nursing application essay tips

10 Tips on Writing a Nursing School Admission Essay

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Your essay is a crucial part of your application, as it allows the admissions committee to learn more about you, your passion for nursing, and your goals.

In this article, I’ll share some of my best tips on writing a standout nursing school admission essay.

Tips for Writing a Nursing School Admission Essay

1. understand the prompt.

Before you start writing, make sure you understand the essay prompt or question. Take the time to read and analyze it carefully to know exactly what the admissions committee is looking for in your essay.

The prompt may ask you to discuss your reasons for choosing nursing as a career. It may ask you about your experiences and accomplishments that have prepared you for nursing school. Maybe your future goals as a nurse.

To fully grasp the prompt, break it down into smaller components and consider each part separately.

For example, if the prompt asks you to describe a challenging situation you’ve faced and how you overcame it, think about what the admissions committee wants to learn about you through this question.

They might be interested in your problem-solving skills, your resilience, or your ability to learn from difficult experiences. Understanding the underlying purpose of the prompt will help you craft a more focused and relevant response.

Additionally, research the nursing school you’re applying to, as this can provide valuable context for your essay. Learn about the school’s mission, values, and the qualities they seek in their students.

This information can help you tailor your essay to align with the nursing program’s expectations and showcase your fit for the school.

2. Plan and outline your essay

Creating an outline for your essay is a crucial step in writing. Organizing your thoughts and ideas into a logical structure helps ensure your essay flows smoothly and stays focused on the main topic.

An outline can also save you time and prevent writer’s block by giving you a roadmap to follow as you write your essay.

Start by brainstorming the main points you want to cover in your essay. Think about how these points relate to the prompt and how they support your overall message. Once you have a list of ideas, prioritize them based on their importance and relevance to the prompt.

Next, organize your ideas into a logical order. An essay typically has an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion.

In the introduction, you’ll want to capture the reader’s attention and introduce your main point or thesis statement.

The body paragraphs will expand on your main point, providing evidence and examples to support your argument.

Finally, the conclusion will summarize your main points and provide a closing thought.

Create a subheading or bullet point for each body paragraph in your outline.

Underneath each subheading, jot down a few notes or key phrases you’ll expand upon in the paragraph.

This will give you a clear structure to follow as you write, ensuring that each paragraph stays focused on a single topic and contributes to your overall message.

Remember that your outline is a flexible tool. As you write, you may need to adjust your outline to better fit your ideas or to more effectively address the essay prompt.

Don’t be afraid to revise your outline as needed to create the strongest essay possible.

3. Start with a strong introduction

Your introduction should grab the reader’s attention and set the tone for the rest of your essay.

It’s essential to make a strong first impression, as the introduction will shape the reader’s perception of your essay and determine whether they continue reading with interest or not.

To create a captivating introduction, consider starting with a compelling anecdote, a thought-provoking question, or a powerful statement that relates to your main point or thesis.

This “hook” should engage your audience and make them want to read more.

For example, you might share a personal story about a meaningful experience that inspired your passion for nursing or ask a question that challenges common misconceptions about the nursing profession.

Once you’ve captured the reader’s attention, provide some context for your essay and introduce your main point or thesis statement.

This statement should clearly and concisely convey the central idea you’ll explore throughout your essay.

It serves as a roadmap for your reader, guiding them through the main points you’ll cover in your essay and helping them understand your overall argument.

4. Be authentic

When writing your nursing school admission essay, your storytelling must be authentic and genuine. The admissions committee wants to learn about the real you, not just a polished, idealized version of yourself.

Being honest about your experiences, goals, and aspirations will create a more compelling and memorable essay that stands out from the competition.

Don’t be afraid to be vulnerable ( within reason, of course ) and share your personal story, including any challenges or obstacles you’ve faced along the way.

This can demonstrate your resilience, perseverance, and growth as an individual. Remember that nobody’s perfect, and the admissions committee isn’t expecting you to be either.

They want to see your passion for nursing and your commitment to overcoming adversity in pursuit of your goals.

Also, avoid using cliches or generic statements that could apply to any nursing school applicant. Instead, focus on what makes you unique and why you’re an excellent fit for the nursing program you’re applying to.

This might include your background, personal experiences, specific nursing interests, or long-term career aspirations.

5. Show, don’t tell

One of the most effective ways to make your essay engaging and memorable is to use descriptive language and vivid examples to illustrate your points.

This technique, known as “showing, not telling,” allows the reader to visualize your experiences and emotions, making your essay more compelling and personal.

For example, instead of simply stating that you’re compassionate and empathetic, show the reader how you’ve demonstrated these qualities in your life.

You might describe a specific situation where you provided emotional support to a friend going through a difficult time or volunteered at a nursing home, connecting with residents on a personal level.

When using examples, be specific and focus on the details that will help the reader understand and relate to your experiences.

This will not only make your essay more engaging but also provide evidence that supports your claims about your personal qualities and experiences.

6. Stay focused

It’s essential to keep your essay focused on the prompt and avoid going off on unrelated tangents.

Including irrelevant information or anecdotes can distract the reader and weaken your overall message.

To maintain focus, continually refer back to the essay prompt as you write and ensure that each paragraph contributes to your main point or thesis statement.

When writing your essay, resist the temptation to include every detail about your life or accomplishments.

Instead, select the most relevant and impactful experiences that directly relates to the prompt and showcase your suitability for the nursing program.

By staying focused and concise, you’ll demonstrate your ability to communicate effectively, a crucial skill for nursing professionals.

7. Be concise

Adhering to the word limit for your essay and being concise in your writing are important aspects of crafting a strong nursing school admission essay.

Admissions committees review many essays, so keeping yours clear, focused, and easy to read is essential.

To be concise, focus on presenting your ideas and experiences clearly and straightforwardly.

Avoid using overly complex language, jargon, or unnecessary filler words. Instead, choose words and phrases that accurately convey your message without being overly verbose.

When editing your essay, look for areas where you can eliminate repetition or condense your ideas without losing the overall meaning.

This may involve rephrasing sentences, removing redundant words, or combining ideas into a single, cohesive statement.

Being concise will make it easier for the admissions committee to understand and appreciate your essay, increasing your chances of making a positive impression.

8. Edit and proofread

Carefully editing and proofreading your essay is essential to making a strong impression on the admissions committee.

A polished, well-written essay demonstrates your attention to detail and commitment to excellence.

First, take a break after completing your initial draft to give yourself some distance from your work. This will make it easier to approach your essay with fresh eyes and a more objective perspective.

When you’re ready to begin editing, read your essay out loud to yourself or have someone else read it to you. This can help you identify awkward phrasing, unclear sentences, and areas that need improvement.

As you edit, focus on your essay’s overall structure, coherence, and flow.

Make sure your paragraphs transition smoothly from one idea to the next, and ensure that your evidence and examples effectively support your main points.

Remove any repetitive or irrelevant content, and revise vague or confusing sentences.

Once you’ve made revisions to the content and organization of your essay, proofread it carefully for grammar, punctuation, and spelling errors.

You can use an online grammar checker like Grammarly, but don’t rely solely on these tools.

They can miss errors or suggest incorrect changes, so it’s essential to review your essay carefully yourself or enlist the help of someone with strong writing skills.

9. Get feedback

Seeking feedback on your essay from trusted friends, family members, or mentors can provide valuable insights and suggestions for improvement.

When you’re immersed in the writing process, it’s easy to overlook issues or become attached to certain ideas. Getting an outside perspective can help you identify areas that need clarification or revision.

When you ask for feedback, be specific about the type of input you’re looking for.

For example, you might ask your reviewer to focus on the clarity of your main point, the effectiveness of your examples, or the overall organization of your essay.

Encourage them to provide honest constructive criticism and be open to their suggestions.

Take the time to thoughtfully consider the feedback you receive and decide which suggestions to incorporate into your essay.

10. Give yourself time

Avoid waiting until the last minute to write your essay.

Giving yourself plenty of time to brainstorm, write, edit, and revise will help you submit the best possible essay with your nursing school application.

Rushing through the process can lead to mistakes, missed opportunities, and an essay that doesn’t effectively showcase your passion and potential as a future nurse.

Create a timeline for your essay-writing process that includes deadlines for brainstorming, outlining, writing, revising, and proofreading deadlines.

This will help you stay on track and ensure that you’re dedicating the necessary time and effort to each stage of the writing process.

Additionally, giving yourself ample time allows for breaks, which can help you maintain your focus and motivation as you work on your essay.

Be Successful in Nursing School

Writing a standout nursing school admission essay is a critical step in your journey to becoming a nurse, but it’s not the last step. Once you get in, you’ll want to have the right tools to be successful.

Have You Read These Yet?

• How to Go to Nursing School and Work Full Time
• How to Apply to Nursing School
• How to Become a Nurse Right After High School
• What Math Classes Are Required For Nursing School?

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• Ask Nurse Thomas

How to Write an Admission Essay for Nursing School

The nursing school admission process is rigorous. One of the critical requirements for new applicants is an application essay, and writing a compelling nursing essay will give you a major head start over other nursing school candidates.

Once you have figured out why you want to be a nurse, all your memories, accomplishments, ambitions, and goals will align. Therefore, writing an essay on why you are interested in becoming a nurse and selecting a specific nursing college or university allows the admissions team to understand why they should choose you over other candidates.

A well-written, organized, and polished nursing school essay automatically increases your chances of acceptance. With thousands of applications destined for assessment and judgment by the admissions committee, you would want to make your application essay for the nursing school admission stand out.

We have admission essay-writing experts and consultants who, luckily, have compiled this intensive guide to help you write an intentional, focused, and perfect essay for nursing school.

Note: If you are in a hurry or you need direct assistance in writing your nursing college essay, please place an order and let our expert essay writers craft for you an original, engaging, and compelling nursing essay!

What Is a Nursing School Essay?

A nursing school essay is a written piece that demonstrates your interest in a nursing career and elaborates why you are the perfect fit for a specific nursing program.

Most nursing schools (colleges and universities) require aspiring students to write an application essay for nursing school admission. It is a personal essay submitted as part of the application process, which the admission officers review to determine if you can be accepted.

A good nursing school essay shows your interest in the nursing field, your chosen career path, why you want to pursue your nursing education through a specific nursing school program, and why you believe you should be accepted into the institution. It has to show why the entire process is crucial to you and why you are a worthy candidate to select for the nursing school program.

Sometimes, it is the only hope one has left, especially if the competition is stiff. Imagine a situation where the application materials such as grades, resumes, test scores, or recommendation letters are all qualified; a nursing school essay will be the only means to select the best out of the rest fairly.

Writing a perfect nursing essay will demonstrate that you are ready to go down the thorny path of training to become a nurse. Nursing education entails research and writing assignments, and a well-written essay demonstrates your readiness.

Helpful Information to Include in a Nursing Admission Essay

You are probably wondering what goes into an application essay for nursing school admission. Well, your nursing essay will answer an essay prompt from the university. Most colleges will specify the essay questions for college of nursing applicants for various levels of study (MSN, DNP, BSN, Ph.D., or ADN).

Below are some examples of what might be expected:

• Your goals and ambitions for a successful nursing career
• How do you plan to achieve your academic goals
• The specific reasons why you want to join the nursing field
• Reasons you are selecting the particular nursing school or program
• Personal accomplishments that set you apart as the right candidate
• Experiences and encounters that make you love nursing career
• Plans for the future once accepted
• Experience with medical training or patient care
• Character traits aligned to being a nurse
• How you are prepared to become a successful nurse
• Academic, personal, and career interests
• Any other reasons to convince the admissions committee to approve your admission

In some quarters, a nursing school application essay might be a statement of purpose, personal essay, or letter of intent. It is a chance to plead with the admissions committee to accept you into your dream nursing college or program. Having looked at what goes into it, it is also essential to cover the steps to writing a perfect and comprehensive admission essay for nursing school.

Structure of a Nursing School Essay

A nursing essay for admission into a nursing program or school follows the typical format of an academic essay. It is organized into three main sections: introduction, body, and conclusion.

Introduction

• This is the opening paragraph that has to impress your readers (admissions officers)
• It can make or break your admission essay or personal statement
• It should be direct to the point
• It is a roadmap that helps the readers to know what to expect as your story grows.
• Open it using an enticing quote, event, anecdote, or statement
• You are allowed to use personal pronouns such as I in the introduction and the rest of the essay
• It has 2- 3 and sometimes five paragraphs
• Elaborates the introduction
• Every paragraph has a unique opening sentence that is a mini-thesis statement.
• Bears the best ideas yielded in your brainstorming session
• It can be as long as your word limit allows but contributes to at least 70-80% of the word count
• Focuses on quality over quantity
• Has one idea or experience per paragraph
• You should mention the skills you intend to develop and how they will help you become a successful nurse
• Connect the skills and experiences to the program and your future career
• Summarize and emphasize the main ideas
• It should be captivating and insightful
• Conveys a sense of closure to the readers
• Invites the readers to reflect on the ideas in your essay
• Creates one last lasting impression on the readers

Outline for a Nursing School Essay

A good nursing school essay outline should give you directions that help you visualize what the essay will look like in its final draft.

If you are writing a nursing essay, having the outline is the first thing you do after brainstorming (as shown in the steps).

It helps you to figure out how to arrange the ideas and points in the essay for a better flow. You can develop each section independently, regardless of the sequence, and still have a quality essay. 

In most cases, the outline is meant for personal consumption, especially when writing a personal statement. However, if you are writing a nursing essay on a given nursing topic , you might be required to write an outline, annotated bibliography , and the nursing essay , and each will be graded separately.

Given the structure, you can outline your nursing school essay as follows:

    Introduction paragraph

• Hook (quote, statement, or anecdote)
• Background information
• Thesis statement
• Transition sentence

    Body paragraph 1

• Topic sentence
• Evidence, data, and facts
• Transition to the second body paragraph

    Body paragraph 2

• Transition to the third body paragraph

    Body paragraph 3

• Transition to the conclusion

    Conclusion

• Summary of the main ideas
• Restate the thesis statement
• Last impression (call to action to the admissions committee)

Steps for Writing a Nursing School Essay

Optimizing your application essay increases your chance of getting accepted into the nursing program or nursing school. The essay should elaborate on your person (who you are as an individual) by providing a comprehensive perspective of your career ambitions, goals, and plans related to your passion for nursing. You should elaborate to the admissions committee why you are a good fit for their nursing program. Students at the ADN, BSN, ABSN (Accelerated BSN), MSN, DNP, or Ph.D. might be required to write an admission or personal essay, and here are the five steps to make it successful.

• Read the prompt
• Brainstorm for ideas
• Plan your essay
• Write the first draft
• Edit and Polish your Essay

Let's explore all these steps before delving into the tips to help you write the essay better.

Read the Prompt

If you are considering applying to a specific nursing school, you need to begin by researching the application process to know when you will be expected to submit your application essay.

In most cases, the nursing schools have essay prompts and instructions for the potential nursing candidates published on their websites. The prompts might vary depending on the programs you are interested in pursuing and the institutional preferences. Therefore, it is vital to begin by locating the nursing school essay guidelines. A quick search online can help, or you will also find it enclosed in the email sent to you by the school's admissions committee.

Read the instructions thoroughly with a specific focus on the essay question, word limit, and topics you must cover. If you apply to many nursing schools, you should locate and read each prompt before moving to the next steps.

Reading and understanding the instructions is the first step in writing an excellent application essay. Besides, it helps you to customize the essay to the requirements and not the other way around.

Brainstorm for Ideas

Now that you know what is expected of you, you need to decide what to include in your nursing essay to make it stand out. For this, get into an idea-generation marathon where you brainstorm ideas based on the prompt and the requirements.

Give every idea a thoughtful consideration and make shorthand notes so that you have all the ideas condensed. Consider your ambitions, accomplishments, drive, passion, preferences, strengths, weaknesses, character traits, and other attributes that might relate to your urge to pursue nursing as a career.

Also, research the nursing program and relate it to your personal ambitions and desires. Such information will help you spot the specific things you like about it. You can then tailor your experiences and encounters to the requirements. Look at the program's website and examine 2-3 aspects that stand out. This will help you focus on what you have that makes you the best pick for the program. You can also reference experiences, events, or traits related to the program.

Consider the environment and people around you and relate them to your desire to become a nurse.

Experiences, encounters, and events can inspire ideas to pen into your nursing school essay.

You can also research some well-written examples of nursing personal statements and essays to get inspired when brainstorming ideas for yours. Besides, you can also ask people in your network, such as family, friends, or peers, for ideas that can stand out and then choose the best.

To get the most robust ideas, rate them depending on how best they answer the prompt; this is the fodder for the entire application essay. Choose 3-5 strongest points and make them the central focus of your essay.

Plan your Essay

As a nurse, planning is everything, even when it comes to clinical decision-making. And because you are destined for this noble career, planning your personal essay won't hurt. Instead, it helps you know what to put and where to engage the admission officers from the beginning to the end of your nursing school essay.

With the ideas in mind, create a rough outline and adjust it until you are fully satisfied that your thoughts, facts, and opinions are well-organized. The outline will help you to structure your essay, avoid derailing it, and write a draft that bears all the quality ideas.

A good step is to organize the essay into paragraphs that align with the word count (often given as the minimum or maximum number of words, exact number of words, or characters).

Include an introduction to give your readers a clear understanding of the focus of your essay. Yes, a good nursing essay has a thesis statement that shows your central claim or the main idea you are focusing on the entire essay.

You should include the body paragraphs, each with a topic sentence supporting the thesis and a series of supporting facts such as examples, evidence, and illustration.

Finally, include a conclusion as the last paragraph that reverberates the thesis, summarizes the essay, and has a call to action to the admissions committee.

Write the First Draft

After the outline, you must begin writing your essay sentence by sentence and paragraph after paragraph. Whatever approach you take, ensure that every detail covered in the outline ends up in your essay as long as it is valid.

Write the introduction paragraph by giving a hook or attention grabber. You can begin with a quote from a famous nurse or a scholarly nursing article. You can also state facts or give statistics if they matter to your application. You should also elaborate on your selected topic, especially if the prompt provides options. End your first paragraph with a thesis statement that describes the focus of your nursing school essay. The introduction should account for 10-15% of the word count.

Each body paragraph has a unique, unmistakable, and concise topic sentence followed by supporting details and a concluding sentence that transitions to the next paragraph. Ensure that you have at least two body paragraphs considering that you can write either a three-paragraph or a five-paragraph nursing essay. Collectively, the body section should be 70-80% of the essay's word count. The body paragraphs should outline your encounters, experiences, and events and how they relate to the specific nursing program.

The final part is the conclusion, where you summarize the main ideas in the essay. for this, avoid the clich� conclusion starters such as "in conclusion," "to sum up," or "in summary." Instead, use conclusion opening sentences that demonstrate to your reader that the essay has ended � it gives the best closure and helps close the information loop in your essay. Rephrase your thesis and summarize the main ideas before appealing to the admissions committee to accept you into their nursing program. It should be 10-15% of the word count, like the introduction paragraph.

Edit and Polish the Essay

Now that you are done with your first draft, it is only the beginning, and you are far from being done. You need to take a break to cool down your frustrations, anxiety, and adrenaline developed when writing. It is a chance to establish an objective mind to look at things from a broader perspective when you settle for editing and proofreading.

If you are not good with editing and proofreading, you can hire a professional proofreading and editing expert to look at your essay and suggest changes to make. You can also use friends and family as a second and third eye to see what you cannot see. Using their feedback will help you optimize the essay for better results. You can incorporate the suggestions and proceed to editing and proofreading.

As for editing and proofreading, you can take advantage of tools such as Grammarly, Ginger, Hemingway Editor, and other editing and proofreading tools available by students and professionals. Revise the essay until it meets the requirements and addresses the prompt. If anything, do not be afraid to do away with an entire paragraph or a few paragraphs that don't make sense.

It is better to start over again than submit a subpar nursing school essay that will be a laughingstock of the admissions committee. The only way to entertain the admissions officers is to write an outstanding nursing school essay that will automatically dial you into the nursing program of your choice. Best of luck!

Example of Nursing School Essay Prompts

• Discuss your interest and understanding of the clinical nurse leader role. What's your story? And what experiences have contributed to your interest?
• The DNP program aims to prepare nurse leaders at the highest level of nursing practice to improve patient outcomes and translate research into practice. Describe experiences that exhibit your formal leadership role or informal leadership skills.
• How will the program help you achieve your academic and career goals?
• What experiences have influenced your interest in pursuing a clinical specialty you have chosen?
• The DNP program aims to prepare nurse leaders at the highest level of nursing practice to improve patient outcomes and translate research into practice. Describe experiences that exhibit your leadership skills.
• Why have you chosen to pursue a nursing research doctorate?
• How does becoming a nurse fulfill your ambitions?
• What does becoming a nurse mean to you?
• What drives you to become a nurse?
• Why do you want to become a nurse?
• What is your nursing philosophy?
• What was your reason for choosing nursing as a career? Do you have any additional information that you would like the admissions committee to know about you that has not been previously considered in the application?
• What are your professional goals? How will this accelerated nursing program help you materialize those goals?
• Discuss a specific leadership position (e.g., manager, director, associate dean) you wish to attain within three to five years after completing the DNP program.

Note: Some of these prompts have been rephrased from the Rush University Website . They keep changing depending on the preferences of the admissions committee. Inquire with your university or college of nursing to get specific directions on the most current prompts and instructions.

Related Reading: Ideas for a nursing capstone project.

Tips for Writing an Effective Nursing School Admission Essay

When grades, test scores, and other material entries don't count , a nursing school essay, referred to as a personal statement, suffices. In this case, a great nursing school can only be your hope for getting into nursing school. If you want to get ahead of the competition, these proven tips will significantly help you.

1. Plan Well

To pen an excellent nursing school essay that gets you accepted, you need to plan the essay.

Read the instructions, brainstorm as you take notes, research widely, and create an outline.

And even when done, the purpose is to have a reverse outline to help you score the essay against the requirements. Planning helps you to know what attention-grabbing statement to begin the essay with, the sequence of the body paragraph ideas for a logical flow, and what specifics to include in the conclusion.

Having an outline will help you save time when writing the first draft and help you to stay focused when writing.

2. Show, Don't Tell!

All effective nursing school essays express your personality, experiences, and encounters while convincing the admissions officers that you are the best fit for the program.

You should not focus on telling your story alone. Instead, show how your account relates to the prompt.

Discuss experiences, encounters, and events but show how they have impacted your choice of the program and desire to become a nurse.

If you are applying to a specific program, enlighten your readers on why you are specifically interested in the program and what that means.

It could be the hybrid learning model that entails both online and classroom learning or the history or reputation the school has, parental preferences (if they were a graduate), mentor recommendation, etc.

3. Choose Information Wisely

Ensure that every idea or information in your essay is unique, authentic, and original. Don't just write fictitiously.

If you have no past experiences directly related to nursing, you can introduce them and twist them to fit the context.

Impress the admissions committee with your wits, not just a summary of what others have written online.

Standing out in your presentation of facts will always carry the day. Genuinely share your story about what made you want to become a nurse.

4. Avoid Excuses

Even if you don't have appealing past encounters with medicine, hospitals, or anything related to nursing, tell your story as it is.

Do not excuse yourself for telling the truth. After all, you are on your journey to becoming a nurse; all you are seeking is training to develop the knowledge and skills.

If you have cared for your family members at home, babysat your siblings, or have compassion for the suffering, these are the most authentic stories you have, and they can spell meaning on your ambition. Therefore, prove your strong candidature by stating things as they are without clutching at things that do not matter.

5. Let it Flow!

Instead of forcing things such as humor or stories, write plainly about your experiences, encounters, and past events that made you want to become a nurse.

Most "why I want to be a nurse" essays don't have to have any humor. If it clicks well and is good, if it doesn't, don't force it.

As well, avoid exaggerating things when writing your nursing school essay. You should focus on making it as interesting, engaging, and convincing as can be but be truthful.

Avoid mixing up stories. A good way is to focus each paragraph on the main point that relates to your thesis.

6. Show you care about People and Yourself

Nursing is a noble career that entails caring for oneself as you care for others. Your full-time attention and job will be to care for people to help them achieve better health outcomes.

You must show empathy, selflessness, and determination to be a nurse. You can bring examples of when you took care of others and yourself.

Let the committee know that even when training as a nurse, you understand self-care as much as you understand caring for others.

7. Bring in Current Issues

If there is a chance that you can introduce nursing concepts or ideas from current events, it will beef up your nursing school essays.

Get facts from well-established nursing organization websites such as the American Nurses Association, National League of Nursing, Emergency Nurses Association, Sigma Theta Tau, or National Black Nurses Association, etc.

Intrigue your readers by understanding the challenges and opportunities in the nursing field.

You can relate your application to nursing shortages, medical errors, nursing burnout, continuing education, evidence-based practice, etc.

8. Briefly Explain your Qualifications

Since you have already provided material such as transcripts, resumes, and test scores, it is imperative to briefly expound on the qualifications without going into details. Tell them about your experiences, your education, and how you have set yourself up for success in nursing school . For instance, elaborate on how volunteering and internships helped you develop a sense of becoming a nurse or how they developed skills you will apply in nursing school.

9. Share your plans

Everybody has plans. You have short, medium, and long-term goals as you prepare to enter nursing school. You should include them in your essay and demonstrate how the program or school will help you achieve them. Admission officers are always wowed by hearing about goals, especially if they relate to their schools or programs. As you do this, be very specific with the goals and how you intend to achieve them.

All set, but before You Go �

As you contemplate entering nursing school, you must understand that it will never be a walk in the park. There is so much to learn within the specified time frame, and you must show your preparedness. A nursing school personal essay is one of the ways to do so.

Related Article:

• Writing a nursing philosophy ( a student's guide)
• Writing a nursing student resume (a guide)

Lucky for you, our nursing admission essay writers have shared insights, tips, and steps that can help you write an exceptional application essay for any nursing school or program. If you follow them, you will write a seamless admission essay that increases your chances of getting into the nursing school of your dreams.

We wish you luck in your endeavors and promise that were available in case you need a well-written, organized, and plagiarism-free admission essay tailored to your experiences and the specific nursing school or program requirements.

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Tips for Writing Your Nursing Program College Essays

This article was written based on the information and opinions presented by Giebien Na in a CollegeVine livestream. You can watch the full livestream for more info.

What’s Covered:

The importance of your college essays, general advice for writing your nursing essays.

If you know you want to be a nurse, you probably have quite a few reasons for that. Instead of merely relying on your academic and test performances to tell your story, you get the opportunity in your essays to share exactly why you’re so passionate about nursing. Writing about this can be a clarifying and even exciting process. This article explains why college application essays matter and how you should write about why you want to become a nurse.

Grades and test scores matter when you’re applying to college, but your essays can help improve your chances of admission. They’re how you can express your experiences and make your desire to become a nurse clear and personal.

If your prospective school doesn’t have supplemental essays, it’s a good idea to include your interest in nursing in your Common App essay . This could mean that you end up with two different drafts of the essay: one for if there are supplemental essays where you can discuss your interests in nursing and one for if there are not. You’ll change them out depending on whether you also have to respond to specific prompts about why you want to pursue nursing. This may not sound like much fun, but it will help you be admitted to your school of choice.

It might seem exciting to apply to a place where you don’t have to write extra essays—it’s less work! If you don’t do that additional work, though, you’ll have fewer chances to explain yourself. You might not be able to share exactly why you think that you’re the right fit for a certain college or program. 

If you are writing supplemental essays for the colleges that you’re interested in, you can include more details about your passion for nursing. You’ll often be asked, “why this major?” or “why this school?” When you have those opportunities to share your specific reasons, you can let yourself get personal and go deep into your passion. Use that space to share important details about who you are.

Start Broad

When writing essays entirely about why you want to pursue nursing , try to start from a broad interest, then slowly work your way to telling specific personal stories and goals. 

When first thinking about your general interest in nursing, ask yourself what attracts you to the work of being a nurse. This can lead to powerful potential responses. Maybe you like taking care of people in the community. Perhaps you’ve always known that you wanted to make a difference in the healthcare profession, but you don’t want to be a doctor. You’d rather make patients’ healthcare experiences as comfortable and pleasant as possible. 

After you’ve described these broad, overarching motivations for wanting to go into nursing, consider any personal experiences that have made you want to be a nurse. Think about moments you’ve had during hospital visits or checkups or an anecdote from a time that you decided to volunteer in a healthcare role. Once you’ve written these stories, you can end the essay by discussing your planned major and career goals.

Discuss Your Future Goals

If you know what your end goal is, be sure to include it. You can write about becoming a registered nurse or maybe a nurse practitioner. It doesn’t have to be set in stone , but sharing a final ambition can help anchor your personal narrative. Writing about the future that you want can help the admissions officer reading your essay see how you view yourself. If they can do this, they’ll better understand your values and motivations and see you as a real candidate for their school. 

You don’t have to follow this pattern exactly. For example, it can be powerful to begin your essay in the middle of the action—you can dive right into an anecdote and get the reader interested in your story from the jump. 

While you should avoid dramatization, starting with a few clear, memorable scenes or a line or two of dialogue can make for an instantly interesting essay. All of this helps you show your passion, rather than simply explaining what intrigues you about a nursing career. 

Once you’ve led with your narrative, though, remember to ground it in clear reasons for your intended career and what you want your future to look like. A good essay will be balanced between the past, present, and future. It’s how a college will see who you are and everything that you have to offer.

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Tips on Writing a Nursing School Admission Essay

When it comes to getting into nursing school, a good admission essay is at the center of the decision. An admission essay can help or hurt students who wish to get into nursing school. The essay is not only about the content but about other important components that let the admission board know that students are serious about entering their programs and that they will be valuable assets as well. It is important for potential nursing students to know that there are important elements needed to write the perfect admission essay to get into nursing school.

How to Write a Nursing School Application Essay

The application essay is a requirement that applicants must complete as a part of the admission packet. Some call this essay the personal essay, letter of intent, or statements of purpose. In essence, the application essay is the applicant’s chance to plea with the admission board for admission into their nursing program. Applicants explain their reasons for becoming nurses and explain why this program can help them achieve their dreams.

It is important to know what elements are needed to write a successful application essay. One of the most important things that applicants need to remember is to plan the essay carefully. Making an outline of important items to include is very important to the success of the essay. It is important to adhere to the length of the essay so that the board does not throw it out. If the application says 500 to 1000 words, it means just that and nothing more or less. The applicant should include information about accomplishments in the applicant’s life and the hopeful accomplishments for the future.

Applicants should only include a short personal statement about them and reserve the majority of the essay for information about experiences that have shaped them. They should use other parts of the application to cover information that does not make the applicant stand out from other applicants. Remember, admission officers read numerous essays so it is important to stand out from other applicants.

Provide a structurally sound application. Make sure that the application essay has the proper spelling, format, and grammatical structure before turning in the finished product. An essay with errors will make the officers believe that the applicant may not be a desirable nurse. Keep the paragraphs short so that they are easy to read for the officers.

What to Include in a Nursing School Essay

A nursing school applicant should include the following in the nursing school essay:

• Things that interest the applicant about the nursing industry
• Reasons for choosing the specific nursing program
• A clear view of the future vision of the applicant
• Previous preparation to become a successful nurse
• Superior personal accomplishments and standouts (test scores, transcripts, etc.)
• Experience with medical training and patient care (volunteer opportunities, internships, etc.)
• Academic interests
• Character traits that focus on desires and strengths to become a nurse
• Reasons the officers should accept the application

Tips on How to Write a Nursing School Application Essay

The purpose of the admissions essay is to prove that the application is a worthy selection for the nursing program. Applicants are only allowed a few words to tell their personal stories, but their rejection or acceptance depends on it. The following tips will help applicants write a successful nursing school application essay:

• Choose information wisely. Make sure that the information included paints a vivid picture of past and future accomplishments so that the admissions officers are impressed.
• Select a strong essay topic. Applicants want to be remembered for their essay well after the officers have read it. Make sure to stay on the topic and provide strong supporting information within the paragraphs.
• Provide a glimpse of the applicant’s life. The admissions officers do not want to be bored with the mundane details but rather the important things that make the applicant unique.
• Intrigue the reading in the first few lines. Capture the essay reader within the first few lines so that they want to continue reading.
• Make sure the essay has structure. The essay should include an introduction, body, and conclusion that is easy to read and understand. Make sure to add a memorable statement to the conclusion so that the essay readers do not forget the essay.

The application essay is a very important aspect of the nursing school application process. It can make or break the chance that an applicant gets into nursing school. The applicant should plan accordingly before writing the essay and make sure that it is rich with intriguing information. It is important to make sure that the essay is error free. This is the only chance that an applicant has to impress the admission board.

Thinking about going to Nursing School?

Are you contemplating going to nursing school, or are you actually in nursing school right now? Nursing school can be challenging, especially if you do not know what to expect. Here is a great guide by S. L. Page BSN, RN called “ How to Pass Nursing School “. This book gives you detailed information about how to pass nursing school from beginning to end. S.L. Page, the creator of this website, complied all the information students what to know about nursing school into one easy to read guide. She gives in depth information on how to succeed in nursing school.

S.L. Page graduated from nursing school with honors and passed the NCLEX-RN on her first try. In this ebook, she reveals the strategies she used to help her succeed.

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Your chance of acceptance, your chancing factors, extracurriculars, help with nursing school application essay.

I'm working on my application essay for nursing school and feeling a little stuck. What are some important topics or points that I should definitely cover in my essay? Any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated!

It's important to approach your nursing school application essay thoughtfully and strategically. Here are a few topics and points you should consider discussing in your essay, along with some tips to help you structure your response effectively:

1. Your motivation for choosing nursing: Begin by discussing your reasons for pursuing a nursing career. Share a personal story or experience that inspired your interest in nursing, and talk about how that experience relates to your long-term goals. Make sure your motivation is genuine and unique to you, as this will help your essay stand out.

2. Key qualities and skills: Highlight the relevant skills and personal qualities you possess that will help you excel as a nursing professional. These can include communication, problem-solving, empathy, adaptability, teamwork, and any other relevant characteristics or abilities. Provide specific examples of how you have demonstrated these qualities, preferably in a nursing or healthcare setting.

3. Academic and extracurricular achievements: Discuss your academic background, including any related coursework or certifications you have completed, and how these experiences have prepared you for nursing school. Additionally, mention any extracurricular activities or involvement, such as volunteering at a hospital, that have contributed to your growth and preparedness for a nursing career.

4. Understanding of the nursing profession: Show that you have done research and have a strong understanding of what it means to be a nurse. Address the complexities, challenges, and rewards of the profession, and explain how you are prepared to navigate these aspects of the career.

5. Goals and vision: Articulate your short- and long-term goals as a nurse, and how attending the nursing program you're applying to will help you achieve these objectives. Be specific about the aspects of the program that appeal to you and how they relate to your goals for professional growth and development.

Tips for structuring your essay:

- Keep your essay focused and concise, adhering to the required word count or page limit.

- Use a clear and logical structure, with an introduction, body paragraphs addressing the topics above, and a conclusion.

- Be authentic and honest, allowing your personality to come through in your writing.

- Revise and proofread carefully, checking for grammar, punctuation, and spelling errors, as well as clarity and flow.

Remember, your essay is your chance to show the admissions committee who you are as an individual, beyond your grades and test scores. Make sure to highlight your passion, dedication, and preparedness for a nursing career, and your essay will undoubtedly make a strong impression. Good luck with your application!

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How to write a personal statement for nursing school.

Reviewed by:

Jonathan Preminger

Former Admissions Committee Member, Hofstra-Northwell School of Medicine

Reviewed: 6/19/23

Writing a personal statement for nursing school can be a daunting task, but we’re here to help! Here’s everything you need to know about writing a personal statement for nursing school.

Writing your personal statement is a nerve-wracking experience, no matter what program you’re applying for . You may be wondering: “what are nursing schools looking for in a personal statement?” or, “how can I make my personal statement for nursing school stand out?” Lucky for you, we’ve got some answers. 

Here we’ll cover everything you need to know about writing a personal statement for nursing school. We’ve included a breakdown of the components to include, examples of nursing school personal statements, and tips to improve your own. 

Let’s get started!

Get The Ultimate Guide on Writing an Unforgettable Personal Statement

What Is a Nursing School Personal Statement?

When applying to nursing schools , you’ll most likely notice that most applications require a personal statement. A personal statement is a short essay, typically no longer than two pages, that tells your target schools a little bit about who you are. 

Each school has different expectations for the length and contents of your personal statement, so make sure to check the specific requirements of your target schools. Some common topics include your personal goals for nursing school and why you want to become a nurse.

Nursing School Personal Statement Format

Before writing your personal statement for nursing school, you should plan out what you want to include. If your school does not ask you to answer a specific question with your essay, here is a list of what you should include in your nursing school personal statement.

An Introduction

The introductory paragraph should focus on what brought you to this point. Your school primarily wants to get to know you as a candidate through your personal statement. Your intro should include things like:

• How you first became interested in nursing
• What inspires you about becoming a nurse
• What you intend to achieve through a nursing degree

In this paragraph, your main goal is to introduce yourself and give the admissions committee a bit of background on your passion for nursing. Perhaps you have a family member who inspired you to pursue nursing, you grew up near a hospital, or you’ve struggled with health issues yourself - these are all great examples of an origin story. 

Think to yourself: “If my journey into nursing school was a movie, how would it begin?”

Body Paragraph(s)

In the body paragraph(s) of your nursing school personal statement, you can include a bit about your achievements. However, this isn’t the place to simply list your achievements. 

Think about how your experiences helped you to develop skills for nursing school . Include things like:

• How you’ve furthered your interest in nursing through experience (both in and out of school)
• How your achievements make you a good fit for the program
• Specific things about the program that interests you

The body portion of your essay should contain the majority of the information you want to include. Make sure to only include accomplishments if they help to explain how you’ll contribute to the program. Your CV will list any other achievements that don’t come into play here.

A Strong Conclusion

Your personal statement should end on a positive note. Think about summarizing your statement by looking toward the future. Include things like:

• Your future ambitions following nursing school
• What you’ll be able to contribute to the program 

The end of your body paragraph(s) should mention what you hope to achieve in the future with your nursing degree and lead into your conclusion. The final sentences of your personal statement should further state your passion for your program and how you’ll be a great fit at your target school. 

What Not to Write in a Personal Statement for Nursing School

Before getting into our tips and examples, let’s go over what not to include in your personal statement for nursing school. Here are some common mistakes to avoid when crafting your personal statement. 

Keep it Simple

Your personal statement should be authentic and genuine, but make sure to keep the brief in mind while you’re writing. As mentioned above, a personal statement is typically no longer than two pages in length. 

You should absolutely include some personal anecdotes; in fact, we encourage it! Just make sure to stick to the relevant parts of your story and not to elaborate too much on areas that are not relevant to your application. 

Do Not Reiterate Your CV

Your personal statement is an essay, not a resume. Keep in mind that your application already contains all of your achievements on your CV, transcripts, and other application materials. 

Your personal statement is about understanding your passion and motivations. You can use examples from your CV to further assert your interest in the program, but only if you can elaborate on how they’ve specifically helped you on your journey to nursing school. 

Tips for Writing a Stellar Nursing Personal Statement

Let’s go over a few tips on how you can improve your personal statement. Using these tips can help to make your personal statement and essays for your nursing school application stand out while remaining authentic and genuine. 

Create A Timeline

When writing your personal statement, your focus should be on telling your story. Creating a clear timeline of events can help to effectively tell the story of how you decided to apply for nursing. 

Start with how you became interested in nursing, develop your story with experiences that have cultivated your knowledge, and conclude by talking about your program and your future goals. A timeline will make your essay easy to read and give the admissions committee a good idea of your journey so far.

Stick To the Brief

If your target school(s) give you a specific prompt for your personal statement, make sure to refer back to the prompt while writing your essay to ensure you’re staying on track. 

For example, if your prompt asks you a question, be sure to answer the question at the beginning, the end, and throughout your essay. Your personal statement shouldn’t be vague or veer too far off course. 

Speak From the Heart

It is crucial in your nursing personal statement to share what makes you unique . This is your chance to show the admissions committee why you’d be a perfect fit in their program and demonstrate what you bring to the table. 

Include genuine experiences that have pushed you toward nursing throughout your life. Conveying your passions and motivations is critical in your personal statement for nursing school.

Do Your Research 

One great way to make your nursing personal statement stand out is to do thorough research on your program and include it in your piece. Showing your passion for the specific program. you’re applying to can give you an edge over others and impress the admissions committee. 

When you include your research, be sure to add it organically into your writing. Use your research as a way to connect your personal experiences to the program rather than simply listing information.

Nursing School Personal Statement Examples

Here are two nursing personal statement examples that were written successfully. We’ve also included explanations of how they are good examples to help you improve your own personal statement. 

*Important note: Do not use our samples in your nursing school application. These examples are meant to serve as a guide when crafting your own original personal statement for nursing school. 

Example #1: Indeed ’s Nursing School Personal Statement Sample

“I walked backward down the hill, my arms supporting the weight of the wheelchair as its wheels rolled slowly in reverse. Sunlight danced through the trees around us and shone in my grandmother's hair as she sat inside the wheelchair. I couldn't see my grandmother's face from that angle, but I could hear her laughing with joy as she enjoyed the outdoors for the first time in weeks. My grandmother came to live with my family two years ago after breaking her hip. Although she completed much of her recovery at our home, Nurse George came by every day to perform my grandmother's personal care tasks, monitor her vital signs and assist with her physical therapy exercises. George also taught me some basic patient care practices, such as how to support a wheelchair correctly while going downhill. I had never considered a career in nursing before, but George helped me see the rewards of helping people with their medical conditions and injuries. I am excited by this opportunity to apply to Fern Hill's College of Nursing because I appreciate your program's specialization in rehabilitation nursing. Being a part of my grandmother's recovery team has inspired me to pursue a nursing career that helps patients recover from injuries or medical conditions. I believe that your school's emphasis on assisting patients in regaining their independent skills can help me achieve these professional aspirations. Since realizing that I want to become a nurse, I have become a regular volunteer at Jefferson Rehabilitation Center. I mentor young people struggling with drug addictions and provide childcare for the children of rehabilitation patients. There is no feeling comparable to when a mentee or outgoing patient offers you a sincere "thank you." I can no longer imagine pursuing a career where I do not get to help people overcome their challenges and navigate their way to recovery. My experiences helping my grandmother and patients at Jefferson have taught me the value of empathy and communication. Frequently, my mentees simply want someone to listen to them. I do my best to give them a judgment-free space in which to share their stories. Whether the medical issue is emotional or physical, patients appreciate working with flexible and considerate people. I believe I embody these qualities by actively listening and letting patients talk at their own pace. I am ready to pursue a nursing career and learn about helping patients in a more professional and technical capacity. Fern Hill's College of Nursing is the ideal place to prepare for my future nursing career.”

Why this is a good example: In this example, the writer has done an excellent job of telling the story of how they became interested in nursing. They also develop a clear timeline of events from when they first thought about nursing to how they began developing their skills through volunteering. 

Most importantly, the candidate mentions specific reasons why they’re interested in the program and how they feel they can contribute to the school and field. 

Example #2: Johns Hopkins University Nursing Personal Statement Sample

“I grew up close to a hospital, where I watched patients go through the double doors for a variety of ailments. From a young age, this drove me to develop a strong interest in the field of medicine. I knew that I wanted to pursue a career in the future that would allow me to take care of those in need. Through my courses in the natural sciences as well as social studies, I have continued to develop my knowledge in the field in order to be ready to continue my education. Now, I am ready to take the next step in my education by applying for the Nursing program at Johns Hopkins University.  Three years ago I completed a nursing shadowing internship that opened my eyes to many of the daily struggles of being a nurse. During my time in the clinic and on the wards, I had the opportunity to work In the critical care and trauma ward as well as In obstetrics and geriatrics. These various experiences showed me the diverse role that nurses play in a healthcare setting, and emphasized the importance of empathy and dedication to patient care.  Johns Hopkins University Is known worldwide for its focus on patient wellness and medical research. As a nursing student at Hopkins, I hope to not only further the institution's goal of providing exceptional patient care, but also to assist with the many clinical trials ongoing at the hospital that pave the way for new treatments. Through hands-on training with knowledgeable staff, I know that I will be able to make the most of my nursing training at Johns Hopkins and become a nursing professional that is capable of enhancing patient wellness in a healthcare setting.”

Why this is a good example: In this example, the writer develops a clear timeline and clearly defines their relevant information. The writer covers when they first became interested in nursing, courses they’ve taken, and what experiences have made them get serious about the profession. 

Finally, they include why they are specifically interested in the program at Johns Hopkins and conclude by adding what they will add to the program as a student.

FAQs: How to Write a Personal Statement for Nursing School

Here are some answers to frequently asked questions about nursing school personal statements. 

1. Do All Nursing Schools Require A Personal Statement?

Almost all nursing schools require a personal statement, which can typically be described as a short essay (2 pages or less) that explains who you are and why you want to attend the school’s nursing program.

2. Is a Personal Statement for Nursing School an Essay?

Yes, a personal statement is a short essay that briefly describes your past, present, and future experiences in relation to nursing.

3. How Long Should A Nursing Personal Statement Be?

Each nursing school has different length requirements, which can typically be found in the prompt. If no length is specified, two pages or less is recommended. 

4. What Should I Include In My Nursing School Personal Statement?

Your nursing personal statement should include:

• Why you want to become a nurse
• What inspires you about nursing
• Elaborate on the experiences you’ve had that have taught you about nursing
• Program-specific reasons for your interest in the school
• How you intend to contribute to the program and the field of nursing

If your school’s personal statement asks a specific question, that question should be answered throughout your essay. 

5. Does Nursing Require Essays?

Yes, most nursing program applications require personal statement essays, and some require secondary (or supplemental) essays as well.

6. When Should I Write My Personal Statement for Nursing School?

You should begin writing your personal statement(s) for nursing school as soon as you receive the prompt. Make sure to give yourself an adequate amount of time to complete all sections of your application before the deadline.

7. How do you Start a Personal Statement for Nursing School?

To start a compelling nursing personal statement, there are a few different writing techniques you can use. You can start by introducing yourself, start by talking about how you became interested in nursing, or you can start “in the action” by cutting right into your story. 

Final Thoughts

Your personal statement for nursing school should be genuine, heartfelt, and express how you will make an excellent addition to your target school’s nursing program through a series of examples. 

Each personal statement you write should be adjusted to suit the individual program you are applying for. Sending a general personal statement with every application you submit is impersonal and not recommended. Make sure to follow your brief closely and map out your essay before writing it to ensure you include all of the relevant information. 

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How to Write a Nursing Essay with a Quick Guide

Ever felt the blank-page panic when assigned a nursing essay? Wondering where to start or if your words will measure up to the weight of your experiences? Fear not, because today, we're here to guide you through this process.

Imagine you're at your favorite coffee spot, armed with a cup of motivation (and maybe a sneaky treat). Got it? Great! Now, let's spill the secrets on how to spin your nursing tales into words that not only get you that A+ but also tug at the heartstrings of anyone reading. We've got your back with nursing essay examples that'll be your inspiration, an outline to keep you on the right path, and more!

What Is a Nursing Essay

Let's start by dissecting the concept. A nursing essay serves as a focused exploration of a specific aspect of nursing, providing an opportunity for students to demonstrate their theoretical knowledge and its practical application in patient care settings.

Picture it as a journey through the challenges and victories of a budding nurse. These essays go beyond the classroom, tackling everything from tricky ethical dilemmas to the impact of healthcare policies on the front lines. It's not just about grades; it's about proving, 'I'm ready for the real deal.'

So, when you read or write a nursing essay, it's not just words on paper. It's like looking into the world of someone who's about to start their nursing career – someone who's really thought about the ins and outs of being a nurse. And before you kick off your nursing career, don't shy away from asking - write my essay for me - we're ready to land a professional helping hand.

How to Start a Nursing Essay

When you start writing a nursing essay, it is like gearing up for a crucial mission. Here's your quick guide from our nursing essay writing service :

Choosing Your Topic: Select a topic that sparks your interest and relates to real-world nursing challenges. Consider areas like patient care, ethical dilemmas, or the impact of technology on healthcare.

Outline Your Route : Plan your essay's journey. Create a roadmap with key points you want to cover. This keeps you on track and your essay on point.

Craft a Strong Thesis: Assuming you already know how to write a hook , kick off your writing with a surprising fact, a thought-provoking quote, or a brief anecdote. Then, state your main argument or perspective in one sentence. This thesis will serve as the compass for your essay, guiding both you and your reader through the rest of your writing.

How to Structure a Nursing Essay

Every great essay is like a well-orchestrated performance – it needs a script, a narrative that flows seamlessly, capturing the audience's attention from start to finish. In our case, this script takes the form of a well-organized structure. Let's delve into the elements that teach you how to write a nursing essay, from a mere collection of words to a compelling journey of insights.

Nursing Essay Introduction

Begin your nursing essay with a spark. Knowing how to write essay introduction effectively means sharing a real-life scenario or a striking fact related to your topic. For instance, if exploring patient care, narrate a personal experience that made a lasting impression. Then, crisply state your thesis – a clear roadmap indicating the direction your essay will take. Think of it as a teaser that leaves the reader eager to explore the insights you're about to unfold.

In the main body, dive into the heart of your essay. Each paragraph should explore a specific aspect of your topic. Back your thoughts with examples – maybe a scenario from your clinical experience, a relevant case study, or findings from credible sources. Imagine it as a puzzle coming together; each paragraph adds a piece, forming a complete picture. Keep it focused and let each idea flow naturally into the next.

Nursing Essay Conclusion

As writing a nursing essay nears the end, resist the urge to introduce new elements. Summarize your main points concisely. Remind the reader of the real-world significance of your thesis – why it matters in the broader context of nursing. Conclude with a thought-provoking statement or a call to reflection, leaving your reader with a lasting impression. It's like the final scene of a movie that leaves you thinking long after the credits roll.

Nursing Essay Outline

Before diving into the essay, craft a roadmap – your outline. This isn't a rigid skeleton but a flexible guide that ensures your ideas flow logically. Consider the following template from our research paper writing service :

Introduction

• Opening Hook: Share a brief, impactful patient care scenario.
• Relevance Statement: Explain why the chosen topic is crucial in nursing.
• Thesis: Clearly state the main argument or perspective.

Patient-Centered Care:

• Definition: Clarify what patient-centered care means in nursing.
• Personal Experience: Share a relevant encounter from clinical practice.
• Evidence: Integrate findings from reputable nursing literature.

Ethical Dilemmas in Nursing Practice

• Scenario Presentation: Describe a specific ethical challenge faced by nurses.
• Decision-Making Process: Outline steps taken to address the dilemma.
• Ethical Frameworks: Discuss any ethical theories guiding the decision.

Impact of Technology on Nursing

• Current Trends: Highlight technological advancements in nursing.
• Case Study: Share an example of technology enhancing patient care.
• Challenges and Benefits: Discuss the pros and cons of technology in nursing.
• Summary of Key Points: Recap the main ideas from each section.
• Real-world Implications: Emphasize the practical significance in nursing practice.
• Closing Thought: End with a reflective statement or call to action.

A+ in Nursing Essays Await You!

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Nursing Essay Examples

Here are the nursing Essay Examples for you to read.

Writing a Nursing Essay: Essential Tips

When it comes to crafting a stellar nursing essay, a few key strategies can elevate your work from ordinary to exceptional. Here are some valuable tips from our medical school personal statement writer :

Connect with Personal Experiences:

• Approach: Weave personal encounters seamlessly into your narrative.
• Reasoning: This not only adds authenticity to your essay but also serves as a powerful testament to your firsthand understanding of the challenges and triumphs in the nursing field.

Emphasize Critical Thinking:

• Approach: Go beyond describing situations; delve into their analysis.
• Reasoning: Nursing essays are the perfect platform to showcase your critical thinking skills – an essential attribute in making informed decisions in real-world healthcare scenarios.

Incorporate Patient Perspectives:

• Approach: Integrate patient stories or feedback into your discussion.
• Reasoning: By bringing in the human element, you demonstrate empathy and an understanding of the patient's experience, a core aspect of nursing care.

Integrate Evidence-Based Practice:

• Approach: Support your arguments with the latest evidence-based literature.
• Reasoning: Highlighting your commitment to staying informed and applying current research underscores your dedication to evidence-based practice – a cornerstone in modern nursing.

Address Ethical Considerations:

• Approach: Explicitly discuss the ethical dimensions of your topic.
• Reasoning: Nursing essays provide a platform to delve into the ethical complexities inherent in healthcare, showcasing your ability to navigate and analyze these challenges.

Balance Theory and Practice:

• Approach: Connect theoretical concepts to real-world applications.
• Reasoning: By bridging the gap between theory and practice, you illustrate your capacity to apply academic knowledge effectively in the dynamic realm of nursing.

Highlight Interdisciplinary Collaboration:

• Approach: Discuss collaborative efforts with other healthcare professionals.
• Reasoning: Acknowledging the interdisciplinary nature of healthcare underscores your understanding of the importance of teamwork – a vital aspect of successful nursing practice.

Reflect on Lessons Learned:

• Approach: Conclude with a thoughtful reflection on personal growth or lessons from your exploration.
• Reasoning: This not only provides a satisfying conclusion but also demonstrates your self-awareness and commitment to continuous improvement as a nursing professional.

As we wrap up, think of your essay as a story about your journey into nursing. It's not just about getting a grade; it's a way to share what you've been through and why you want to be a nurse.

Imagine the person reading it – maybe a teacher, a future coworker, or someone starting their nursing journey. They're trying to understand your passion and why you care about nursing.

So, when you write, remember it's more than just an assignment. It's your chance to show why nursing matters to you. And if you ever need help – there's always support from our essay writer online .

Ready to Excel in Your Nursing School Essay?

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How to Write a Nursing Essay?

How can a nursing essay effectively address ethical considerations, what are some examples of evidence-based practices in nursing essays, related articles.

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• Writing a Nursing Essay
• Citations Guide
• Common Writing Mistakes
• Writing Resources

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Writing is an essential skill nurses should achieve proficiency in early in their career. It is a crucial part of the profession, as nurses need to be able to effectively communicate with patients, families, and other healthcare professionals.

While verbal communication also plays a vital role in nursing, being able to write well builds the nurse’s ability to provide better care.

Being able to accurately detail a patient’s personal history, symptoms, and diagnosis allows for the execution of a precise treatment plan that is clearly communicated to all parties involved, both professional and personal.

From registered nurses to clinical nurses and beyond, being able to communicate effectively and efficiently is a critical soft skill that will help nurses in any role increase their ability to treat their patients.

This guide provides an overview of the types of writing nurses will experience throughout their educational training. Utilize the following tips and tricks to help strengthen your writing skills, which will ultimately help in the development of transferable career skills .

Types of Writing Nurses Will Do in School

Personal statements for nursing school.

Nursing schools want candidates who meet academic and professional requirements. They also want a candidate who demonstrates a sincere passion for patient care and individual connections. You should always craft a personal statement, even when the application doesn’t explicitly require one. Personal statements allow you to describe your goals, characteristics, credentials, volunteer work, and meaningful life experiences. A well-crafted essay can help you stand out among other qualified applicants. And, as with any piece of writing, you must take the time to revise.

In your personal statement, you should portray yourself as determined and empathetic, with characteristics, goals, work ethic, and healthcare philosophy that align with a program’s values. Some nursing schools ask for a general personal statement, while others require a specific prompt. Colleges commonly ask students to describe a hardship they overcame, a difficult task they accomplished, or a professional goal they hope to achieve through the program. Many schools also ask students to detail previous experiences in healthcare. You may decide to write about how you connect with patients or how you provide practical and emotional support to loved ones.

You will also encounter writing prompts during examinations, including standardized tests like the GRE or MCAT, nursing school entrance exams , and course-specific evaluations. You may also take exams to get state licensure or professional certification. In most of these instances, you will need to write one or several long-form essays. Proper planning is key. Though you won’t know what specific prompt the test will require, you can expect certain common topics. You can search online or use study guides to determine which prompts usually appear on each test.

On test day, you should begin by creating an outline that lists three main points in response to the prompt. Using these points, work backwards to write a central thesis to guide the essay’s structure. Review what you’ve written to ensure that the essay actually responds to the prompt at hand. Be sure to leave time to correct spelling, grammar, and stylistic errors.

Research Papers

Like essays, research papers follow a long-form structure. Unlike an essay, which heavily relies on the writer’s point of view, a research paper presents an in-depth investigation of a topic using data, expert opinions, and insights. While an essay evaluates general critical thinking and writing skills, a research paper tests your knowledge, research skills, and original contributions. Research papers also allow you to prove you understand what has been argued and discovered about a topic. Research papers, especially at the graduate and doctoral levels, require independent research and analyses. These papers sometimes take months or years to complete.

To write a successful research paper, you should pick a topic relevant to your interests and the nursing field. Possibilities include elderly care challenges, patient safety and ethics, mental health treatment and regulations in the U.S., and nursing shortages and possible solutions. Whatever your choice, you must plan accordingly. Advanced papers such as dissertations may require funding or help from professors. Research papers often consist of the following sections: abstract, introduction, literature review, methods, results, discussion, conclusion, and references. You should keep this general structure in mind as you prepare notes and outlines.

How Do You Write a Nursing Essay?

In nursing school, essay writing includes academic papers, personal narratives, and professional compositions. You should become familiar with each of the five major forms below. There are many similarities between these essay types, such as an overarching thesis and a supportive, logical structure. You should support claims with factual, statistical, anecdotal, and rhetorical evidence. However, each form requires distinct skills to achieve specific results.

Comparative

Cause and effect, citations guide for nursing students.

Citations allow readers to know where information came from. By citing sources, you avoid plagiarizing or stealing another person’s ideas, research, language, and analyses. Whether intentional or unintentional, plagiarism is one of the most egregious errors one can make. Consequences for plagiarism include automatic course failure, disciplinary actions from the university, and even legal repercussions. You should take special care to ensure you properly cite sources.

American Psychological Association (APA) Style

APA is the most commonly used style among natural scientists, social scientists, educators, and nurses. Like other citation styles, APA emphasizes clarity of font style, font size, spacing, and paragraph structure. APA citations focus on publication date, and in most cases, the date comes right after the author’s name. This order makes the style particularly useful for scientists, who value new research and updates on current findings. For more information on APA style, visit this official website .

(Author and year of publication, page number) “Punishment, then, will tend to become the most hidden part of the penal process” (Foucault, 1977, p. 9).

Chicago Manual of Style (CMS)

CMS (also known as CMOS or, simply, Chicago) features two citation systems, the notes and bibliography, and the author and date. This style is used primarily by historians, who place high importance on a text’s origin. The notes and bibliography include a superscript number with a corresponding footnote or endnote. Scientific professionals use the author and date citation, a generic parenthetical system with similarities to other citation styles. The CMS official website provides additional information, including changes to citation systems in the current edition.

“Punishment, then, will tend to become the most hidden part of the penal process”. 1 1. Michel Foucault, trans. Alan Sheridan, Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison (New York: Pantheon Books, 1977), 9.

(Author and year of publication, page number) “Punishment, then, will tend to become the most hidden part of the penal process” (Foucault 1977, 9).

Modern Language Association (MLA) Format

MLA format traces its history to 1951 when it was first published as a thin booklet. Today, MLA is the primary format used by academics and professionals in humanities, English, literature, media studies, and cultural studies. To adapt to the rapid growth of new mediums over the past few decades, MLA updates its citation system. Visit the MLA Style Center for in-depth information on new guidelines and ongoing changes. In general, in text citations consist of author and page number, or just page number if the author’s name appears in the text.

(Author and page number) “Punishment, then, will tend to become the most hidden part of the penal process” (Foucault 9).

Associated Press (AP) Style

Published in 1952, the original AP Stylebook was marketed to journalists and other professionals related to the Associated Press. AP now stands as the go-to style for professionals in business, public relations, media, mass communications, and journalism. AP style prioritizes brevity and accuracy. The style includes specific guidelines regarding technological terms, titles, locations, and abbreviations and acronyms. Unlike the previous styles, AP does not use parenthetical or in-text citations. Rather, writers cite sources directly in the prose. For more information, including style-checking tools and quizzes, visit the Associated Press Stylebook .

In the book, “Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison,” first published in English in 1977, philosopher Michel Foucault argues that “Punishment, then, will tend to become the most hidden part of the penal process”.

Which Style Should Nursing Students Use?

Because nurses rely on scientific terms and information, professionals in the field usually use APA style. Regardless of the purpose and specific genre of your text, you should always strive for concise, objective, and evidenced-based writing. You can expect to learn APA style as soon as you enroll in a major course. However, you should also prepare to learn other styles as part of your academic training. For example, freshman composition classes tend to focus on MLA guidelines.

Common Writing Mistakes Students Make

Active vs. passive voice.

Active and passive voice represent two different ways to present the same piece of information. Active voice focuses on the subject performing an action. For example, the dog bites the boy. This format creates clear, concise, and engaging writing. Using active voice, nurses might write, I administered patient care at 11:00. Passive voice, on the other hand, focuses on the object of the sentence or the action being performed. For example, the boy was bitten by the dog. A passive sentence is usually one that contains the verb “to be.” Using passive voice, you might write, patient care was administered at 11:00.

Professionals in the sciences often use passive voice in their writing to create an objective tone and authorial distance. Passive voice can prioritize specific terms, actions, evidence, or research over the writer’s presence. Additionally, nurses use passive voice because it is usually clear that the reported thoughts, actions, and opinions come from them. However, you must also learn how to use active voice.

Punctuation

There are 14 punctuation marks in the English language, each with multiple and sometimes overlapping uses. Additionally, certain punctuation marks only make sense in highly specific and nuanced grammatical instances. To master punctuation, you must learn through practice, particularly by revising your own writing.

For example, colons and semicolons are often used interchangeably, when they actually serve distinct purposes. Generally used before itemized lists, colons stand in for the phrases “here is what I mean” or “that is to say.” For example, I am bringing three things to the picnic: applesauce, napkins, and lemonade. Semicolons separate two independent clauses connected through topic or meaning. For example, It was below zero; Ricardo wondered if he would freeze to death. Comma splices, which create run on sentences, are another common mistake. You can identify a comma splice by learning the differences between an independent and dependent clause.

Grammar refers to the rules of a particular language system. Grammar determines how users can structure words and form sentences with coherent meaning. Aspects include syntax (the arrangement of words to convey their mutual relations in a sentence) and semantics (how individual words and word groups are understood). Unless you major in writing, literature, etymology, or another related field, you generally won’t examine English grammar deeply. Through years of cognitive development and practice, native users implicitly understand how to effectively employ the language.

Distinct grammatical systems exist for each language and, sometimes, even within a single language. For example, African American Vernacular English uses different syntactic rules than General American English. You should learn grammatical terms and definitions. Common errors include subject/verb agreement, sentence fragments, dangling modifiers, and vague or incorrect pronoun usage. Hasty writers can also misuse phonetically similar words (your/you’re, its/it’s, and there/their/they’re).

Writing Resources for Nursing Students

Apa style central, reviewed by:.

Shrilekha Deshaies, MSN, RN

Shri Deshaies is a nurse educator with over 20 years of experience teaching in hospital, nursing school, and community settings. Deshaies’ clinical area of expertise is critical care nursing and she is a certified critical care nurse. She has worked in various surgical ICUs throughout her career, including cardiovascular, trauma, and neurosurgery.

Shri Deshaies is a paid member of our Healthcare Review Partner Network. Learn more about our review partners here .

Page last reviewed November 30, 2021

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Five tips for writing your nursing school application essay.

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Career Advice > Professional Development > Nursing School > Tips to Write a Personal Statement for Nursing School

Tips to Write a Personal Statement for Nursing School

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When you make the decision to pursue a nursing career, there are a lot of additional choices you need to make. Chief among them is which nursing school you wish to attend. It has to be the right fit for you in many ways. But have you ever taken a moment to consider the flip side? How do nursing schools determine which prospective students get admitted? In addition to your testing scores, a personal statement for nursing school is what an admissions committee will use to gauge whether or not you’d succeed in their program.

A nursing school personal statement is an essay that introduces you to your prospective university. It may also be referred to as a motivation letter or letter of intent. Through your writing, you share with the admissions and evaluations committee why you want to be a nurse , your motivation for choosing the school, and reasons you would be a positive addition to their program. This is an opportunity to show off your interest in nursing, display your personality, and flesh out achievements mentioned in your resume .

Understanding how to write about your background and career ambitions isn’t likely something you’ll innately know how to do. While it may be tempting to try to woo the admissions council by telling them you plan on being the best nursing student that ever walked through their doors, there’s got to be a good balance of aspirations and measured expectations in your personal statement.

Below, we describe the steps of how to write a personal statement for nursing school, provide a sample of what this motivational letter for nursing may look like, and share some useful advice to help your statement stand out from the crowd.

Nursing School Application Essay Structure

Introduction.

While other parts of your application — like your transcript and test results — share useful facts about you, your essay is what truly sets you apart. Your nursing personal statement opening lines should be gripping enough to hold your reader’s attention. Consider adding an anecdote or story about your experiences with nursing. This can help make a human connection with the committee and help them to understand your motivations for pursing the field.

This is also a great place to tie in a general overview of your reasons for becoming a nurse. Try not to get too in depth — that’s the purpose of the body paragraphs. This introductory section is normally a single paragraph.

In these paragraphs, describe your related personal experiences and give concrete reasons why you wish to attend their particular nursing program as opposed to any random nursing program. If the school provided a writing prompt for their nursing school personal statement, be sure to address their question thoroughly.

You can also give more context here. If certain life experiences impacted your grades, provide an explanation. If you have little or no volunteer experience in healthcare settings, explain what you spent your time doing. This section is typically three paragraphs, but could be longer if that’s what’s best for your essay.

What impression do you want your personal statement to leave on the admissions team? Use your creativity to bring closure and pique their curiosity. Emphasize key points made in your body paragraphs, but don’t simply restate them. Find a way to weave them in more subtly. This section is usually one paragraph.

Steps in The Writing Process

Step 1: research.

The first step is to learn about the nursing program and pinpoint the reason why they’re among your top choices. The admissions teams will likely be sifting through hundreds of personal essays, so be sure to show how their specific nursing program is a great fit for you.

Try researching awards or accolades the program has received in the past. Often, you’ll be able to find this information on the school’s website as the administration would be eager to share that kind of recognition with the public. For example, if a program was named among the best schools for men in nursing by the American Association for Men in Nursing, or if the school was recognized by the Campus Pride Index (which recognizes initiatives for LGBTQIA+ students), you might want to say why such a distinction is important to you.

If you’ve already visited the school, describing your on-campus experience in your personal statement for nursing school is like a goldmine of persuasion. It shows that you have a realistic expectation of the school and its faculty. Don’t worry if you haven’t visited yet. You can still pull a lot from indirect experience and online research.

Here are some questions to consider:

• Have you heard positive reviews about their school?
• What are their NCLEX pass rates?
• Is their location a good fit for you?
• What do you like about their school culture?
• Do they offer a specific program that is of interest to you?

Step 2: Brainstorm

Now it’s time to put pen to paper. Since universities take pride in the accomplishments of their students, use your personal statement to show what you bring to the table. Throw whatever comes to mind onto the page. It’s easier to build from an imperfect list of ideas than attempt to create a masterpiece from nothing. Consider the following questions to generate some ideas:

• Which of your character qualities would make you a good nurse?
• What personal experiences led you to choose nursing?
• Have you spent time in healthcare settings? What was it like?
• What achievements would you like to highlight?
• How has your understanding of nursing grown?

Step 3: Draft

Next, pull from your brainstormed list and organize your thoughts into paragraph form. Be sure to include a clear introduction, solid body paragraphs, and a strong conclusion. Remember that you’re not going to write a perfect personal statement — nursing school doesn’t require perfection. You simply want to generate something you can mold into the essay you’ll be proud of. Here are some considerations as you get started:.

• Are you using all of your brainstorming content or only certain ideas?
• Why are you selecting this particular brainstorming content to include in your essay?
• Does your first draft answer any prompts the school provided?
• Does your draft have the makings of a compelling final essay?

Step 4: Edit

This is where you begin to refine your motivation letter. Pay attention to the big picture first, like the paragraph structure and main ideas. Double check to see if the examples you used have the desired effect.

Next, zoom in on the details. Make sure your sentences are smooth. Check for spelling and grammatical errors. Change sentences that simply don’t sound right. A personal statement for nursing school is approximately two pages, but check to see if the application provides a specific number of words. Try to stay within 50 words of the limit.

At this point, it’s a good idea to read your personal statement for nursing school out loud. You’ll catch things that flew under the radar when you read it internally. Try not to do this more than two or three times, otherwise you might get caught in a time-wasting loop of endless revisions.

• Does your personality shine through?
• Are your transitions smooth?
• Does each paragraph have a unique purpose?
• Are you clearly getting across the points you want to make?
• Do you have a strong conclusion?

Step 5: Proofread

Next, find a trusted proofreader. No matter how thorough you are, there could still be things you don’t catch. Someone else may think of an improvement that didn’t occur to you.

Your personal statement for nursing school is a part of your ticket to your future. It’s important to make every step count. Do your best to find someone who will take this seriously and provide valuable information — a professional is ideal, like a guidance counselor or a teacher. You could also choose a peer who has a knack for writing.

It can also be helpful to ask more than one person, but try to limit outside opinions to no more than three people. If a particular comment comes up more than once, it’s probably worth revising. On the other hand, you don’t have to incorporate every single opinion. Sift through what they say to pinpoint what feels right to you.

• Does your proofreader truly care about your success?
• Will your proofreader return your essay in a timely manner?
• Does your proofreader have a unique skill set that could benefit your essay?
• Can your proofreader keep an eye out for the big picture and the small details?

Useful Tips for Your Nursing Personal Statement

Pace yourself.

If you happen to work well under pressure, great! Do what’s best for you. But generally, procrastinating won’t produce your best work. This is especially true when you consider that you’re probably drafting nursing school application essays for multiple programs.

Then, you’ll need to factor in that your proofreaders’ lives don’t revolve around your essay. You’ll need to allow time for this process. Start months in advance so that your personal statement for nursing school is one less thing to worry about during the busy college application process.

Make Your Essay Heartfelt

What’s more memorable: a dry list of facts or an engaging story that makes you feel? The latter, of course! Don’t simply restate your resume. Create a story that highlights your humanity while incorporating some of your achievements. Touch their minds — and hearts — as best you can. People are more likely to remember facts when they’re coupled with emotions . Try to create an emotional connection to cement how strongly you feel about pursuing their nursing program.

Be Strategic

You may have plenty of powerful anecdotes and successes from your resume, but you have to choose which ones will be the most impactful. How can you best display your soft skills? Which story elicits the strongest emotional response? A lot rides on your personal essay, so make every word count. These nuances will help you stand out in a nursing personal statement.

Nursing Personal Statement Example

Need more inspiration? It can be helpful to check out personal statement for nursing school examples as you plan your own essay. See below for a sample essay:

Dear Daisy University Admissions Team,

My grandmother, the matriarch of my family, is the most courageous person I’ve ever known. That is why the day she fell down a flight of stairs will forever haunt me — her agony and helplessness made her unrecognizable. It is also why her recovery is so inspiring, and that couldn’t have happened without the compassionate nurses who supported her.

From the moment we entered the emergency department to the last home health visit, nurses played a pivotal role. One of the greatest gifts you can give is to help improve someone’s quality of life. I want to be able to do that for someone else one day. I want to become a nurse because it’s truly an honorable profession. This experience is also one of the reasons why Daisy University’s nursing program is my top choice. I love your program’s emphasis on caring for the elderly population. It cemented my decision to pursue a career in nursing.

I strive to make meaningful choices. I volunteered at Sunflower Hospital for three years because that is where my grandmother was admitted. I wanted to give back to the place that had been so impactful and receive a well-rounded introduction to the healthcare system. It was eye-opening to experience the facility from the staff’s perspective. One of my main tasks was to feed patients, but as simple as that sounds, it taught me the value of emotional intelligence. Patients often confided in me, and I had to be empathetic in a professional way. Sometimes they revealed concerns or needs that I later communicated to their nurse. The little I could do meant the world to me.

I had to be mindful of the various dietary precautions to ensure the patient’s safety. I even had to send food back to the cafeteria because their meals did not match the doctor’s orders. Communicating with different departments showed me how each part comes together to care for patients. I witnessed nurses providing excellent care while under stress, serving as the central communication point for within the healthcare team, and advocating for patients’ needs. This helped me realize how much effort went into caring for my grandmother. My appreciation for their efforts, and fascination with the field, grew exponentially.

While getting my associate’s degree at Primrose Community College, I worked as a tech at Lily Hospital for one year. This role further opened my eyes to what it takes to be a successful nurse. I had to fine-tune my time management, prioritization, and be on the lookout for any signs of discomfort or issues that warranted medical attention. Previously, at Sunflower Hospital, I took it upon myself to communicate patient complaints to the healthcare team. At Lily Hospital, it was my duty to communicate these issues and any other pertinent information. I worked closely with the nurses. They depended on me to complete my tasks so they were better able to do theirs. This gave me an even deeper insight into the importance and complexity of their work.

Watching my grandmother’s healing process sparked my curiosity and desire to become a nurse, and the lessons I have learned through my work experience showed me the realities of this profession. I naturally possess many of the soft skills necessary to be a great nurse, and I’ve pursued opportunities to hone them. My tour of the Daisy University nursing program revealed that your staff has the qualities I admire most, like attentiveness, patience, and clear communication. Additionally, your focus on geriatrics is the perfect fit because that is the specialty field of nursing I want to pursue. I’m confident in my ability to succeed in your program, and throughout my career.

I appreciate your time,

Preethi Kumar

Make Your Personal Statement for Nursing School Shine

Ready, set, write! You’ve got this. Now, you’re even more prepared to create a winning nursing application essay and make it through school. Grow into the nurse you want to be in a job that is the best fit or you. See  all your options  on IntelyCare.

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120+ Fresh Nursing Essay Topics (With FAQs and Essay Writing Tips)

Be it writing a nursing assignment or preparing an essay to get admission to a nursing school, choosing the right nursing essay topic is of utmost importance.

An essay can make or break your chance of getting into that school or your chances of scoring the highest in the assignment.

Considering the importance of nursing essays, we have got you some handpicked nursing essay topics that will help you ace the exams.

The article is divided into 3 sections according to the difficulty level. You can opt for them according to your convenience.

You’ll also find an interesting list of topics in the miscellaneous section. So make sure to check that as well.

The following part of the article includes some tips on framing a well-structured essay.

 Basic Level Nursing Essay Topics

• Describe the role of nurses in society.
• What are nursing ethics?
• According to you, what are the challenges associated with nursing?
• Discuss nursing ethics.
• Importance of nursing care for infants.
• What are the possible reasons behind a fewer number of male nurses?
• Throw some light on nurses’ practice act.
• Why is there a need for significant leadership in nursing?
• What are the steps you need to take to cure minor wounds?
• What are the steps you need to take to cure severe wounds?
• Discuss the steps that nurses should take to deal with hyperactive patients and their relatives?
• Are there any differences faced by nurses as compared to doctors when it comes to respect and value?
• What measures can nurses take to cure serious wounds when not having any instruments?
• What steps can nurses take to deal with patients in backward regions, where there is a lack of medical infrastructure?
• Analyze the problems with medical infrastructure.
• How to strengthen medical infrastructure?
• How to perform home nursing?
• Steps to improve mental health.
• Discuss the pitfalls of dieting.
• Importance of technology in nursing.

Moderate Level Nursing Essay Topics

• Throw some light on holistic nursing.
• Should we allow nurses to prescribe medication or antibiotics?
• Discuss the risks associated with nurses prescribing medication?
• Discuss the problems associated with the compensation of nursing jobs.
• How should nurses deal with abusive or rude patients?
• How can civilians be helpful to nurses in treating their patients?
• Infant mortality and its possible causes.
• How to prepare a nursing resume to apply for a job?
• Mental impact on nurses.
• Basic theories to apply in nursing.
• Nursing in India: from struggle to victory.
• Soft skills required in nursing.
• Reasons to choose nursing as a profession.
• How to teach nursing?
• How to deal with depression being a nurse.
• How to deal with patients with dementia initially?
• What efforts should be made to make patients’ stay in neonatal units more pleasant?
• Legalizing euthanasia.
• Importance of midwifery. Is it underestimated?
• How can we help pharmacies strike a balance between helping the patients and earning a profit?

Advanced Level Nursing Essay Topics

• Significance of psychological training to ensure efficient medical working.
• Has covid-19 impacted the chances of nursing being a chosen profession?
• How to avoid hospitalization in covid-19?
• Measure to enhance the efficiency of nurses as assistants of doctors.
• What can nurses do to treat patients with Alzheimer’s disease?
• Express your views on applying Henderson’s principles in the nursing area.
• How to convince people to donate organs?
• Chronic diseases and covid-19 pandemic.
• Discuss pediatric ethics.
• Explain acute coronary syndrome.
• Explain the cause behind anxiety disorders.
• Write on obesity and weight management programs.
• What precautions should be taken in the postnatal period?
• Dealing with gestational weight gain challenges.
• Precautions to be taken pre and post-delivery.
• Joint disorders study in elderly people.
• What are geriatrics ethics?
• Menarche and menopause challenges and symptoms.
• Explain reproductive endocrinology.
• Therapeutic injections: pros and cons.

List of Nursing Argumentative Essay Topics

• Are nurses more vulnerable to health risks than doctors?
• How does the increased number of working hours impact the working of nurses?
• Is nursing a female-centric profession?
• How important is the role of a nurse when compared with that of a doctor?
• Difference in the salary paid to day shift nurses vs. night shift nurses
• What should be the adequate amount of nursing staff to have in a hospital?
• Should more emphasis be laid on home nursing?
• How is racial discrimination a problem in nursing?
• Are nurses more empathetic than doctors?
• How important is it for a nurse to work on her emotions?

Miscellaneous Topics for Students Nursing Research

• Nursing Theory: 
• Nursing theory history and significance
• Strategies for theory construction in nursing
• Nursing theory vs. nursing practice
• Person-centered nursing: theory and practice
• Areas of agreement in nursing theory development
• Nursing Education:
• Critical thinking in nursing education : Literature review
• Future challenges for nursing education
• Curriculum development in nursing education
• New nursing education structure in US/UK/Asia
• Creating innovative models of clinical nursing education
• Nursing Care: 
• Transcultural concepts in nursing care
• Basic principles of nursing care
• Factors influencing why nursing care is missed
• Measuring patients’ satisfaction with nursing care
• Spiritual nursing care: state of the art
• Pharmacology for nursing care
• Nursing Interventions:
• The systematic development of nursing interventions
• The impact of nursing interventions
• Nursing interventions for smoking cessation
• Nursing interventions for patients with chronic conditions
• Nursing interventions for premature infants
• Nursing interventions to promote functional feeding
• Nursing Homes:
• Nursing homes in developed and developing nations: a comparison
• Characteristics of nursing homes that affect resident outcomes
• Infections among patients in nursing homes
• Nursing homes and COVID‐19: What has changed?
• Abuse of patients in nursing homes
• Family involvement in nursing homes
• Nursing Leadership 
• Factors contributing to nursing leadership
• Nursing leadership and patient outcomes
• Leadership and management in nursing
• Transformational leadership in nursing
• ethical leadership in nursing
• Nursing Diagnosis:
• Nursing diagnosis process and it’s relation with critical thinking skills
• Application of nursing process and nursing diagnosis
• Do staff nurses use nursing diagnosis effectively?
• Methods to validate nursing diagnoses
• Accuracy of nursing diagnoses: How effective are they?
• Nurse Burnout:
• Nurse burnout and quality of care
• Nurse burnout: personal and environmental factors
• Impact of nurse burnout on organization
• Predictors of burnout among nurses in US, UK, India
• Pediatric nurse burnout
• Nurse Staffing: 
• Nurse staffing and inpatient hospital mortality
• Hospital nurse staffing and quality of care
• Nurse Patient Ratios
• The effects of nurse staffing on medical costs
• Nurse staffing in critical care and how it affects patient outcome
• Nurse Practitioner Role
• Barriers to developing nurse practitioner role
• Analyze nurse practitioner role in acute care settings
• How case-study research can better implement nurse practitioner role
• Practice and clinical leadership: The core role of the nurse practitioner
• Neonatal nurse practitioner role
• 200+ Great Ideas of Nursing Research Topics to Get Started

Frequently Asked Questions

1. how do you start writing a nursing essay.

The following section includes some tips on how to write a well-curated nursing essay.

• Plan your essay- you need to have a well-planned outline of the essay to write an outstanding one.

Spend a good amount of time in research and shortlist the things that you would want to include, things that you would want to highlight or your personal story if any.

• Start writing- Start your essay with a statement that is catchy and strong. Include an adequate amount of research and evidence to support your point in the body. End it with a conclusion stating a summary of the essay.
• Revision- go through the content and look for grammatical or spelling errors, if any. Focus on the structure of the essay.

2. List tips on how to write a nursing school application essay.

• Focus on being informative- while framing the essay, be mindful of the information you include. Make sure it is backed by some evidence.
• Select the best essay topic- go for such a topic that makes the officers remember you after they have read the essay. At the same time, make sure you are comfortable writing on it.
• Check the structure- the essay should be divided into 3 parts- introduction, body and conclusion. Make it readable and easy to understand.

To sum it up, when you kick-start writing a research paper, make sure you move ahead step-by-step.

Since research is the first step in writing the essay, you first have to gather all the essential list of information that is relevant to your nursing essay topic.

Next, handpick the information and come up with an essay that is well-curated and backed by evidence.

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Nursing Essay Examples

Nursing Essay Examples That Will Help You Write a Stellar Paper

Published on: May 6, 2023

Last updated on: Jan 29, 2024

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Many nursing students struggle with writing effective nursing essays, which are an essential part of their education and professional development.

Poor essay writing skills can lead to low grades and an inability to effectively communicate important information.

This blog provides a comprehensive guide to writing nursing essays with examples and tips for effective writing. Whether you are a nursing student or a professional looking to improve your writing skills, this blog has something for you. 

By following the tips and examples provided, you can write compelling nursing essays that showcase your dedication to the field.

Let’s get started.

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What is a Nursing Essay?

A nursing essay is a type of academic writing that aims to explore a particular topic related to nursing. It also presents a clear and concise argument or viewpoint supported by evidence. 

Nursing essays can take many forms, including:

• Descriptive essays
• Reflective essays
• Analytical essays
• Persuasive essays

What is the Importance of the Nursing Essay?

Nursing essays are important for several reasons. First, they help nursing students develop critical thinking skills by requiring them to analyze and evaluate information.

Second, they help students develop research skills by requiring them to locate and use credible sources to support their arguments. 

Third, nursing essays help students develop communication skills by requiring them to present their ideas clearly and concisely in writing. Finally, nursing essays are important for nursing education because they prepare students for the types of writing.

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To help students better understand how to write nursing essays, it can be helpful to review examples.

Below are some examples of nursing essays.

Nursing School Essay Examples

College Nursing Essay Examples

Graduate Nursing Essay Examples

Nursing Scholarship Essay Examples

Nursing Essay Conclusion Examples

Nursing Essay Examples of Different Fields

Nursing is a diverse field with many different specialties and areas of focus. As a result, nursing essays can take many different forms and cover a wide range of topics. 

Given below are some examples of different types of nursing essays:

Personal Philosophy Of Nursing - Essay Examples

Cal State Fullerton Nursing Essay Examples

Evidence Based Practice Nursing In Medical Field - Essay Examples

Leadership In Nursing And Healthcare Professionals - Essay Examples

Principles Of Professional Practice Of Nursing Professionals And Pharmacists

If you're seeking additional examples of nursing essays, you're in luck! 

Below are some more examples that can help you gain a better understanding of nursing essays:

Health Care And Reflective Models For Nursing - Essay Examples

History Of Nursing Essay Examples

Ethical Dilemma In Nurses Work - Essay Examples

Mental Health Nursing Essay Examples

Why I Want To Be A Nurse Essay

Working In A Team And Collaboration In Nursing

How to Write a Nursing Essay

Writing a nursing essay can seem daunting, but with the right approach, it can be a rewarding experience.

Here are the key steps involved in writing a nursing essay:

Understanding the Topic and Question

The first step in writing a nursing essay is to carefully read and understand the topic and question. 

This will help you determine what information you need to research and include in your essay. Make sure you understand any key terms or concepts related to the topic. Consider different perspectives or viewpoints that may be relevant.

Researching the Topic

Once you have a clear understanding of the topic and question, it's time to research. 

Start by gathering information from credible sources such as academic journals, textbooks, and government websites. 

Consider both primary and secondary sources, and make sure to take detailed notes as you read.

Organizing and Outlining the Essay

Once you have completed your research, it's time to organize your ideas and create an outline for your essay. 

Start by identifying the main points or arguments you want to make, and then organize them into a logical order that flows well. 

Your outline should include an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion.

Writing the Essay

With your outline in place, it's time to start writing your essay. Make sure to follow your outline closely, and use clear and concise language that effectively communicates your ideas. 

Use evidence from your research to support your arguments, and cite your sources appropriately.

Editing and Revising the Essay

Once you have completed a first draft of your essay, take some time to edit and revise it. Look for any errors in grammar, spelling, or punctuation, and make sure your essay is well-organized and flows well. 

Consider asking a peer or instructor to review your essay and provide feedback.

What To Include In Your Nursing Essay

When writing a nursing essay, there are several key elements that you should include. Here are some important things to keep in mind:

• Introduction

Your introduction should provide a brief overview of the topic and purpose of your essay. It should also include a clear thesis statement that presents your main argument or point of view.

• Background Information

Provide some background information on the topic to help the reader better understand the context of your essay. This can include relevant statistics, historical information, or other contextual details.

• Evidence and Examples

Use evidence and examples from your research to support your arguments and demonstrate your knowledge of the topic. Make sure to cite your sources appropriately and use a variety of sources to strengthen your argument.

• Analysis and Evaluation

Provide analysis and evaluation of the evidence and examples you've presented. This can include discussing strengths and weaknesses, comparing and contrasting different viewpoints, or offering your own perspective on the topic.

Your conclusion should summarize the main points of your essay and restate your thesis statement. It should also offer some final thoughts or suggestions for further research or action.

Nursing Essay Topic Ideas

Choosing a topic for your nursing essay can be challenging, but there are many areas in the field that you can explore. Here are some nursing essay topic ideas to consider:

• The role of technology in nursing practice
• The impact of cultural diversity on healthcare delivery
• Nursing leadership and management in healthcare organizations
• Ethical issues in nursing practice
• The importance of patient-centered care in nursing practice
• The impact of evidence-based practice on nursing care
• The role of nursing in promoting public health
• Nursing education and the importance of lifelong learning
• The impact of nursing shortages on healthcare delivery
• The importance of communication in nursing practice

These are just a few ideas to get you started. You can also explore other topics related to nursing that interest you or align with your academic or professional goals. 

Remember to choose a topic that is relevant, interesting, and feasible to research and write about.

Tips for Writing an Effective Nursing Essay

Writing a successful nursing essay requires careful planning, research, and attention to detail. Here are some tips to help you write an effective nursing essay:

• Writing Concisely and Clearly

Nursing essays should be written in clear and concise language, avoiding unnecessary jargon or technical terms. Use simple language and short sentences to help ensure that your ideas are communicated clearly and effectively.

• Stating a Clear Thesis Statement

Your thesis statement should clearly state your main argument and provide a roadmap for the rest of your essay. It should be clear, concise, and located at the end of your introduction.

• Using Proper Citation and Referencing

Citing and referencing your sources is crucial in any academic writing, including nursing essays. Make sure to use proper citation and referencing styles, such as APA or MLA. Include a reference list or bibliography at the end of your essay.

• Seeking Feedback and Revising

Before submitting your nursing essay, seek feedback from peers, professors, or writing tutors. Use their feedback to revise and improve your essay. Make sure that it is well-structured, coherent, and effectively communicates your point of view.

By following these tips, you can write a nursing essay that demonstrates your knowledge and skills in the field.

In conclusion, writing a successful nursing essay requires careful planning, research, and attention to detail. 

To showcase your knowledge in the field of nursing, it is important to have a clear understanding of the topic at hand. When writing your nursing essay, be sure to include relevant examples, incorporate current research, and use proper citation and referencing. 

And remember , seeking feedback and revising your essay is key to ensuring that it effectively communicates your ideas and arguments.

If you need help with your nursing essay or any other type of academic writing, consider using our AI essay writer . 

Our nursing essay writing service can provide personalized support to help you succeed in your academic goals.

So, why wait? Contact us to get college essay writing help today! 

Cathy A. (Literature)

For more than five years now, Cathy has been one of our most hardworking authors on the platform. With a Masters degree in mass communication, she knows the ins and outs of professional writing. Clients often leave her glowing reviews for being an amazing writer who takes her work very seriously.

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