What are your views on the way in which gender has inhibited our growth as a knowledge-based profession and the view others have of our professional status?

1. The theory-practice gap,? as some have called it, has prevented our profession from full utilization of its knowledge base in practice, and has impeded the view of nursing as a theoretically based discipline, to its detriment. There are distinctly different viewpoints to this argument, based on the different perspectives of academics and theoreticians on the one hand and that of practitioners on the other. Being honest about your reaction, and applying critical thinking skills to the question, where do you stand on the issue, and why?

2. Barriers have existed, especially in the past, which have impeded the work necessary to develop the knowledge base of nursing. Many of these barriers are related to issues of gender and knowledge in a female-dominated profession like nursing. What are your views on the way in which gender has inhibited our growth as a knowledge-based profession and the view others have of our professional status?

3. Many sources exist that are triggers for theory development through the study of concepts and their related propositions. One such trigger is the research process, which, while it answers many questions, generates others based on research outcomes. Identify some possible questions for research study, the answers to which would serve to generate theory.