Patient and public involvement in the provision of healthcare professional education is considered best practice by both the Healthcare Professions Council and the Nursing Midwifery Council. One key activity in healthcare education is the classroom-based 'patient story'. This consists of a person re-telling and reflecting on their experiences of their health-related problem and their interaction with health services. The primary objective of this article therefore was to explore educational theory in order to offer a theoretical critique of the use of patient stories in healthcare education. The article explores the theory--practice gap, theories of reflection as well as dialogue, and proposes that the use of patient stories in healthcare education may help to better prepare students for the realities of professional clinical practice. Patient story told firsthand in the classroom creates a significant learning experience in which both the student and the patient reflect and learn through dialogue, positively impacting on attitudes, beliefs and improved patient care. We argue that the incorporation of patients' stories in healthcare education encourages the use of reflection and facilitates critical thinking, which in turn can help to bridge the theory--practice gap.