What Does Nursing Mean to You: Opinion Essay

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The two primary reasons I want to study nursing are: to improve and save people’s lives and to gain financially from the competitive salary in the nursing profession. Secondary reasons for my decision to pursue nursing include traveling the world, enjoying the respect bestowed upon the nursing profession, and gaining a wide range of healthcare skills. I chose to pursue a nursing degree course at the university level to qualify for registration with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) and subsequently commence professional practice as an accredited nurse. I understand that a nursing degree is not only a pre-requisite for accreditation by the NMC but also equips prospective nurses with the knowledge and skills necessary to facilitate and promote safe and effective patient care. Therefore, this personal statement expresses what nursing means to me and why I want to complete a three-year nursing in the university. I developed a passion for nursing at around age 12 after seeing a home care nurse take care of my ailing neighbor.

The neighbor had undergone knee surgery and chose to recover at home instead of staying in a hospital ward. Thus, one particular nurse from a local nursing agency would visit my neighbor daily at 4-hour intervals to provide postoperative nursing care. The daily nursing care involved performing routine neuromuscular checks like pulse, capillary refill, and sensation on the affected limb, prescribing position for the affected leg, assessing the neighbor’s level of comfort, monitoring the surgical wound for possible infection, change of dressing, and to administer medication. I admired how the nurse delivered her duties compassionately and effectively to leave the neighbor feeling better afterward. That childhood exposure to a nurse performing her duties ignited my desire to one day become a nurse and help patients not only recover fully but also feel comfortable and satisfied throughout their journey to recovery.

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I understand that nursing is a demanding but worthwhile career. Nursing is demanding because nurses are occasionally on call around the clock. Nurses can be contacted even in the middle of the night to attend to their nursing duties. A nurse must be willing to sacrifice their sleep or cut short a weekend out with a friend to provide care to patients and their families. Nurses occasionally give up their free time including lunch breaks or weekends to maximize the comfort of their patients. Besides self-sacrifice, nursing also requires compassion. Nurses should go the extra mile to show compassion even if certain acts of empathy and kindness are not part of their daily responsibilities. For example, nurses should go out of their way to initiate a friendly conversation with a patient, respect patients’ privacy by knocking on the door before entering, and provide encouragement and emotional support whenever patients and their family members are going through critical times. All these acts of moral uprightness and empathy solidify the bond between nurses and their patients and promote patient satisfaction. Overall, nursing involves sacrificing one’s comfort for the benefit of the patients, family members, and other stakeholders including colleagues. However, the sacrifice of being a nurse is worthwhile because nursing is in itself a rewarding act of altruism.

Altruism involves caring for others like offering a set to an older adult or pregnant woman on a bus. Altruism has been proven to enhance self-esteem, reduce hopelessness, and lead to greater happiness. Nurses often sacrifice things dearly held for the benefit of strangers. For example, a nurse can report a possible violation of informed consent like the violation of a patient’s refusal to receive an injection by fellow nurses in a particular unit. Nurses who report such an incident risk losing friends among their colleagues but still opt to put the interests of their patients ahead of their friendships. In this context, showing concern for the welfare and the rights of others requires self-sacrifice but leads to fulfillment and an enhanced sense of purpose. Thus, the small and daily altruistic acts I will do as a nurse will not only neutralize negative emotions but also enhances the meaningfulness of my life. Also, I want to study at the university to gain up-to-date and assured evidence-based knowledge and skills for nursing. UK universities are checked regularly by the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA) to ensure that the training provided for various degree courses at updated and useful for industries’ demands.

Nursing is a dynamic field where the latest medical technologies are continuously adopted to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of nursing services. For example, electronic health records (EHR) have become a norm in the management of patient records. Also, hospitals are encouraging nurses to utilize mobile phone apps like Pocket Lab Values which helps nurses interpret diagnostic results instantly, or Medical Spanish which allows nurses with limited knowledge of the Spanish language to step over the language barrier when dealing with Spanish patients. The widespread adoption of technologies like electronic health records and mobile phone apps in health facilities means that nurses need to be tech-savvy to perform their duties effectively. Therefore, I believe that prospective nurses aiming to work in today’s rapidly-changing field of nursing should complete their education at a university that offers not only up-to-date training but also provide hands-on learning through nursing internships and other clinical opportunities. Overall, I believe that the updated and quality-assured training at the university combined with the campus diversity will allow me to make my childhood dream of becoming a nurse come true. I believe nursing is primarily about self-sacrifice and altruism, and I hope to demonstrate these two values not only throughout my academic period at the university but also once I graduate and commence nursing practice.

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What Does Nursing Mean to You: Opinion Essay. (2023, March 01). Edubirdie. Retrieved April 24, 2024, from https://edubirdie.com/examples/what-does-nursing-mean-to-you-opinion-essay/
“What Does Nursing Mean to You: Opinion Essay.” Edubirdie, 01 Mar. 2023, edubirdie.com/examples/what-does-nursing-mean-to-you-opinion-essay/
What Does Nursing Mean to You: Opinion Essay. [online]. Available at: <https://edubirdie.com/examples/what-does-nursing-mean-to-you-opinion-essay/> [Accessed 24 Apr. 2024].
What Does Nursing Mean to You: Opinion Essay [Internet]. Edubirdie. 2023 Mar 01 [cited 2024 Apr 24]. Available from: https://edubirdie.com/examples/what-does-nursing-mean-to-you-opinion-essay/
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