Fox R D
Research Center for Continuing Professional and Higher Education, 200 McCarter Hall, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK 73072, USA.
J Contin Educ Health Prof. 2000 Fall;20(4):238-46. doi: 10.1002/chp.1340200407.
As research has expanded in scope and diversity, application of new ideas to the programs that facilitate learning and change should have grown accordingly. However, the gap between the theories of how and why physicians learn and change their practices and the practical application of these theories appears to be wider. The research component of research and development in continuing professional development appears to be strong, but the development function appears to be weak. This presentation will describe some of the factors that have led to this gap between theory and practice and suggest some actions that may be taken to reduce this gap. Among the factors leading to the gap are the different perspectives of practitioners and scholars as to the purposes of research, the appropriate foci of studies, and the attributes of quality of studies related to continuing professional development. A traditional model of research is discussed and analyzed for its strengths and weaknesses as they relate to writing research that is relevant to practitioners. The role and function of the research problem and the conclusions of studies are described in terms of how these two parts of a research report can assist in the translation of theory and evidence into the practice. In order to illustrate how theory may be translated into practical tools and procedures, the application of the theory of change and learning to the assessment of readiness to change is reviewed briefly. Implications of this experience are described and steps that may be helpful in bridging the gap between theory and practice will be proposed. Finally, a system of research and development that can ensure a tighter link between research and practice is proposed. The next steps to achieve this kind of system are suggested in the conclusions.
随着研究在范围和多样性上的扩展，将新思想应用于促进学习和变革的项目也应相应增加。然而，关于医生如何学习以及为何改变其行为的理论与这些理论的实际应用之间的差距似乎更大了。继续职业发展中研发的研究部分似乎很强，但发展功能似乎较弱。本报告将描述导致理论与实践之间出现这种差距的一些因素，并提出一些可能缩小这一差距的行动。导致差距的因素包括从业者和学者在研究目的、适当的研究重点以及与继续职业发展相关的研究质量属性方面的不同观点。将讨论并分析传统研究模式在撰写与从业者相关的研究时的优缺点。将从研究报告的这两个部分如何有助于将理论和证据转化为实践的角度，描述研究问题的作用和功能以及研究结论。为了说明理论如何转化为实用工具和程序，将简要回顾变革与学习理论在变革准备评估中的应用。将描述这一经验的影响，并提出有助于弥合理论与实践之间差距的步骤。最后，提出一个能够确保研究与实践之间更紧密联系的研发系统。结论部分将建议实现这种系统的后续步骤。
