Mind the theory/practice gap in nursing.

ABSTRACT

The theory/practice gap is a recurrent theme in the nursing literature. Numerous suggestions have been made about how this gap may be narrowed or even closed. However, there appears to have been little attempt to date to examine the ways in which research conducted into the hidden curriculum, and philosophical analysis of the concepts involved, might inform our understanding of the reasons for the existence of the theory/practice gap. This paper attempts to utilize some of the contributions from these areas of research, and as a result will argue that, while narrowing of the theory/practice gap may be a realistic goal, any attempt to close it completely will be doomed to failure.