Clinical placement in rural health professional education: Addressing the theory practice gap in nursing

Understanding the theory practice gap in nursing is important to university-based teaching practices. This paper discusses viewpoints held by the nursing profession and a new model to address these issues. Twenty-six registered nurses with responsibilities for precepting students on clinical placement responded to a questionnaire, designed to identify concerns regarding a theory practice gap. The principal findings were the perceived existence of such a gap (88%) and its impact on clinical practice (100%). Academics should engage in contemporary clinical practice(80%) and that the type of clinical placement was important (88%). Our placement model addresses concerns highlighted by the registered nurses and emphasising problem-based learning with nursing academics providing clinical assistance. Sixteen nursing students participated in our university diabetes screening programme to augment clinical assessment skills and to provide adverse perspective of current health care. Students found the clinic challenging and offering new learning experiences outside of perceived health professional boundaries.