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Background Nursing as a profession is based on firm knowledge, values, clinical skills and attitudes. In the current dynamic health care systems, all nurses are challenged to be insightful, have robust clinical reasoning and skills in order to integrate theoretical content with practice. This allows them to function independently and be of great value to the multidisciplinary team in the clinical settings. Thus they need to be accountable in ensuring they perform optimally to meet those function. Theory-practice integration is a major element that sustains quality and drives best nursing practice. One of the barriers of theory-practise integration is the gap between theory and practice in nursing education commonly referred to as the theory-practice gap. If sound theory is the basis for understanding the reality in the clinical setting then every effort should be made to reduce the gap between theory and practice.
Aim: The aim of the study was to explore and describe the challenges experienced by second and third year nursing students, when integrating theory into practice in a selected clinical setting as well as ascertain strategies to support nursing students to readily integrate theory into practice in clinical settings in the Western Cape.
Methodology: A qualitative approach, with use of explorative, descriptive and contextual design was employed for the study. Data was collected by using focus group interviews. Using an interview assisted to guide and probe questions to allow engagement, during the study. Two focus groups were conducted with 4 students in each group . The target population was all the nursing students registered for the second and third year in the Baccalaureus Curationis (BCur) Nursing degree, for the academic year of 2015. The total number of 2nd years (N) =341 and the third years are (N) = 193. Focus group interviews where conducted till data saturation was reached, which was on the third interview where similar themes emerged . The data was analysed with use of content analysis method.
Ethics: Permission from the University of the Western Cape’s Higher Degrees and the Senate Research Committee and the Registrar was sought prior commencing with the study. Permission to conduct the study was obtained from the Registrar of the university, head of school of Nursing and the course co coordinators of both second and third year nursing students. Informed written consent forms and focus group abiding forms where distributed and signed by the participants, to ensure confidentiality. The obtained data will be kept locked in a safe area in the researcher’s office to maintain discretion. The real names of the participants will not be used during the preceding of the study; instead they will be identified by codes to assure anonymity.
Results: The dominant themes that emerged included: Theory versus clinical, lack of role models, inadequate support structures and communication .Discussion: It is evident through literature and the study that theory integration occurs ,when students are provided with opportunities of learning in a conducive clinical setting, where there are no communication and obstructing interpersonal relations between the staff and the students. Literature highlights the need for authentic learning spaces and thus providing clinical settings that encoureage learning to take place is essential. The role of staff that facilitate learning cannot be over emphasised as they have vast clinical experience and insight of training, and present as good role models for the students, which assist the students to be fully socialized into the profession and be able to integrate theory into practice.
Keywords: Nursing students, theory-practice gap, integration, Baccalaureus Curationis (BCur) Nursing degree, clinical settings, challenges, competence
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