Practical learning and theory-practice gap as perceived by nursing students

Background: Practical learning is one of the important concerns that helps the awareness of nursing students’ practice in a clinical setting and it is important to link theoretical knowledge to practical skills. Nursing educators and clinical preceptors must display the knowledge and skills required to bridge the theory practice-gap. Aim: This study aimed to explore the perception of nursing students related to their practical learning and theory-practice gap. Methods: Research design: An explorative-descriptive design used in this study to explore and describe the perception of nursing students to their practical learning and theory-practice gap. A convenient sample of 61 nursing students engaged in this study. Study tool: The utilized questionnaire consisted of five sections: included the socio-demographic data; responses on practical learning; responses on learning strategies preferences; responses on assessment and responses on theory-practice gap. Results: Majority of nursing students (88.5%) indicated that they had inadequate supervision from clinical preceptors, insufficiently prepared simulation laboratory (100%) and only 50.8% of them had opportunity to practice skills during simulation sessions. Majority of respondents (67.2%) showed that summative assessment conducted at the end of the course, but they not prepared for examination (57.4%).The gap between the theoretical knowledge and the actual clinical procedures in the wards perceived by respondents (54.1%). Conclusion and Recommendations: Nursing education must reexamine current methods to practical learning and seek methods to better prepare future nurses. Conducting continuing education for the faculty in principles of teaching and learning to enhance their teaching behavior and interpersonal skills.