Introduction
Writing an essay under the nursing industry can appear like a very stressful task for many college applicants. On this blog post, we simplify the process by providing you with some topic ideas to consider for your nursing essay.
Buckle up as we take you through our detailed guide to help you create an impactful nursing essay that shines to the committee.
What you need to know about creating a Personal Statement in Nursing
Opportunity to easily create a Connection between Parts of your application and your Application Essay
When a student applies to college and chooses to write about nursing in their personal essay, it’s a great opportunity for them. This choice helps them link their essay with other parts of their application, like their application form and letters of recommendation.
As they write their story, they can easily connect their high school grades and awards to their essay. This makes it easier to explain their achievements and the good things people say about them in their recommendation letters.
So, if you’re applying to college and working with a topic in nursing, there’s no reason for your application to be confusing or hard to follow.
The best part is, if you ever get stuck while thinking about what to write in your essay, you can look at other parts of your application for ideas. This helps you stay on topic and makes your essay more relevant.
Works well for individuals who are Kind and Compassionate in helping others and want to become a nurse
If you like being nice and helping people, writing about nursing in your essay will be a good idea. But if you’re not that kind of person, that’s okay. You might want to write about something else.
It is important to remember that the people who read your essay will want to see that you know about nursing and that you’re a kind person who likes to help others.
If you want to be a nurse and are making an essay emphasizing your kindness and compassionate nature, remember to be very specific in providing the details that will allow the committee to conclude that you are indeed kind and compassionate. This is a point outlined by College Nut
Don’t just give basic information. You want the person reading your entrance essay to really understand who you are. If you don’t do this, your essay might not do well.
Requires Extensive and Intensive Research as a means to demonstrate your commitment to nursing
If you’re making an essay about nursing, you need to be ready to do a lot of research. This isn’t just learning about nursing, but also about the college you want to go to and how they teach nursing. If you can do this, then writing about nursing could be a great choice for your essay.
But if you can’t, that’s okay. You can choose a different topic or even a different field of study. Some people might feel they can write an excellent essay without doing much research, but remember, you want to increase your chances of getting into college.
To do this, you need to show the college that you’re serious about your career. One way to do this is by doing a lot of research on your field. You could even try to get an internship in nursing before you write your essay. This will give you a real-life experience of what nursing is like, and you can include this in your essay.
You should feel comfortable reaching out to students, lecturers, and anyone else interested in nursing
If you’re developing an essay about nursing, it’s good to ask others for help and information. This could be students, teachers, or anyone else who’s interested. Nursing is part of the health industry, which is very important and sensitive. So, you need to show that you understand this in your essay.
To make your essay well-informed, you might want to interview people. Ask them how they feel about nursing or the career you want to have in nursing. This can help you write a strong essay with a good central idea and supporting topic sentences.
Your essay should show your dedication to nursing and your understanding of what people need and want in this field. You can do this by asking questions and talking to people, and then writing about these conversations in your essay.
The Nursing Career should not feel Forced as an ambition in your essay
It’s important to choose a field of study for your essay that you really care about. Imagine reading a story where the writer just wants to finish quickly. The story will feel rushed and might have mistakes, like the wrong school name or spelling errors. It might even be boring. This is a concept outlined by Michele Hernandez, a former assistant director of admissions at Dartmouth College.
That’s why you should choose nursing or any other field because you really want to, not because someone else wants you to. You should feel a strong desire to do it. This will help you create an essay that is interesting and engaging.
Will work wonders for those who can demonstrate a Passion for the Nursing Profession as Children
If you’re developing an essay about nursing, it can be really helpful if you’ve been interested to be a nurse since you were a kid. People are often interested in kids who stand out. If you talk about your interest in nursing starting when you were a child, you might engage the committee more than if you only became interested in high school.
Many college applicants become interested in their field in high school, but you’ll be different because you were interested as a child. But remember to be realistic. For example, don’t say you prescribed medication when you were eight years old because that’s hard to believe.
But you could talk about a time when you were young and helped care for a wound. Maybe you had to call your uncle who is a doctor for advice on how to help. This could show how your interest started and how you became more interested in helping people over time.
Doing this could make your essay very engaging and show the committee that you’re serious about nursing.
What to Write on a College Essay Topic of Choice in Nursing
Your Motivation for Nursing as a means of Making Money and Helping Others
If you’re creating an essay about nursing, you can write about your reasons for choosing this career. Maybe you see it as a good way to earn money and help others. This could be because you see it as a good opportunity to make a good income for yourself.
You might see yourself becoming a well-known nurse because of your desire to earn a good income. This is not illegal or socially unacceptable. You can write a good story about this, even if it’s not selfless.
You can also choose to be selfless and generous. You can say that even though you want to make money, you also want to help others by providing good healthcare services.
You want to be honest about this. Write an engaging story that shows the committee that you are 100% honest about your motivation for pursuing this career.
Remember, there’s nothing wrong with wanting money. Everyone wants money, even the admissions committee that is assessing your essay. They’re doing so because they want your money.
So, if wanting money motivates you to pursue this career, write about it. But be as honest as possible.
Attributes that Qualify You to become a Professional Nurse
If you’re making an essay about nursing, you can talk about the qualities that make you a good fit for this field. These might include your kindness, your ability to communicate well, and your problem-solving skills. These are all important in nursing.
You can tell a story about a time when you showed these qualities. Maybe you helped someone in need and showed your kindness. Or maybe you gave a speech at a conference and showed your communication skills.
You could also talk about a time when you had to solve a problem quickly. Maybe you had to save someone from drowning and give them first aid. This could show your problem-solving skills and your ability to act quickly when needed.
These stories can show that you have the qualities needed to be a successful nurse.
Goals for Your Future as a Student and a Professional
In your essay about nursing, you can talk about your future goals. This could be a great topic because it lets the committee see what you want for your future. Maybe you see yourself making a certain amount of money or working at a famous hospital in New Jersey.
When you write about this, be as specific as possible. This will help the committee picture what kind of person you want to become. Remember, the more specific you are, the clearer the image will be in the minds of the readers.
When you talk about your goals, you’re really talking about your dreams in nursing. These dreams could be about helping certain groups, like children who go to bed hungry. You might want to provide medical treatment for these children, especially if they’ve been suffering from malnutrition for a long time.
After helping them medically, you could also provide food for them. This shows that you’re willing to go above and beyond what’s expected in your career.
You might also talk about moving into specialized roles, like becoming an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN). You can share how you see yourself becoming a highly educated nurse, maybe even getting a doctorate, and using your skills to make the world a better place.
The Current Health Situation in the World
You could also write your essay about the COVID-19 pandemic. You could talk about the 336.8 million years of life that were lost globally during 2020 and 2021 as outlined by reliefweb. You could share how this impacted your own life. You could also talk about how you plan to help solve this problem once you are a nurse. You could share how you see yourself contributing to the fight against COVID-19.
You could also write about the challenges in improving maternal and child health in your essay.
You could talk about how progress is slow and how diseases like HIV, TB, and malaria are spreading fast. It seems like it’s taking a long time to get rid of these diseases completely. You could go into detail about this topic and connect it to your own life.
Maybe you’ve met someone with HIV, TB, or malaria. You could talk about your conversations with them and how you tried to understand their situation. You could share how you felt empathy for them.
By doing this, you can make your essay personal. It will show that you’ve put a lot of time into your essay and that you’ve made it unique. It will also show that you can talk about serious topics like HIV, TB, and malaria in an interesting way.
You could also write about non-curable diseases, often called NCDs, in your essay. You could talk about how these diseases cause almost three out of four deaths in the world each year. You can mention and prove that by the middle of the century, they might cause 86% of deaths.
You could discuss how you plan to help solve this problem. Maybe you see yourself running campaigns or donating money to help reduce these numbers. Or maybe you see yourself using your skills and knowledge to provide healthcare services to people from all walks of life.
By doing this, you can show that you’re aware of the current health situation and that you’re serious about making a difference. This could make your essay very interesting to the committee.
Emphasize on the Prospect of becoming a Nurse Practitioner
You could also talk about your desire to be a nurse practitioner. This is a type of nurse who can do certain medical tasks without a doctor’s direct supervision. You could share how excited you are about this career.
You could tell a story about how you see yourself in the future. Maybe you’re interpreting an X-ray to figure out a patient’s medical condition. You could talk about the kind of conversation you would have with this patient to help them.
Imagine you’re talking to patients who have serious health problems. They’ve tried getting help from pharmacies and doctors, and now they’re coming to you. How would you talk to them? How would you make them feel confident in your abilities as a practitioner?
You could also talk about how you plan to go above and beyond by educating your patients. You could provide information to help them prevent chronic illnesses and non-curable diseases, also known as NCDs.
You could talk about the campaigns you plan to run or the charity organizations you want to join to help educate people.
There are so many possibilities when you’re developing an essay about your ambition to be a practitioner in the nursing realm.
Your Unique Experiences for pursuing a nursing career
In your essay, you could talk about your unique experiences that led you to develop the desire to pursue nursing as a career. You could find parts of your past that connect to nursing and turn them into a story. This story could show your passion and excitement for building a successful career.
The point of an essay is to tell a good story. To tell a good story from your experiences you could include things like an engaging conflict or something new you learned about yourself.
You could also talk about a unique experience in your past that is very important to you. You could discuss this experience in an engaging way that allows the committee to understand what you experienced.
By doing this, you can show the committee that you truly want to build a successful career. Writing an essay about your own unique experiences can be a great idea because it allows you to naturally explain your reasons for wanting to build a career as a nurse.
Number 1 Role-Model
In your essay, you could talk about a role model who inspired you to pursue a career as a nurse. This could be someone you look up to and think about when you imagine being a nurse.
When you write about a role model, remember to connect the story back to yourself. The essay is your chance to share something meaningful about yourself in an honest way.
Ask yourself these questions when you’re writing your essay on a role model: Am I sharing something about myself? Am I sharing my own view of this role model? Am I sharing how this role model has influenced my desire to be a nurse?
By doing this, you can make an essay that focuses on a role model and still make your essay effective in fulfilling its purpose. This could be very powerful in helping you get into the college of your choice.
What to Avoid when writing on a Topic of Choice in the nursing realm for your essay
Communicating in Heavy-weight Jargon
It’s easy for a college applicant to use too many complex words in their essay. But remember, the people reading your entrance essay might not be experts in the topic you’re writing about. So, try to make your writing as simple as possible.
The goal of an essay isn’t to show off how much you know. It’s to share your knowledge in a way that anyone can understand.
A good test is to give your essay to a sixth grader. If they understand everything, your essay is probably clear enough. If they don’t understand some words or parts, you might need to do some more editing.
Failing to express the Real Reason you want a Nursing school admission
We talked before about money being the main reason to choose a career as a nurse. There’s nothing wrong with that. In fact, most people are motivated by money when they choose a career. But some students might feel guilty about this.
Your essay is your chance to share parts of yourself that you’re comfortable with and that are 100% honest. If you’re okay with saying that money is your motivation, then go ahead. If not, you can choose something else as your motivation for wanting to be a nurse.
It’s important to find the real reason why you want to go to college and to express it in a way that’s easy to believe. If you’re not comfortable with one of your motivations for wanting to be a nurse, then maybe try to find a different topic for your essay. Or you can choose to talk about other motivations.
But to be honest, if you’re trying to hide a part of yourself, it will be hard for you to write an engaging story that can be easily remembered. And if the committee remembers your essay, there’s a good chance you’ll get into the college.
Focusing Too Much on the Style of Writing to create a good essay
When you’re creating an essay, it’s more about what you’re saying than how you’re saying it. The committee cares about the content of your essay. They’re going to be reading your essay quickly, so they won’t pay much attention to the writing techniques you use. This is something pointed out in the 50 Successful Ivy League Applications Essays book by the Tanabes.
So, make sure the topic of your essay is something you really care about. If nursing is something you care about, then you’ll find that you’re creating an engaging essay naturally. This will help the committee picture what you’re describing in your essay.
That’s why it’s important not to focus too much on the style of writing. What really matters is the content of your essay.
Highlighting Controversial Topics in your essay
In a previous blog post, we talked about topics that college applicants should avoid. These are controversial topics that can cause heated debates. You don’t want your essay to cause arguments when the committee is discussing your application.
Some controversial topics you might want to avoid include anything in nursing that involves politics, religion, sexual orientation, or mental health. These topics can be controversial and while it’s not impossible to handle them, it can be difficult.
In my opinion, developing an essay should be an enjoyable experience. It shouldn’t be too fast or too slow. To make the writing experience simple, avoid controversial topics or anything else that could hurt your chances of getting admitted.
Being Too Serious with the Delivery of Information
While many find the character of The Dark Knight inspiring, it’s not always best to mimic this character in your essay, especially when writing about nursing. The Joker would tell Batman to relax a bit and not be so serious. That’s how you should approach your essay.
If you’re too serious, your essay might be dull. You want to engage the admissions officers without seeming like you’re trying too hard to appear serious. They can already see your seriousness from your grades and recommendations.
The essay is a chance for you to relax a bit and share something personal about yourself. Maybe there’s something from your past that didn’t fit anywhere else in your application. Or maybe there’s something you mentioned elsewhere in your application that you want to expand on.
Remember, the main point of the essay is to share something personal about yourself. The main reason colleges ask for an essay is to get to know you better. If you’re too serious, they won’t be able to see who you really are, and your essay might not be effective.
Revealing Very Sensitive aspects of your past
When writing your essay, it’s important to avoid sharing very sensitive parts of your past. While it’s good to share parts of your past that help show who you are as a person, you should avoid topics that are too sensitive.
Ask yourself these questions: Does this topic make me cringe? Does it make me wince? Does it make me tear up? If you answer no to all these questions, then the topic about a part of your past is not too sensitive and you can include it in your essay.
If you share something too sensitive, it might make the committee feel uncomfortable. They want to feel like they’re part of your story, not alienated from it. So, avoid sharing extremely sensitive events, like the loss of a loved one.
Being Overly Casual in Your Writing
While it’s important not to be too serious in your essay, you also shouldn’t be too casual. The way you write is important, and being too casual can hurt your essay’s credibility. You don’t want to use slang or be overly friendly because the committee might not understand you.
Remember, you’re writing for a group of middle-aged people. That’s why it’s a good idea to get a middle-aged person to review your work. They can tell you if you’re using the right tone and mood in your essay.
This person doesn’t need to be an expert in writing. They just need to be middle-aged and someone you trust. They can help you avoid being too casual in your writing.
Failing to communicate in a manner demonstrated by your Critical Writing and Reading Scores
It’s important to remember that college committee will see your SAT scores. If you have someone else write your essay and it doesn’t match the rest of your application, the committee will likely notice.
So, avoid being dishonest or having overly experienced people proofread and correct your work. If they make too many corrections, your essay might end up being too good and not match your SAT scores. This could create a disconnect and hurt the credibility of your essay.
So, it’s best to write your own essay and make sure it aligns with the rest of your application.
Advice from Admissions Officers that can help bolster your topic of choice essay on nursing
Allocate Enough Time to writing the essay to efficiently engage the committee
Michele Hernandez advises college applicants to spend a good amount of time on their essays. This is a big part of your career as a nurse and should be taken seriously. It’s not something you can do in less than 5 minutes. You should spend about three hours every day for around two weeks working on your essay.
Your essay should show that you’re serious about your studies and can communicate in a realistic, easy-to-understand way. You can achieve this by spending enough time on your essay.
I’m not saying you should spend forever on your essay. But you shouldn’t rush it either. If the committee sees mistakes in your essay, like spelling errors or incorrect school names, they’ll know you rushed it.
Also, if your essay isn’t engaging, that’s another sign you didn’t spend enough time on it. So, please spend enough time on your essay to avoid these mistakes.
Create a Compelling Introduction that conveys why you want to be a nurse
While the introduction won’t make or break your essay, it’s important to make it engaging. It should hook the admissions officer and keep them interested. It should also introduce an idea that you’ll discuss in more detail in your essay.
When you’re writing your introduction, try to show your passion for the industry of nursing. The more passion you show, the more engaging your introduction will be.
In other words, the more passion, the more engagement. Make sure you’re showing your passion and that the committee can see that you’re really passionate about being a nurse. If you can do this, then your introduction will be compelling. This is mentioned by Eva Ostrum, a human being like you and me who worked as an assistant director of undergraduate admissions at Yale University.
Convert the Ordinary Topic of your choice to something Extraordinary
In your essay, you could take an ordinary topic and approach it in an extraordinary way. For example, Michele Hernandez talks about a student who wrote about a hunting trip where they shot a squirrel. This experience was used to discuss the student’s journey to becoming a man, an otherwise ordinary topic.
Similarly, when writing about nursing, you could choose a common topic but discuss it from a unique perspective based on your personal experiences. The key is not just the topic you choose, but how you approach it.
For instance, you could talk about a specific experience that sparked your interest in being a nurse and how it taught you valuable lessons. This way, you’re taking an ordinary topic (choosing a career in nursing) and approaching it in an extraordinary way (through your unique experiences and lessons).
Remember, the goal is to share a slice of your life that allows the committee to understand more about you and your passion. So, find those unique experiences and lessons within your chosen field of nursing, and you can be confident that you’re extraordinarily approaching an ordinary topic.
Do not Over-edit your essay
Michele Hernandez says it’s really important to check your essay carefully. This is because what you think is funny might not be funny to someone else. So, you need to read your entrance essay again to make sure it sounds right.
But, she also says you shouldn’t change your essay too much. Some students edit their essays a lot, and this can cause problems. Your essay should sound like you wrote it, not like an expert did. If you change it too much, it might not sound like you anymore.
The first problem with changing your essay too much is that it can lose your personal touch. The second problem is that it can sound like it was written by a teacher, not a student. Remember, the readers know you’re a student, not a teacher. So, your essay should sound like a student wrote it.
It is Good to be Ambitious but being Realistic is Better
This might be a bit upsetting for some of you readers, but Michele Hernandez says that your grades matter when it comes to your essay. If your grades are low, your essay might not help much with your college application. But if your grades are in the middle, a well-written essay can really boost your chances of getting in.
She uses a scale of 1 to 9 to explain this. If your grades are between 5 and 7, your essay will make a big difference if written well. But if your grades are between 8 and 9, your essay might not matter as much. You could even joke a bit in your essay and still get into the college you want.
So, if your grades are between 5 and 7, it’s important to take your essay seriously. This is especially true if you’re applying for a nursing program. Nursing is a tough and competitive field, so showing that you’re serious can help. But even if your grades are between 8 and 9, it’s still important to show that you’re serious in your essay.
Facts about nursing and nursing school that you can Expound on in your essay
The Legend of the Lady with the Lamp
The story of the “Lady with the Lamp” is about Florence Nightingale, a key figure in nursing. She’s known for making nursing a respected profession. Back then, nursing wasn’t seen as a job for respectable people. But Florence Nightingale changed that with her work during the Crimean War.
Her actions during the war made a big difference. She helped many sick and injured soldiers get better instead of dying. Because of her, nursing became a profession that many people study in college today.
You might want to talk about Florence Nightingale in your essay. You could share some inspiring things about her. For example, she was able to get a lot of respect from Queen Victoria herself!
Florence Nightingale’s story is very interesting. You can use her as a role model when you’re writing your essay. Try to connect her story with your own to make your essay more engaging. Remember, she turned nursing into a respected profession. You can do great things too!
Distance covered when working a 12-hour shift as a nurse
Did you know that nurses, as pointed out by Creative Healthcare Management, can walk 4 to 5 miles during a 12-hour shift? That’s a lot, especially when you consider that the average American walks only 2.5 to 3 miles a day! This shows how hard nurses work.
You could talk about this in your essay. It could help show that you understand how demanding nursing can be. You could use this fact to show that you’re ready to work hard and stay dedicated to your career.
You could also tell a story about what it would be like to walk 4 to 5 miles every 12 hours as a nurse. This could make your essay more interesting and show that you’re excited about the work you’ll be doing. Remember, being a nurse is about more than just walking a lot. It’s about helping people and making a difference. And that’s something to be proud of!
A High Number of Different Nursing Specialties
Did you know there are over 100 different types of nursing jobs? Some nurses are anesthetists, and some are midwives. You could talk about these different jobs in your essay. Just remember to stay focused on the main point of your essay.
These different nursing jobs show how many opportunities there are in the world today. You could talk about how you plan to use these opportunities to help others. Maybe you want to help your classmates understand what the anesthetics teacher is saying. Or maybe you want to study hard to reduce the number of deaths in another specific field in nursing.
Remember, opportunities don’t come around often. As the saying goes, “Opportunity only knocks once.” So, this is your chance to take action and make the most of this opportunity. Show that you’re ready to step up and make a difference in the world of nursing. That’s what your essay should be all about.
Conclusion
You have now reached the end of our blog post. It is our sincere hope that you have learned a lot from reading this article. Remember to adhere to the recommendations we outlined given by Eva Ostrum and Michele Hernandez.
All the best in the writing of your nursing essay!
FAQ
What should I write about in my nursing essay?
When writing your nursing essay, the most important thing is to be yourself. Show the best and most honest version of yourself. There’s no set topic you have to write about. This is your chance to be creative and show who you really are. Remember, the goal is to let the admissions officers get to know you and see your passion.
How do you write an introduction for a nursing essay?
When you’re writing an introduction, there are two key things to focus on. First, you need to create a hook. This is something interesting that grabs the reader’s attention and makes them want to keep reading. Second, you need to write a strong thesis statement. This is a sentence that sums up the main point of your essay.
These two steps are important for any essay, not just a nursing essay. So, start with a hook to draw the reader in, and then present your thesis to give them an idea of what to expect.
What does a nursing essay look like?
There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to writing a nursing essay. It’s all about your own creativity and personal touch. What works for one person might not work for another. For this reason, nursing essays will look and sound different but all successful ones will be 100% honest.
So, feel free to be as creative as you can when writing your nursing essay. Remember, the goal is to express your unique perspective and passion for nursing. So, don’t be afraid to let your personality shine through.
