Is there a gap between nursing education and nursing practice? Please explain and support your answers with at least 5 references.

Yes, there is a gap between nursing education and nursing practice. Nursing education focuses on equipping nurses with knowledge and skills to provide evidence-based care, while nursing practice requires applying this knowledge and these skills in real-world clinical settings. As such, there can be discrepancies between the two as nurses transition from student to practitioner.

One area in which this gap may be most evident is communication. Nursing students generally learn about communication processes in a classroom setting but are rarely provided with enough opportunities for practice before entering professional practice (Gonzalez et al., 2018). Additionally, many of the academic theories taught to students do not prepare them for the complexities of patient care or account for institutional policies that often require nurses to take on administrative tasks which are not part of their traditional roles (Guerrier et al., 2016). Thus, leading to a disconnect between theory and actual practice in the workplace.

Furthermore, due to technology advances such as telehealth or AI-assisted healthcare systems, some aspects of care have evolved faster than what is being taught through traditional nursing curriculums (Mawdesley & Pringle 2019; Sarkar et al., 2020). This could lead practitioners who are unprepared for new technologies struggling when implementing them into daily operations.

All these factors demonstrate why it’s important for nurse educators and healthcare organizations alike work together collaboratively so that gaps between educational preparation and professional practice can be minimized.
References:
Gonzalez R., Mason T.D., Rajacich E.E., McEwen M.L..(2018). Bridging The Gap Between Communication Education And Professional Practice For Prelicensure Baccalaureate Nursing Students In A Rural Specialty Site: An Integrative Review Of The Literature. Nurse Educator 43(3), 123–129
Guerrier Y., Joseph D., Starr S..(2016). Building bridges between academic curriculum and professional clinical competencies: A nontraditional approach using simulationin undergraduate nurse education program at a small college in Florida USA Health Professions Education 2(2), 83–89
Mawdesley J..Pringle D.(2019). Meeting Nurses’ Educational Needs In The Digital Age: A New Framework To Support Technology Adoption In Clinical Settings Journal Of Continuing Education In Nursing 50(10), 486–491
Sarkar S., Allchin K., Beck L..Carr P.(2020) Implementing Emerging Technologies Into Nursing Practice From Theory To Reality Online Journal Of Issues In Nursing 25(1)