Nursing Faculties' Perceptions of Integrating Theory and Practice to Develop Professional Competence.

BACKGROUND

Nursing faculties' perceptions influence nursing education. This article describes how nursing faculty perceive nursing students' development of professional competence by integrating theory and practice, and by examining how this context influences this integration.

METHOD

With a phenomenographic approach, interviews were conducted with nine participants and analyzed into qualitatively different categories of description.

RESULTS

The integration of theoretical and practical knowledge is perceived as a challenge or as naturally intertwined in the entire education, focusing mainly on individual prerequisites for learning. Perceptions of a common mission create coherence for students. Evident learning structures are needed, and there is a perceived discrepancy between nurses' competence and expectations in health care.

CONCLUSION

If the theory and practice gap could be perceived as a driving force for continuous learning, it could become an incentive for closer collaboration by creating structures for competence development that include individuals, teams, and organizations.