How to Write a Good Nursing Essay: The Only Guide You’ll Ever Need

After you craft an eloquent personal paper for the application to a nursing school, you will continue writing a great deal. Yes, it’s not all medical training and hospital practice. There is also a lot of nursing essays while you are in the program. Why? The nursing profession implies not only practical skills and knowledge of physiology but integrated care. That means holistically tending to the patients’ physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being to ensure recovery and healing. That is why your training will often involve introspection, self-analysis, solving ethical dilemmas, and assessing how your personal values align with nursing.

That is why we’ve decided that nursing papers deserve a separate discussion. Today we will give you some tips on how to write a nursing essay that benefits you as a student of the profession and gets you “excellent” on the grading scale as a bonus.

What Is a Nursing Essay?

A nursing essay is a piece of academic writing in which an applicant or a student of a nursing training program investigates a topic pertaining to some aspect of their future profession. Nursing essays exist in various genres: reflective, narrative, descriptive, personal, definition, informative, etc. For example, the author might be giving a personal definition of nursing as a calling, explaining their career choice, reflecting on qualities they need to cultivate to be better at their profession, analyzing their course progress, or suggesting improvements for the clinic where they intern.

What unites these various types are common themes and nursing optics through which those themes are investigated. Nursing essays stand out from other health care papers thanks to the holistic humanitarian and spiritual approach. Also, a good nursing essay will demonstrate professional values – altruism, human dignity, honesty, and social justice.

Before you read about the writing process, look at some free nursing essays from our database. This will give you something to start from.

How to Work with Nursing Essay Examples in Our Library

You will have varied assignments, depending on your program: research papers, case studies from nursing practice, self-evaluation after the completion of a course, etc. You can find a sample of any kind within our extensive database of student papers. To navigate it, use search by essay type, topic, keyword, or the combination of all three.

Let’s say you need nursing application essays example. Start by looking under the categories: application, admission, statement of purpose, personal essay, and enrollment. Then, move to topics and browse under medical community, career choice, and, of course, nursing. Use keywords to make your search more focused. Experiment with different combinations of keywords to get more relevant results on topics you want to touch upon in your own essay. For example, “childhood,” “dream job,” “mentorship,” “trauma,” “adversity,” “goal in life,” and so on.

Alternatively, you can buy nursing essays from our writing experts. By placing the order, you commission a unique, fully-customized paper that will be created to fit all the parameters you set: topic, length, academic level, language proficiency, research methodology, sources used, formatting standard, etc.

As you browse the samples, notice the following:

1. What is the genre of the paper?
2. What’s the main purpose, the aim of this text?
3. What is the structure of the essay? How is the visual segmenting used to represent the topic?
4. How does the paper start? What is the hook sentence? What strategy does the author use to draw the reader in?
5. What is the thesis statement? What makes a particular sentence stand out and unequivocally be the thesis?
6. What is the tone of voice used by the author? Is it appropriate for the topic? Does this choice make the impression stronger?
7. Compare the introduction and the conclusion. See how they relate to one another.
8. Does the conclusion create a lasting impression? Does it logically follow from the essay’s body, or does it feel forced and arbitrary?
9. What’s your overall impression? Do you think it’s a compelling text?
10. What would you do differently with a similar assignment?

By carefully studying the samples and answering this question as you read, you can actively learn, get inspiration, and prime your brain before writing an essay single-handedly.

Key Stages of the Nursing Essay Writing Process

“Okay, I’ve read the samples, learned about the format, and now I’m ready to write my essay! What do I do first?” Say no more. Let’s roll.

1. Elicit the question from your prompt

Sometimes prompts are very straightforward. For example, an assignment might directly ask you: “Was there ever a moment when you regretted your decision to become a nurse?” or “What do you find the most rewarding in your profession?”

However, sometimes prompts just point you in a general direction to explore. For example, “Ethics in healthcare: a nursing perspective.” Phrased like this, such a prompt can be daunting. It will be easier to write an essay if you reframe this prompt as a question and answer it. This has a lot to do with understanding how to write a nursing essay introduction as, perhaps, the most essential part of explaining to readers why they should read your piece in the first place. For example, “What ethical problems do I, as a nurse, find the most pressing/important/difficult to solve? Why? How can I solve them? What tools, assistance, guidance do I need to be able to deal with them better?” When you unpack a general topic and divide it into concrete questions, you make it much more manageable.

2. Research your topic

Now it’s time to read and learn what is known about your chosen topic to date. When you look for the information online or in library catalogs, make sure you use concrete terms you’ve brainstormed after breaking your big topic into concrete questions. For example, as the most pressing ethical problem you care about, you have chosen the issue of euthanasia for terminally ill patients. That means you should look for these precise keywords. Otherwise, looking broadly for “ethical problems in nursing,” you will get bogged down in a deluge of information. Keep your focus, and you will be fine.

Give preference to trusted sources, such as peer-reviewed journals, official statistics, and data from governmental agencies. Don’t forget to keep notes of your sources for future references and bookmark quotes you want to use as illustrations or evidence.

3. Outline your essay

The topics that the nursing paper might explore involve complex ruminations over abstract concepts. That is why a clear structure is crucial to make your essay readable and coherent. Start with creating an outline. It will keep your focus and prevent you from aimless rambling.

A tip: before you start outlining, come up with a working thesis statement that directly answers the central question of your prompt. If your essay turns out written with a slightly different focus, you can always change your working thesis. Still, you must have something to begin with.

For example, for an essay on euthanasia, an outline can look the following way:

• Introduction

Take a case from your practice that made you think about this problem as an example to illustrate your point. Personal stories are engaging and make for a great hook because they make your audience emotionally invested.

• Experience of the countries where euthanasia is practiced: Belgium, Luxembourg, Canada, New Zealand, Spain, the Netherlands, and Colombia.
• Euthanasia in the USA discourse: legal issues, public opinion polls, and medical community consensus.
• Perspectives: patients, medical staff, lawyers, ethicists, philosophers, religious leaders.
• Conflict of values: the sanctity of life vs. human dignity. Your personal opinion and side in the debate.
• Conclusion

Sum up your key ideas. Refer back to the personal story from your practice. How does this case look in the light of everything that’s been said? Keep in mind the impression you want to leave on your readers. What is the key takeaway they should have from your essay?

4. Flesh out the essay using the outline

Now expand on each key idea to form a whole paragraph for every outline segment. Sections should have a clear structure within them as well. Start with a topic sentence that encapsulates the main claim. Then, provide an explanation. The following step is to give evidence that backs up your statement (quotes, statistics, etc.) Always cite the sources, whether you quote directly from the text or paraphrase. Finally, it’s good practice to offer concrete examples bringing your idea to life and making it more palpable.

Make sure to use transition phrases to link paragraphs logically and ensure an easy flow of the text.

5. Edit and proofread

Once you have finished the first draft, let it sit for a while. If you have time, leave it for a night and return to it the next day. If the deadline is looming, at least give it a couple of hours.

First, edit the content: see if anything feels out of place, remove unnecessary details, or fill in the blanks providing more explanation if something looks too vague. Remember who you write for: your instructors, your peers (students, researchers?), policymakers, or your patients.

Finally, proofread for grammar, spelling, and typos. Even if you use automatic spellcheckers, always read closely with your human eyes to see if everything makes sense and wasn’t unfortunately autocorrected into something confusing or embarrassing.

How to Write an Essay for Nursing School

If you are still an applicant and your goal is to write an essay for nursing school as a part of the admission process, the procedure differs significantly.

Depending on the school and program, you might be asked to write several essays with concrete prompts. However, as a rule, to gain entrance to any college or training course, you must write at least one personal essay that explains why you have decided to join the profession or this particular program. Here are a few tips on how to write a good nursing application essay:

1. Tell a story

The best way to convey your theme: personal growth, career choice, interests, values – is through your own story. Your essay should be narrative with elements of reflection. You could use the montage technique to show your journey through the years if your decision to become a nurse was gradually influenced by multiple factors. Alternatively, you can tell about one specific incident if this decision came as an epiphany. This doesn’t necessarily have to be a cataclysmic event – just something meaningful to you personally that led to a realization.

2. Be authentic

No matter how many samples you read, how many styles you encounter, or how many voices you hear – you must come up with your own. Don’t try to mimic something you’ve found particularly impressive. The most impressive thing for the admission committee that reads dozens of applications a day is something that stands out. You simply cannot be original if you imitate.

Use successful examples only to learn the techniques. Try to analyze how they incorporate structure, dramatic tension, story arc, and other storytelling elements into an essay format, but refrain from copying.

3. Find a lock and a key

Your personal essay must demonstrate two-fold compatibility. First, how you fit the profession. What can you offer it, and how will it make you, as an individual, thrive? Second, how you fit the school. Why is this particular program perfect for you? What will you contribute to the school as a student? For example, your creativity, research enthusiasm, positive attitude, outgoing personality, etc. Focus on one or two central aspects to demonstrate that you and the school fit like a lock and a key.

Sample Nursing Essay Topics and Prompts

Here are some nursing topics to write about if you don’t have a prompt for your application (some schools are vague and only ask for a personal essay):

1. Why I want to be a nurse: essay about personal motivation
2. Why did you choose nursing? essay about personal motivation
3. What is the role of a nurse? essay about professional vision and values
4. What makes a good nurse? essay about professional vision and values
5. Was there a role model or a mentor in your life? essay about a personal journey
6. Who inspired you to be a nurse or supported you in your decision? essay about a personal journey
7. Do you believe a place of a nurse in health care is special? Why? critical thinking essay
8. Why do you think nursing will be a rewarding profession for you to pursue? reflective essay
9. Why do you think you can make a good nurse? self-analysis essay
10. When was the first time you decided to become a nurse? What prompted this decision? personal narrative essay

For nursing students already training for the profession, we suggest exploring these argumentative and persuasive topics. If there is no concrete prompt in your assignment and you need some inspiration, use these as starters for your brainstorming. Feel free to narrow down, broaden, and otherwise modify:

1. What are the reasons for the self-care deficit in nursing?
2. What strategies can nurses implement for care coordination?
3. What systemic problems in nursing did the global pandemic expose?
4. How should nurses respond to emerging global health concerns?
5. In your opinion, what are the most essential components of nursing?
6. Of the 6 nurse’s roles (caregiver, advocate, communicator, provider of care, manager, career development) which one is central in your opinion?
7. Emotional and spiritual challenges of the palliative care nurse
8. How do social media and communication technology transform healthcare and the nurse’s role?
9. What are the challenges of patient-centered care?
10. What essential factors contributing to patient experience do you believe are underrated or dismissed entirely?

For more ideas and topics, visit our free essay samples library. Moreover, you can always turn to our experts for writing assistance, editing services, and personalized prompts. Stay inspired and love writing!