists between theory and practice in the nursing profession hence the need for strategies to address the problem in the right way.

Strategies

One, and probably the main, problem in the nursing field with regard to the theory-practice gap is that the entire nursing profession is structured in a way that the various parties are not equipped with skills on how to manage expected outcomes. Both the theoretical side and the practice side give divergent reasons for the gap, which means without consensus, the gap continues to widen (Holzemer, W. L. (2008). Without consensus, theorists fail to develop an operational environment that is in line with expected results while on the other hand, clinical nurses fail to establish rules that promote what they have learnt in theoretical classes. To solve this problem, the suggested strategy is to first come to a consensus on the reasons for the gap, and each side work towards bridging the gap with the right rules, clear operational directions for the various situations encountered in the field, and clear meaning to events, terms, and systems.

According to Levin (2010), there is a need for the expansion of the nursing theory so as to prepare students adequately for the practical aspects of the profession. Teachers in nursing schools play a crucial role in the profession for they have arguably, gone a full cycle in the profession successfully and thus, they have a better understanding of what is missing and what is required to meant the gap. Therefore, teachers are called upon to create strategies that address the problem that exists on the theoretical aspects of the profession. One of these strategies is to clearly explain the theoretical perspectives of teaching nursing because, students who are well equipped with the right and appropriate knowledge are sure to develop the right practical operations (Levin, 2010). This strategy in anchored on the understanding that, teachers and students stand a fair chance in creating a healthy practical environment in nursing.

Some researchers argue that, another problem that promotes the theory-practice gap is the difference between knowledge theory and practice theory. Based on real life experiences, this argument is simply right because theoretical knowledge differs totally from practical knowledge regardless of the situation or the setting. This difference is clearly illustrated in the insistence of experience by employers in the nursing profession. Class-based theoretical knowledge which is impacted by teachers, as argued by Landers (2000) and Holzemer (2008) is simply not enough for a nursing student to claim to be able to deliver positive and good results in the nursing clinical industry. To address this problem, teachers have a responsibility to ensure that nursing students are taught both theoretical knowledge and practical knowledge that's required in the nursing field to deliver results. Through such an approach, it is possible for the gap to be minimised by ensuring that, students entering clinical setting of the profession direct from the classroom are well equipped with practical knowledge to actually work successfully.

One of the clear things so far, concerning the theory-practice gap in nursing is that personal knowledge and practical knowledge are two very different yet both affect the nursing industry. Nursing students acquire personal knowledge from classroom learning, but translating the knowledge acquired into practice has been the problem (Landers, 2000; Rafferty et al., 1996). This problem is attributed to the inappropriate and simply wrong manner in which students are taught in the classroom where they acquire personal theoretical knowledge. According to researcher, this problem is to be overcome by teaching nursing students in the right manner where students are able to develop and grow the practical skills. This solution should involve strategies and avenues where students are able to put into practice what they have learned (Landers, 2000). If such a strategy is adopted across all nursing schools, then a great measure of the theory-practice gap will be closed.

According to Silva (1999) and Sellman (2010), the inability to close the theory-practice gap and the fact that it seem to only widen is to be attributed to practitioners. For nursing practitioners, they have the expert knowledge that is essential for success in the clinical setting. This type of knowledge is required in the field, and not in the learning settings, and being equipped with such knowledge means nurse practitioners are able to overcome the challenges they face in the industry as well as successfully deliver positive results. However, the nature of expert knowledge is technical such that, it can't be explained to a second party. This therefore means that, it is not possible to inject this expert knowledge into the nursing knowledge pool in such a direct manner as to improve the human resource in the nursing profession. As argued by Silva (1999), this is the greatest challenge that affects the theory-practice gap in nursing. The solution to this problem is narrowing down of this expert knowledge so as to accommodate nursing students that they are able to understand it when explained. Additionally, such expert knowledge should be put in writing to be accessible to students as well as practitioner entrants.