Introduction
Nursing care and teaching are two aspects that significantly vary in nursing practice. The problem statement in this article is to identify how theories taught in class influence nurses’ provision of care concerning evidence and experience. The article identifies those nurses use different approaches when providing nursing care. Some nurses use experience-based approaches, and others utilize evidence-based models in care provision. The effectiveness of each model is questioned, especially in how they relate to the nursing curriculum, which is theory-based, as discussed in Martinez-Linares et al. (2019) article titled “Assessment of Nursing Care and Teaching: A Qualitative Approach.”A critique of the article provides an understanding of the insights of nursing professionals and undergraduate students on the relationship between the knowledge acquired through a nursing degree and professional practice. It aimed to identify how the reforms in adapting a European higher education from the Spanish higher education model influenced nursing teaching and practice. A critical analysis of the article raises significant concerns on how the theory-practice gap can be filled as nursing care differs in how recent graduates and experienced nurses implement evidence and experience-based care models.
Research Summary and Findings
The execution of study utilized different methods to obtain the relevant information required to execute the study. Both descriptive qualitative and explanatory studies were carried out at a Spanish University to elaborate on the teaching and nursing practice issues. Such methods were effective as they allowed the participants to express themselves and elaborate on how they perceived a given phenomenon. In addition, the methods were convenient since the research question was complex and could not be measured. The data collection methods are effective in the study as they are mostly used to provide qualitative information based on the experiences the individuals have on a given research question. The main sampling method used was convenience sampling, where 24 participants were selected to provide information on their perceived nursing care and practice (Martínez-Linares, 2019). The participants were equally selected based on their experience; twelve nursing professionals who had worked in the field were used in the study, and twelve 4th-year students undertaking a Nursing degree were also involved. The study involved twelve semi-structured interviews, recording data in all the sessions with the participants. Such interviews provided order and freedom for the various participants to channel their views and perceptions on how theory, evidence, and practice influenced care delivery.
In addition, focus groups were also involved twice to enable data triangulation. After the interviews, the researchers conducted a thematic data analysis that was coded to provide the results obtained on the research question. After the coding, the researchers identified two main themes: evidence-based nursing vs. experience-based nursing. The researchers also identified a gap in theory practice as most participants either identified their nursing care practice as evidence-based or practice-based. This aspect showed a gap in how the theories taught in class were included in nursing care. Most nurses focused on the evidence from the medical tests or their experience dealing with different medical conditions. The topics precisely emphasized in the study included the coexistence between professionals working based on medical evidence and those nurses who work based on their experience in the field. The lack of connection between the nursing training obtained in school when undertaking a nursing degree and actual healthcare practice was identified.
Analysis
The study effectively realized the need for enhancing the connection between nursing practice and teaching as it played a critical role in eliminating medical errors in the healthcare sector as the current models of care ignored the theory aspect taught in medical and nursing schools. According to the authors, nursing teaching is a critical aspect of the nursing profession as it provides the basics of care required to provide quality medical services to patients. Due to this reason, the authors emphasized the need to enhance the link between nursing theory and practice claiming that more efforts need to be made as it is critical to providing quality nursing services. They argued that nursing theory is important as their sector is constantly faced with new challenges requiring effective theories to improve the quality of education and enhance professional skills. Such changes require frequent redesigning of the teaching models to bridge the theory-practice gap, which can only be attained through conditions research to enhance nursing knowledge which is only shared through teaching theories.
Conclusion
An article analysis shows that the research was effectively executed and meets the needs of the topic under discussion. Teaching methods cannot be measured numerically. Examining the nursing care and the teaching model provides complete information necessary for providing conclusive information on the impact of one aspect on the other. Using the same interview question on both samples of participants also provided a standard measure of views and an equal platform that made the participants effectively channel their views on how nursing care is executed. Through such a standard data collection method, the researchers could identify the two main themes that presented themselves based on the number of years the participants had in the field. An analysis of the themes shows that undergraduate students rely on the evidence-based model of care.
In contrast, experienced professionals mostly relied on experience-based care when executing their duties. Such grouping clearly showed how the provision of nursing care ignored the theory taught in nursing schools. It can be deduced that the theory gap provides the link through which medical errors develop in healthcare.
Reflection
The study of the article has effectively attained its purpose of identifying the link between nursing care and training. The paper was highly informative as it provided critical information on how experience influences the care nurses’ model to execute their daily activities. The authors effectively outlined a theory gap in the execution of nursing activities as most nurses either rely on the evidence obtained from medical tests or on their experience in providing medical care. The analysis has significantly enabled me to become a critical thinker as it has provided me with critical analysis skills that I will use in the future. As a student, I have acquired advanced research and analysis skills that would enable me to identify a problem and effectively choose the best me to critically evaluate the phenomenon and come up with an informative conclusion. During the study, I was impressed by how nursing and teaching methods influence the provision of medical care. I was mesmerized by how care providers ignore the theories taught and rely on evidence and experience. I have learned that there is a strong connection between what I have learned in class, research, and experience, as they all interdepend on each other.
Reference
Martínez-Linares, J., Martínez-Yébenes, R., Andújar-Afán, F., & López-Entrambasaguas, O. (2019). Assessment of nursing care and teaching: A qualitative approach. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16(15), 2774.