FROM THEORY TO BEDSIDE: UNVEILING NURSES’ PERCEPTIONS OF THE PRACTICE GAP; A QUALITATIVE STUDY FROM PESHAWAR PAKISTAN
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.69723/njms.04.04.0627Keywords:
Theory-practice gap;, factors leading to the theory-practice gap;, impact of the theory-practice gap on patient outcomes;, strategies for bridging the theory-practice gap.Abstract
BACKGROUND: The difference between what is learned in the classroom and what is implemented in real scenarios during clinical practice is known as the theory-practice gap. It is observed that implementing standard theoretical knowledge into practice has a positive influence on patients' health outcomes.
OBJECTIVE: This study aims to assess nurses' perceptions regarding the theory-practice gap.
METHODOLOGY: A descriptive qualitative study design was employed for this investigation. Using purposive sampling, 12 in-depth interviews were conducted with nurses working in tertiary care hospitals and analyzed through thematic analysis.
RESULTS: Nine sub-themes emerged. Nurses understood the TPG as the disconnect between academic learning and clinical application. Hospital management factors such as inadequate staffing, insufficient resources, weak supervision, and misallocation of duties further widened it. Educational institutions played a critical role; lack of skilled instructors, limited engagement in clinical teaching, and poorly equipped skills laboratories contributed to the gap. System-level weaknesses in Pakistan's healthcare infrastructure, sociocultural barriers (especially gender norms), staff shortages, and varying levels of expertise also reinforced the TPG.
CONCLUSION: Nurses are aware of the theory-practice gap and perceive that it reciprocally affects patient outcomes. Therefore, it should be addressed through multi-dimensional approaches.
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