The collision between caring theory and caring practice as a collision between feminine and masculine cognitive style

In the Swedish education of nurses, teaching should be focused in a way that the students develop a holistic view of caring. Swedish health care and medical care should be carried out in a way that promotes a holistic view. It seems that the education of nurses has prerequisites to develop, and often does present, a holistic view to the students, but this view is not always carried over to practice. Student nurses think they have a theoretical understanding of a holistic view, but they cannot manage to transform their knowledge to practice. It is proposed that this failure to transfer knowledge of holistic care principles into practice is partly based on the fact that medical and technological thought dominate practice in the caring disciplines. This article explores some factors influencing caring theory and praxis and possible causes for the gap between these areas. The question of gender is proposed as a reason for the identified difference between theory and praxis. From a gender theoretical perspective, the difference can be understood as a collision between feminine and masculine cognitive styles. It is proposed that the caring ideals of holism are emphasized by the woman-dominated nursing schools, but these ideals are not able to influence practice of the caring professions, which are dominated by men.