Nursing lecturer/practitioners: can lecturer/practitioners be music to our ears?

The value of the recently emerging role of the lecturer/practitioner (LP) in nursing is examined by reflecting on the experience of the authors. Within the evolutionary development of nursing education there appears to be separate branchings into theory and practice. Much effort has been spent on trying to lessen this so called theory-practice gap. Examination and reflection with reference to the LP led to the conclusion that there is a paradoxical nature to nursing. The whole which is nursing comprises of seemingly incongruent aspects, theory and practice which can be integrated. This paper argues that nursing knowledge is complementary in nature. It consists of 'knowing how' and 'knowing that'. These two aspects cannot exist independently but are integrated through practice. It is experience and reflection that integrate these through the embodiment of the LP. It is within this context that the evolution of the role of the LP is reviewed from a theoretical and historical perspective.