The teachings of academia come from scholars that have researched these
subjects. These scholars become subject
matter experts in the fields that they study.
The process of the Scientific Method can take a long time. In the Scientific Method, the Scientist is
tasked with gathering information and organizing it to something
meaningful. Further, the Scientist must
collect empirical data to show the plausibility of what is being tested. From whence all the data are organized, the
Scientist then makes a hypothesis. A
hypothesis is a statement or prediction whereby the Scientist has reason to
believe that his designed experiment is going on a trajectory of fact
extrapolation. From whence the
experiment is concluded, the Scientist then must make every effort to record
the findings. When this occurs, an
analysis happens. The analysis details
the findings but also determines facts based on the experiment. It is the “facts,” of scientific
experimentation that academia teaches.
These facts are organized in literatures notwithstanding Journal
Articles, Essays, Case Studies, Textbooks amongst others. The academic time lapse occurs because in
order to output facts that can be used for professional literatures, the
process of Science must occur in order to ethically publish findings and facts
extracted from experiments. Clearly,
this is a tedious process requiring a lot of time. Academia may discover something today, but,
as a result of the process of Science, that finding needs to be tested and
converted into a fact before it could be used in academic material.
According to University Affairs, there is a “17 year gap” between the
time that Scientist discover something significant in the field before it
reaches implementation and integration resulting in service delivery to
patients (2017). This is a result of the
above process. The gap between research
and practice is so wide that in health care, there have been public outcries
for change. This occurs with the Food
and Drug Administration who has numerous citizens awaiting the latest
treatments. For example, during the
outbreak of COVID 19, society didn’t know how to respond. They had to design the vaccination promptly
and this caused massive unease and distrust.
The emergent therapy was released by PFIZER, Johnson and Johnson etc.,
while state of the art treatments were used by the military of the USA. At that time, the President of the USA had
contracted the communicable disease. The
Military responded with providing the dear president with a treatment not
available anywhere else but was also in research. This drug is known as Regeneron. Although this was done in the modern age, not
many people would be as fortunate as the President as the FDA has multiple
citizens waiting for breakthrough treatments for the ailments they themselves
have or perhaps even their loved ones.
As for the institutions of the government, their main concern is
liability. If the FDA releases a drug
that has not been fully researched, it poses a great risk to the citizen and
this could result in institutional decay and lawsuits.
The time lapse exists because adequate research must be completed before
the release of the drug. As with the
medical field, this occurs with information as well and also devices and
gadgets. Hence all the forefront
research when completed, gets published within the institutions of
academia. The process that results from
the publishing of informations results in something referred to as the
diffusion of technologies. Whether is be
information, drugs, or devices and gadgets, these are all considered
technology. Even the very piece of paper
with literature in it is a technology, it is referred to as a process
technology. From whence the publishing
occurs, individuals in society uptake that technology and it spreads through
the community. This causes economies of
scale which reduces the price of the technology because of the increased demand
which then the bulk price of the technology becomes more affordable to
manufacture. The process of the uptake of technologies has five steps which
are: innovators, early adopters, early
majority, late majority and laggards (Corporate Finance Institute 2020). Innovators are those that are the first to try
a new technology, early adopters want a change and so they try the new technology
while early majority means that these individuals adopt new innovations before
the average person. The majority means
that these individuals are skeptical of adoption but as a result of the tried
and tested that came before them, they decide to try the new innovation and
lastly, the laggards, these are the last to try the new innovation.
As it becomes evident, two processes take place in the academic time
lapse, the process of formal research and the process of the uptake of
technology. It is these two processes
that result in the academic gap of 17 years.
Further, de-adopting a standardized practice according to University
Affairs can be more timely (2017). What
is important to know when graduating from a post secondary institution of
higher learning means that the individual graduates with the burden of being
behind. It is up to the individual to
attempt to be current. This is a process
of best practice. Best practice is
defined in Potter and Perry as “guiding principles leading to the most appropriate
courses of action in .. standard
practice situations” (2006) and these are used in conjunction with codes of ethics
and standards of practice, if the individual is in a practicing profession. This means that the individual has a duty to
keep professionally current as it pertains to the education that they have
received. Not many students are aware of
the fact that there is work to be done after graduation as many students from
graduation tend to not look back at the material they were taught. Keeping current is a professional practice
that should be a part of any and all disciplines. Whether you are a Doctor trying to learn
about the latest treatments for Cancer or if you are a Lawyer trying to find
the latest precedents for your criminal case or if you are an Engineer
designing a way to make something more efficient, these professionals all are
keeping current. The message here is
that, students have the moral and professional obligation to themselves and to
their post secondary institution and their clientele to keep UpToDate with
their discipline. Not only does it
provide the standard within the society but it can also serve as a means of a
competitive edge. More often than not,
people at the top of their profession have the ability to create innovative
solutions to many questions that people may find puzzling. It is the visionary solutions that ensure
that these people are at the top of their profession and it is certainly a
competitive edge within the market of talent in the community or the labour
pool.
To recap, this theory posits that there is a seventeen year gap between
research and practice. This is because
Scholars use the Scientific Method to identify evidence, supporting evidence,
proofs and facts. This can take years as
the Scholar attempts to organize this information into something
meaningful. But beyond that there is the
uptake of technologies which further extends the gap. And the uptake of technologies tends to
reduce the cost of the innovation. Lastly,
graduates have an obligation and duty to keep current or UpToDate as they
attempt to comply with best practice principles followed as a standard in many
professions. With that said, this gap
can be frustrating for the clients and for the Scholars and Scientists which
means that individuals must do their due diligence to provide the existing and
accepted technologies while awaiting the breakthroughs to come.
WORK CITED
Corporate Finance Institute. (2020).
Diffusion of Innovation.
Retrieved from: https://corporatefinanceinstitute.com/resources/economics/diffusion-of-innovation/
Munro et al. (2016). Narrowing the 17 year Research to Practice Gap. Retrieved from: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27134218/
Ross-Kerr, J., et al. (2006).
Canadian Fundamentals of Nursing.
Ontario, Canada. Elsevier.
University Affairs. (2017).
Closing the 17 – year gap between scientific evidence and patient
care. Pub Med. Retrieved from: https://www.universityaffairs.ca/opinion/in-my-opinion/closing-17-year-gap-scientific-evidence-patient-care/
United Nations (2021). WHO backs Regeneron COVID-19 drug
cocktail. Retrieved from: https://news.un.org/en/story/2021/09/1101082
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