How to Write an Essay on Why Do You Want to Be a Nurse

Essay writing is an essential academic exercise that gives nursing students opportunities to develop and perfect writing skills. In particular, when writing a college application essay on a topic “Why Do You Want to Be a Nurse,” students should observe academic writing rules and conventions. Basically, these aspects include providing a thesis statement in an introduction, using topic sentences in body paragraphs, following a sandwich rule, and formatting and proofreading. Additionally, applicants should ensure they write a paper in an appropriate structure and outline. Hence, students need to learn how to write an essay on a topic “Why Do You Want to Be a Nurse?” to achieve their career and life dreams.

General Aspects

As an academic exercise, essay writing provides nursing students with an opportunity to advance their writing skills, including critical thinking, reflection, and analysis. Basically, there are different types of essays learners need to write during their studies, and all of them are vital when it comes to instilling these basic skill sets. In principle, a college application essay is among many types of papers nursing students write. Moreover, its purpose is to convince admission committees in colleges or universities or employers that applicants have all it takes to be students at such educational institutions or can take job positions and improve a healthcare field. Typically, students need to write an essay with a specific topic “Why Do You Want to Be a Nurse?” when they want to study nursing or apply for job professions in a healthcare sector.

What Is a Why Do You Want to Be a Nurse Essay and Its Purpose

According to its definition, a “Why Do You Want to Be a Nurse” essay is a personal statement commonly required for nursing school or job applications within a profession and healthcare field. Basically, such a composition allows candidates to express their motivations, passions, and commitments to a particular nursing profession. For example, the main purpose of writing a “Why Do You Want to Be a Nurse” essay is to help admission committees or employers to understand candidate’s personal and professional motivations and ensure they align with key values and demands of a unique patient care (Perazzo & Topp, 2020). Moreover, this type of paper demonstrates applicant’s communication skills, empathy, and dedication to providing quality care. By articulating their goals and experiences, candidates can also showcase their competencies in nursing, making a compelling case for why they should be selected for a program or profession (Huntley, 2023). In terms of pages and words, the length of a “Why Do You Want to Be a Nurse” essay depends on academic levels, assignment instructions, and professional qualifications, while general writing guidelines are:

High School

Length: 1-2 pages
Word Count: 250-500 words

College

Length: 1-3 pages
Word Count: 250-750 words

University (Bachelor’s Degree)

Length: 2-4 pages
Word Count: 500-1,000 words

Master’s

Length: 3-6 pages
Word Count: 750-1,500 words

Ph.D.

Length: 4-8+ pages
Word Count: 1,000-2,000+ words

How to write an essay on Why Do You Want to Be a Nurse

Format

Section	Content	Length
Introduction	Briefly introduce yourself and state your main motivation for wanting to become a nurse.	1 paragraph
Personal Background	Write about relevant personal experiences or influences that inspired your interest in nursing.	1-2 paragraphs
Educational Experiences	Describe any academic experiences or coursework that have prepared you for a career in patient care.	1-2 paragraphs
Professional Aspirations	Explain your career goals and how becoming a nurse aligns with these objectives.	1-2 paragraphs
Understanding of Nursing	Discuss your understanding of a particular caregiving profession, including its challenges and rewards.	1-2 paragraphs
Conclusion	Summarize your critical points and restate your commitment to pursuing a career in providing health services.	1 paragraph
List of References (Optional)	Include and cite all sources and follow APA 7, MLA 9, Harvard, or Chicago/Turabian citation formats.	1 page
Overall Length	Ensure your essay adheres to specified page and word count requirements.	2-4 pages / 500-1,000 words

Note: Some sections of an essay on a topic “Why Do You Want to Be a Nurse” can be added, deleted, or combined with each other, depending on specific application requirements. For example, a particular answer to a question of “Why Do You Want to Be a Nurse?” must be a personal and passionate explanation of people’s desires to help others, their dedications to patient care, and their commitments to making a positive impact in a healthcare field (Huntley, 2023). In writing, to start a “Why Do You Want to Be a Nurse” essay, people begin such a paper with a compelling personal statement that highlights their primary motivations and objectives for pursuing a career in nursing.

Difference

A typical essay on a topic “Why Do You Want to Be a Nurse?” differs from other papers on several grounds. Firstly, a primary purpose of this type of essay is to convince a college or university admission board or employer that an applicant is worthy of studying nursing at a chosen institution or working in a healthcare facility (McKenna et al., 2023). Eventually, students write a nursing essay from a first-person language point of view, with a particular content focusing on a writer’s educational background and work experience. In contrast, an argumentative paper aims to convince an intended audience to adopt an author’s perspective (Price, 2021). Moreover, such an essay’s audience is broad and can include fellow students, tutors, and other scholars. In turn, students write an argumentative paper, including a majority of others, from a third-person language perspective. Finally, to answer a “Why Do I Want to Be a Nurse” question, people express their genuine passions for helping others, share key experiences that inspired them, and highlight their commitments to specific values and responsibilities of a particular nursing profession.

Steps on How to Write a Why Do You Want to Be a Nurse Essay

To write a “Why Do You Want to Be a Nurse” essay, people clearly articulate their personal motivations, share relevant experiences, highlight their skills and qualities, and explain their career goals while demonstrating their understanding of a unique nursing profession.

Understand a Prompt: Carefully read an essay’s prompt to understand what is being asked and tailor your response accordingly.
Brainstorm Ideas: Reflect on your personal experiences, motivations, and aspirations related to nursing to generate ideas for writing your paper.
Create an Outline: Organize your key points and thoughts into a structured outline with an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion.
Write a Compelling Introduction: Start with an engaging opening that captures your passion for caregiving and provides a glimpse of your motivation.
Share Personal Experiences: Include specific personal stories or experiences that inspired your decision to pursue a patient care profession.
Highlight Educational Background: Mention relevant academic experiences and coursework that have prepared you for a career in medical care.
Explain Professional Goals: Write about your career aspirations and how becoming a nurse aligns with these goals.
Discuss Your Understanding of Nursing: Demonstrate your knowledge of a particular nursing profession, including its challenges and rewards.
Revise and Edit: Review your complete paper for clarity, coherence, and grammatical accuracy, making necessary revisions.
Seek Feedback: Have someone else review your final personal narrative essay examples to provide constructive feedback and ensure your document effectively communicates your message.

Outline Template

A primary characteristic that distinguishes essays from other academic texts, such as reports, theses, and dissertations, is an essay structure. Ideally, a paper’s structure gives it an essay outline, being a writing format students follow when organizing their texts. As such, a standard essay structure comprises three main sections: introduction, body, and conclusion (Price, 2021). Depending on a particular purpose of a nursing essay and its length, a body part can consist of several headings and subheadings or paragraphs. For example, nursing science is a nursing discipline-specific area formed by healthcare professionals through their empirical research and other methods of inquiry, while its primary goal is to expand knowledge about human experiences (Fawcett, 2019). For a nursing application essay on a topic “Why Do You Want to Be a Nurse,” students should provide specific information in the three main sections. Hence, an essay’s outline for writing a nursing paper should be:

I. Introduction

A. Hook
B. Author’s Objectives
C. Thesis

II. Body

A. 1st Body Paragraph – Reasons:

start with introducing reasons of why a student wants to become a nurse;
support these reasons with evidence;
explain why these reasons are important;
conclude with a final idea of this paragraph.

B. 2nd Body Paragraph – Academic Experience:

begin with sharing academic experience;
provide examples of academic experience from own life;
explain how this academic experience relates to a nursing program;
finish with a final claim that connects academic experience with a nursing program.

C. 3rd Body Paragraph – Personal Characteristics:

introduce personal characteristics;
provide specific examples;
explain how these examples support personal characteristics for a nursing program;
end with a statement that makes it clear that an applicant is good, among others.

D. 4th Body Paragraph – Goals:

state goals associated with a nursing career;
cover examples of how these goals can be achieved by studying a nursing program or working in a patient care position;
explain such goals;
sum up on how these goals correlate with positive outcomes for a medical care field.

III. Conclusion

A. Restate a thesis statement from an introduction part.
B. Cover all the points discussed in body paragraphs briefly.
C. Leave a last impression in one sentence that sums up a primary purpose of a paper.

IV. List of References (Optional)

Cite all sources and follow APA 7, MLA 9, Harvard, or Chicago/Turabian citation formats.

Structure

Introduction

Like any other essay, a nursing application essay should have an introduction section that orients an intended audience to a writer’s objective. For example, to write an introduction for a nursing essay, people begin with a personal, thought-provoking statement that highlights their passion for patient care and sets a unique stage for their main arguments (Perazzo & Topp, 2020). Basically, this section’s information should be short and precise, meaning students need to provide a brief self-introduction and state an essay’s purpose straightforwardly. Then, a thesis statement in an essay on a topic “Why Do You Want to Be a Nurse” should indicate to a target audience a specific reason for writing this paper. Therefore, based on basic academic writing standards of a good college application essay, an introduction section of a nursing paper should cover three main points (Price, 2021). Finally, these writing elements include a hook that grabs the readers’ attention, a brief introduction of an applicant, and a thesis statement. In turn, some examples of sentence starters for beginning an essay on a topic “Why Do You Want to Be a Nurse” are:

From a young age, I have always been drawn to an idea of helping others, which is why I want to be a nurse.
A particular moment I knew I wanted to become a nurse was when I witnessed compassionate care provided to my family members during their hospital stay.
My passion for nursing stems from a deep desire to make a meaningful and significant difference in people’s lives every day.
Inspired by a dedication and empathy of nurses I have encountered, I am motivated to pursue a career in a medical care field.
Nursing combines my interests in science and healthcare with my natural inclination to care for others.
I want to be a nurse because I believe in a particular power of compassionate care to heal not just a person’s body but also their spirit.
Seeing a critical role nurses play in patient recovery has sparked my decision to join this noble profession.
My experiences volunteering at a local clinic have fueled my ambition to become a nurse and serve my community.
Nursing appeals to me as it offers an opportunity to connect with patients on a personal level and support them through their health journeys.
A diverse and dynamic nature of patient care, where people experience new challenges and learning opportunities, excites me and drives my passion for a healthcare field.

Body

A body section of a nursing application essay on a topic “Why Do You Want to Be a Nurse” must use an introduction as an outline. In other words, writers should use an entire content in an introduction part to advance their objectives (Price, 2021). Typically, a body part, which is a main text, should have several paragraphs, each advancing a specific thesis-related theme. Furthermore, people should not mix negative emotions with toxic positivity when referring to their future colleagues (Collins, 2022). In writing, main themes that applicants should address in a body section of a nursing application essay include:

Things that make a student keen or interested in a medical care field as an industry.
Reasons for choosing a specific nursing program or career.
Academic accomplishments and work experiences. Basically, writing about work experiences should indicate a student’s preparation for a caregiving career. As such, applicants should revolve around volunteer opportunities and internships in clinical settings.
Qualities that make a student outstanding and most preferable out of many applicants.
Student’s short- and long-term goals.
Impress committee officers to recommend admission of a student to a specific nursing program or career.

Conclusion

A conclusion section of a nursing application essay on a topic “Why Do You Want to Be a Nurse” should follow a basic structure of an academic essay: restate a thesis statement, summarize main points, and conclude with a powerful statement. While first two elements are obvious for writing, a third part entails students bringing their texts to a logical conclusion by making a statement that impresses admission boards (Huntley, 2023). In other words, a concluding remark, like a hook in an introduction, should leave a lasting impression on an intended audience.

Writing Strategies

A key secret to perfect essay writing is a particular use of strategies that guarantee certain outcomes. Basically, these outcomes provide a threshold of a well-written paper and apply it to a nursing application essay. Firstly, an essay’s content should give an intended audience a vivid picture of student’s past accomplishments and future aspirations. In writing, a primary goal of this information is to impress admission committees (Huntley, 2023). Secondly, an essay’s topic should be strong and specific, such as “Why Do You Want to Be a Nurse?” Thirdly, a main text should give people a glimpse into a student’s life, meaning applicants must avoid engaging a target audience with mundane details. In turn, a nursing essay should have a clear structure that supports a student’s mission.

A Hook and a Thesis Statement

Since an introduction paragraph is an important component of a nursing application essay structure, students should focus on making it impactful. In particular, if applicants understand how to write a hook, they know this statement captures an audience’s attention and makes people interested in reading an entire text (Perazzo & Topp, 2020). Moreover, a concluding statement of every paragraph should reflect a paper’s main thesis, being a statement that provides a target audience with a writer’s objective of being a nurse. In turn, this statement should serve as a springboard of ideas learners capture and advance in a main text.

Topic and Concluding Sentences

Since a main text should support an idea captured in a thesis statement, students must use paragraphs that advance specific themes, as discussed previously. In academic writing, if authors do not understand how to write a topic sentence, they should know such a statement serves a specific goal of introducing arguments and claims in each paragraph in support of a main thesis (Price, 2021). Therefore, when writing a nursing application essay on a topic “Why Do You Want to Be a Nurse,” students should use key themes highlighted previously as body paragraphs’ primary ideas or claims. In turn, a main goal of concluding sentences is to link a single topic sentence to a central thesis.

Show, Not Tell

When writing certain types of essays, students must use details that give an intended audience vivid descriptions of events rather than mere explanations, and this theme is known as “show, not tell.” Moreover, essays that require learners to use this theme are narrative and application essays, where a first-person language is encouraged. Then, one of the writing strategies for advancing this theme is a particular use of personal anecdotes and stories that provide an intended audience with vivid details about student’s past experiences and desire to be a nurse (Huntley, 2023). In a college application essay, these stories help readers to enjoy an emotional journey that serves a writer’s selfish interest – convincing and persuading a target audience that a person is worthy compared to other candidates.

Sandwich Rule

A sandwich rule requires students to make a claim in a topic sentence, provide supporting facts, and explain an actual significance of those facts to a paper’s thesis. Basically, this writing rule is applicable in an essay’s body and not in introduction or conclusion sections (Price, 2021). Moreover, students have to make a claim in a topic sentence, back such a statement up with evidence from a scholarly source, and explain corresponding relationships between the evidence and the argument.

Formatting and Proofreading

Besides following a sandwich rule, students who write a nursing application essay on a topic “Why Do You Want to Be a Nurse” must format and proofread their works correctly. Firstly, formatting involves ensuring a written text aligns with an appropriate paper format – APA 7, MLA 9, Harvard, or Chicago/Turabian – since different rules are applied to each referencing style. Moreover, these rules are applied when using headings and citations, among other essential features (Perazzo & Topp, 2020). Then, proofreading ensures a final paper is free from grammatical errors, such as missing punctuation, spelling mistakes, errors of conflicting ideas, and an illogical flow of arguments. When students identify such mistakes, they must revise and edit their papers accordingly. In turn, they need to write a first draft and then a final draft to avoid making errors and mistakes.

Why Do You Want to Be a Nurse Essay Example

Introduction

Ever since I was a child, I have always been intrigued by a nursing profession. Basically, the fact that nurses were always busy attending to patients every time I happened to be in a clinical setting made me see them as the most important people in the world. For me, anybody who could alleviate pain and suffering was a hero. This background is a basis of my application for admission to a Bachelor’s of Nursing degree, specializing in mental health at Stanford School of Nursing.

Body Paragraphs

Reasons

Nowadays, mental health is one of the most significant components of the health care system. In this case, several research studies have reported critical challenges that a healthcare system faces in contemporary society. Basically, one of these challenges is a lack of specialist nurses to deal with emerging issues like increased cases of mental health disorders in communities (Merwin et al., 2003). For any healthcare system to be functional and relevant, it must address health issues that face populations. Hence, I believe studying a nursing course will not only make me a key player in a delivery of mental health services but also address a particular problem of a lack of professionals in a medical sector.

Academic Experiences

Over time, I have made significant academic steps, focusing on my childhood aspiration of becoming a nurse practitioner. As evidenced in the attached transcripts, I have performed well in my sciences, which I believe are critical in pursuing any career in a healthcare field. Through volunteering and internships, I have also had opportunities to work with diverse healthcare teams in different settings. For example, I have interned at Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders), where I got first-hand experiences in dealing with endemic diseases. In turn, this experience confirmed my childhood perception that nurses are critical players in health care delivery, an aspect that makes them very important professionals in society.

Personal Characteristics

As a person, I have qualities that I believe are essential in nursing. Besides being patient, I pay particular attention to detail. Moreover, my friends and family members say I am a perfectionist, and it is because I have a low tolerance for mistakes. For example, while I may be patient with someone who has not mastered an art of doing something, I may not entertain reckless mistakes from them. Therefore, I believe individuals show commitment by working to satisfy expectations that others have toward them, meaning everybody must work hard to turn their personal weaknesses into strengths.

Goals

Indeed, attaining a Bachelor of Nursing degree in mental health is my immediate goal. However, I look forward to investing in education to develop a vital capacity to influence policymaking in the healthcare system. Basically, my long-term goal is to hold a political office where I will use my healthcare training to advance issues beneficial to a nursing profession and industry. In such a position, I use networking to bring stakeholders together to address pertinent nursing issues, particularly the challenges facing mental health services at community levels.

Conclusion

My present application for admission to a Bachelor of Nursing degree program in mental health is my pathway to becoming a nurse practitioner. In this case, attaining this goal will satisfy a life-long dream of helping to alleviate pain and suffering created by medical conditions. By admitting me to a nursing program, you will be making a significant step in addressing a systemic shortage of mental health nursing professionals. More importantly, you will proactively ensure a mental health service delivery is sustainable despite obvious challenges.

Reference

Merwin, E., Hinton, I., Dembling, B., & Stern, S. (2003). Shortages of rural mental health professionals. Archives of Psychiatric Nursing, 17(1), 42-51. https://doi.org/10.1053/apnu.2003.1

Why Do You Want to Be a Nurse Essay Example & Template Download PDF Doc

What to Include

Element	Description
Personal Motivation	Specific reasons why you are drawn to nursing, such as a desire to help others or personal experiences.
Influential Experiences	Stories about key moments or experiences that sparked your interest in a clinical care.
Role Models	Mentors, family members, or healthcare professionals who inspired you to pursue a career in a medical care field.
Skills and Qualities	Attributes, like empathy, communication, and resilience, that make you a good fit for a clinical care.
Educational Background	Relevant coursework, degrees, or certifications that have prepared you for a nursing career.
Volunteer Work	Experiences volunteering in healthcare settings that reinforced your interest in patient care.
Professional Experience	Jobs, internships, or shadowing experiences in healthcare environments.
Personal Philosophy	Insights into what nursing entails, including its challenges and rewards.
Career Objectives	Your goals within a patient care profession, such as specializations or desired impact.
Impact on Community	How you hope to contribute to your community and make a difference through providing health services.

Common Mistakes

Lack of Specificity: Failing to provide specific personal experiences and examples to support your reasons for wanting to be a nurse and write about them.
Vague Language: Using generic statements without concrete details that make your essay memorable and unique.
Clichés: Relying on overused phrases like “I want to help people” without expanding on how you plan to do so as a nurse.
Ignoring a Prompt: Not addressing specific questions or themes requested by an essay prompt.
Poor Organization: Writing an essay that lacks a clear essay structure, making it difficult for readers to follow your narrative.
Grammar and Spelling Errors: Neglecting to proofread your essay, resulting in avoidable grammatical mistakes and typos.
Overemphasis on Negative Experiences: Focusing too much on personal hardships without highlighting positive outcomes or lessons learned.
Lack of Passion: Writing a bland essay that does not convey genuine enthusiasm and passion for a nursing profession.
Not Researching a Profession: Displaying a limited understanding of what nursing entails and specific qualities required to succeed.
Ignoring Word/Page Limits: Exceeding or not meeting required word or page limits set by application guidelines.

Summing Up

A college application essay is one of the many types of essays learners write in their academic and professional journeys. Basically, a nursing application essay is all about students making a case before an admission committee of a college or university to why they are the best ones to be admitted to a particular program or secure a specific job position in a healthcare facility. In this case, writing a perfect essay on a topic “Why Do You Want to Be a Nurse” helps applicants who are keen on studying a nursing course to convince and persuade a target audience, who is an admission committee or an employer, to recommend them to this program or job position. Hence, when writing such an essay, students should consider some tips:

Be specific in an introduction section by briefly introducing yourself and straightforwardly stating a thesis statement.
“Show, not tell” and use personal anecdotes to provide a target audience with vivid details about past experiences and future aspirations of being a nurse.
Follow a sandwich rule: make a claim, support such a statement with evidence, and explain your idea concerning a thesis statement.
Format a nursing essay appropriately.
Proofread a paper.

References

Collins, R. (2022). Leading forward: Embracing feedback and moving toward authentic positivity. Nurse Leader, 20(3), 270–272. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mnl.2022.02.008

Fawcett, J. (2019). Thoughts about nursing science and nursing sciencing revisited. Nursing Science Quarterly, 33(1), 97–99. https://doi.org/10.1177/0894318419882029

Huntley, L. (2023). How to thrive as a mature student nurse. Lantern Publishing.

McKenna, L., Mambu, I. R., Sommers, C. L., Reisenhofer, S., & McCaughan, J. (2023). Nurses’ and nursing students’ reasons for entering the profession: Content analysis of open-ended questions. BMC Nursing, 22(1), 1–5. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-023-01307-8

Perazzo, J., & Topp, R. V. (2020). Pain-free writing for nurses: A step-by-step approach. Springer Publishing.

Price, B. (2021). Critical thinking and writing in nursing. Learning Matters.

Why Do You Want to Be a Nurse Essay: Guidelines and Examples