Theory and practice: Beyond the dichotomy

Equipping students with the means to bring theoretical understanding to bear on the implementation of practical nursing skills has been an enduring problem for nurse educators. The problem is partly born out of a clinical culture in which the ‘merely theoretical’ tends to be dismissed. The aim of th...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inNurse education today Vol. 13; no. 5; pp. 321 - 327
Main Authors Ashworth, Peter D, Ann Longmate, M
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Scotland Elsevier Ltd 01.10.1993
Subjects
Clinical Competence
Education, Nursing
Humans
Models, Nursing
Nursing
Nursing Theory
Philosophy, Nursing
Practice
Relationship
Theories
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:Equipping students with the means to bring theoretical understanding to bear on the implementation of practical nursing skills has been an enduring problem for nurse educators. The problem is partly born out of a clinical culture in which the ‘merely theoretical’ tends to be dismissed. The aim of this paper is to show ways of thinking about theory and practice which actually avoid fruitless dichotomy. Theoretical reflection and practical action are in reality richly interconnected (Heidegger 1962). In the case of the expert practioner (Benner 1984) theory and practice may be impossible to distinguish. New thinking on this problem is particularly urgent in the light of the Project 2000 initiative. It is hard to see how this new approach to nurse education can be entirely successful if students are allowed to get into the way of contrasting the reality of practice with the ‘merely theoretical’.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-1
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-2
content type line 23
ISSN:0260-6917
1532-2793
DOI:10.1016/0260-6917(93)90071-9