Creating and Using Poetry to Teach Theoretical and Conceptual Nursing Content

In nursing academia, educators are faced with the longstanding challenge of bridging the theory-practice gap. In a second-year nursing theory course, students were introduced to poetry on a biweekly basis, written by their educator in response to student needs in understanding complex theoretical and conceptual nursing topics. Through anecdotal evidence from clinical instructors and students, the sharing of poetry and subsequent discussions helped students to develop and enhance their critical thinking and clinical judgment, reasoning, and decision-making skills. This transformative pedagogical approach offers an alternative teaching strategy that can provide the basis for meaningful discussion and bridge the theory-practice gap.