personal statement for bachelor of nursing

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College personal statement examples and writing tips.

A crucial step in your nursing journey is learning how to write a personal statement that resonates with admissions committees and vividly portrays your passion for healthcare. This collection of amazing personal statement examples is curated to guide and inspire you as you articulate your aspirations, experiences, and motivation to pursue nursing.

What is a Personal Statement?

A personal statement is a written narrative that typically forms a significant part of an application to universities, colleges, or professional programs, particularly in fields like nursing. It’s an opportunity for junior year applicants to present themselves beyond test scores and grades, offering insights into their personalities, experiences, goals, and motivations.

In a personal statement, applicants explain why they are interested in a specific field of study or profession, what they hope to achieve through the program, and how their background and experiences have prepared them for this path. It’s a chance to highlight unique attributes, significant life experiences, challenges overcome, or special achievements that make them an ideal candidate for the program.

Why Read Personal Statement Examples?

Reading personal statement essay examples is immensely beneficial for several reasons, especially when preparing your own statement for applications to nursing programs:

• Inspiration and Ideas: Examples can inspire you and provide ideas on structuring your statement, what kind of content to include in your application essay, and how to convey your story and passion effectively.
• Understanding Expectations: They offer insight into what admissions committees look for, helping you understand the level of detail, tone, and approach that resonates successfully in such applications.
• Learning from Others: Seeing how others have articulated their experiences, challenges, and aspirations can guide you in reflecting upon and articulating your own journey and motivations.
• Avoiding Common Mistakes: By examining a range of examples, you can identify common pitfalls and clichés to avoid, ensuring your statement stands out and feels genuine.
• Gaining Confidence: Reading successful common app essays can boost your confidence, showing you that crafting a compelling narrative that combines personal experiences with professional aspirations is possible.
• Diverse Perspectives: Examples offer a glimpse into the diversity of paths and motivations that lead people to nursing, potentially broadening your perspective and enriching your own approach to writing your statement.

How Long Should a Personal Statement Be?

The length of your personal statement should ideally align with the guidelines provided by the institution or program you are applying to. Personal statements are expected to be concise yet comprehensive, often ranging around 500 to 650 words , translating to about one to two pages. 

This word count allows enough space to clearly articulate your experiences, motivations, and aspirations without overloading the reader with information. It’s important to always adhere to the program’s specific word or character limits to demonstrate your ability to follow instructions and present your thoughts.

What Should a Personal Statement Include?

A well-written college admissions essay should include several key elements to effectively communicate your suitability for the program or position you are applying for. Here’s what to typically include:

Introduction

Your personal statement should begin with an engaging introductory paragraph that captures the essence of your motivation for pursuing your chosen field. This could be a brief narrative of a defining moment, an experience that ignited your passion, or a clear articulation of your interest and enthusiasm.

The introduction sets the tone and should intrigue the reader, providing a glimpse into your unique journey and motivation. It’s important that this section hooks the reader’s attention and provides a compelling reason to continue reading your statement.

Academic and Professional Background

In this section, brainstorm and detail your relevant academic and professional experiences that have prepared you for this next step. Highlight key academic achievements, coursework, research, or projects that align with the field you are pursuing.

Also, include any relevant work experience, internships, or positions that have given you practical skills and insights. This part of the statement is crucial for showcasing your foundational knowledge and preparedness for advanced study or professional development and gaining a scholarship in your chosen area.

Extracurricular Activities and Volunteering

Your involvement in extracurricular activities and volunteering can significantly enrich your personal statement. This section should reflect how these activities have contributed to your personal growth, skills development, or understanding of your field.

Whether it’s a hobby, leadership roles in clubs, participation in sports teams, or volunteer work in community organizations, these experiences demonstrate your broader interests, commitment, and ability to balance multiple responsibilities. It’s an opportunity to show aspects of your character and values that academic achievements alone might not convey.

Personal Qualities and Skills

Reflect on and draft the personal qualities and skills that make you suited for your chosen path. This might include traits like resilience, empathy, critical thinking, or effective communication. Use specific examples or experiences to demonstrate how you have developed and applied these traits.

This personal reflection not only provides depth to your statement but also gives the admissions committee a clearer picture of who you are as an individual, beyond academic and professional achievements.

Career Goals and Aspirations

Discuss your career aspirations and how the program or position you are applying for aligns with these goals. This section should convey a clear vision of where you see yourself in the future and how the specific program or role will be a stepping stone toward that vision.

It’s important to show that you have a direction and purpose and that you see this opportunity as integral to your career journey. This not only demonstrates foresight and planning but also shows your commitment and seriousness about the path you are choosing.

Reasons for Choosing the Specific Program or Institution

Clearly articulate why you are applying to this particular program or institution. Discuss what specific aspects of the program, faculty, institution’s philosophy, or opportunities available are particularly attractive to you and why they resonate with your goals and preferences.

This shows that you have done your research and are making a well-informed decision. It also indicates that you have a genuine interest in what the program or institution uniquely offers, rather than a generic application.

Conclude your statement with a strong, memorable closing that encapsulates your main points and reaffirms your enthusiasm and suitability for the program or career. This is your final opportunity to leave a lasting impression, summarizing why you believe you are an ideal candidate.

The conclusion should tie back to your opening, creating a cohesive narrative that leaves the reader with a clear understanding of your passion, commitment, and readiness for the next step in your academic or professional journey.

What Does an Admissions Officer Look for in a Personal Statement?

When reviewing a personal statement, admission officers are looking for several key elements to assess the suitability of a candidate for their program:

• Clarity of Purpose: Admissions officers want to see a clear understanding of why the applicant wants to pursue a particular field or program. The statement should convincingly articulate the candidate’s passion, motivation, and how the program aligns with their career goals.
• Personal Insight and Self-Reflection: A strong personal essay offers insight into the applicant’s personality, experiences, and the factors that have shaped their decision to pursue a specific path. Admissions officers look for depth of reflection and a sense of how past experiences have driven the candidate’s current ambitions.
• Relevant Experience and Skills: It’s important for the statement to highlight any relevant academic, professional, or volunteer experiences that demonstrate preparedness for the program. Admissions officers are interested in how these experiences have contributed to the development of skills and knowledge pertinent to the field.
• Writing Quality and Structure: The ability to communicate effectively and coherently through writing is crucial. Admissions officers pay attention to the overall quality of writing, including grammar, clarity, coherence, and the ability to organize thoughts logically.
• Individuality and Authenticity: They seek to understand what makes each applicant unique. A personal statement should reflect the individual’s authentic self, showcasing unique perspectives, diverse experiences, and personal growth.
• Commitment and Passion: Demonstrating genuine enthusiasm and a strong commitment to the field is essential. Admissions officers look for candidates who are likely to thrive in the program and contribute positively to their field.
• Alignment with Program Values and Goals: Candidates who show that their personal and professional values align with those of the program or institution often stand out. Admissions officers look for indications that the candidate has researched the program and understands how it fits into their broader aspirations.
• Future Potential: Finally, they are interested in the applicant’s potential for future success and contribution to the field. A compelling statement should give a sense of the candidate’s ambition to go to college and how they intend to utilize the education and opportunities provided by the program to achieve their long-term goals.

The Best Personal Statement Examples

Here are some examples that illustrate effective writing styles, clear articulation of goals, and the ability to connect personal experiences to broader career or academic aspirations:

Personal Statement Example #1 

Personal statement example #2, college essay example #3, personal statement example #4, application essay example #5, personal statement example #6, personal statement example #7, personal statement example #8, personal statement example #9, personal statement example #10, personal statement example #11, personal statement example #12, personal statement example #13, personal statement example #14, personal statement example #15, key takeaways for writing a great personal statement.

When reflecting on the nursing personal statement examples provided, several key takeaways emerge that are crucial for anyone crafting their statement. These insights are vital for effectively conveying your passion, commitment, and suitability for a career in nursing:

• Clearly articulate your personal motivation for choosing nursing.
• Highlight your relevant healthcare experiences and achievements.
• Specify your interest in any particular nursing specialty.
• Showcase qualities and skills that make you suitable for nursing.
• Outline your long-term professional aspirations in nursing.
• Acknowledge the challenges and rewards in the nursing profession.
• Express dedication to ongoing learning and professional development.
• Ensure clarity, structure, and coherence in your statement.
• Customize your statement for each specific nursing program.
• Maintain authenticity and genuineness throughout your statement.

Final Thoughts: Personal Statement Essay Examples

These nursing personal statement examples and key takeaways provide valuable insights for anyone aspiring to enter the nursing freshman year. They demonstrate the importance of a well-crafted statement that blends personal motivation, relevant experiences, and a clear understanding of the nursing profession’s demands and rewards. 

An effective personal statement is not only a reflection of your qualifications and aspirations but also a testament to your passion, empathy, and commitment to the field of nursing. It’s a unique opportunity to showcase your individuality and suitability for a career that is as challenging as it is rewarding. 

How to Write the Nursing School Personal Statement: Steps, Tips, And Samples

Introduction

A nursing career allows individuals to help patients in a nurturing environment, and to find their existential fulfillment. As a result, many learners decide to pursue a career in the field, and you are one of these individuals!

Eager to receive an acceptance letter? You know that you’ll need to submit the application material in a timely fashion, and part of that process involves crafting a stellar personal statement for nursing school.

According to a  report by CNN , many applicants are rejected from nursing schools, unfortunately. Even when you feel that you have solid writing skills, you must hone these talents and gear them specifically toward that nursing school personal statement.

After all, you are looking to boost your chances of acceptance. Following a process and learning key pointers about this essay will help you to succeed.

Preparatory Work

Don’t simply sit down at the computer and start clicking away on the keyboard. Crafting a compelling personal statement for your target nursing school involves a significant amount of preparatory work. As seasoned writers know, the art of writing is a process.

Step 1: Research the Schools

Each school is going to have its unique requirements, and you want to know what those requirements are. Researching different programs serves multiple purposes. For example, you can start to rank the programs in order of your preference. Secondly, you get to determine what schools are reach schools and which institutions are your safety schools.

This process will also help you to get a sense of how competitive your personal statement should be. The best According to a ranking of  2023 Best Colleges for Nursing in America , the University of Pennsylvania, Emory University, and Duke University are listed as the top three.

If you’re applying to one of those institutions, you should go through your personal statement with a fine-tooth comb!

Step 2: Write Freely

At some point in your educational career, you’ve likely been asked to write freely about a topic. As you start seeing the prompts from different nursing programs, feel free to type your ideas, preferably, in a word-processing program on your computer.

You could challenge yourself to address one or more of the following prompts:

• 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? (2000 characters)
• Discuss your interest and understanding of the clinical nurse leader role.   What experiences have contributed to your interest?  (2000 characters)
• The goal of the Doctor of Nursing Program is 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. (2000 characters)
• Discuss the clinical specialty area you are interested in pursuing. What experiences have contributed to your interest? (2000 characters)
• Discuss a population of interest in your work setting. What experiences have you had with this population? What health care needs do you see in this target group? (2000 characters)

Check out more  nursing school personal statement questions .

While the schools to which you are applying might not ask the exact questions, you have at least started to get your creativity flowing in terms of what you might write.

Step 3: Talk to an Admissions Counselor

As you’re narrowing down your choice of nursing schools, consider scheduling an appointment with an admissions counselor. Aim to schedule an on-campus appointment if possible as this gives you a real feel of the school environment. Where it is impossible to get one, as with the current Covid-19 pandemic, consider a virtual or telephone appointment.

An admissions counselor will provide you with guidance that is specific to their nursing school’s acceptable personal statement. In other words, different schools have varying expectations. While the admissions counselor may not answer all your questions, you still have a chance to receive valuable insight.

Step 4: Review Genre Conventions

Whether you applying at the undergraduate level or graduate level, you are already familiar with certain genre conventions. What you must recognize is that a personal statement can be quite different from other academic pieces that you have done. Penn State offers some great pointers on  elements that characterize a personal statement .

For example, you might think that a personal statement needs to follow a five-paragraph format with a thesis statement as the last sentence of the introduction. While some personal statements take on this format, others employ a more reflective structure.

Step 5: Thoroughly Check Requirements

You want to make sure you know exactly how many nursing school personal statements you have to write for your application and what the requirements are for each one. Take an example from medical school. When students apply to medical school, they typically have to write one larger essay followed by several shorter ones.

Knowing the expectations of the specific programs to which you are applying can help you budget your time appropriately. Pay close attention to deadlines as well. Submitting an application after the posted deadline is a sure way to seriously lower your odds of getting admitted.

The Writing Process

Once you have completed the research phase and gathered preliminary information, you may think that you’re ready to craft the final version of your essay. However, writing is an intricate process. Allowing yourself adequate time to go through this process will heighten your chances of drafting a captivating essay.

Step 1: Print or Write down the Prompt

You must adhere to the prompt. Period. Keep in mind how crucial it is to follow protocols in the field of nursing. If you cannot follow the guidelines for a nursing school personal statement, the admissions committee may doubt your abilities in the field.

Printing out the prompt or jotting it down is quite useful because you can visually assess if you have checked off all of the requirements. Pay attention to how the prompt is worded. Further, note any length requirements; you may have to write at least a certain number of words or ensure that your essay does not exceed a specified number of characters.

When essays have character limits, make sure to find out if the character limit includes or excludes spaces. As you go through the writing process, you can check off each requirement on the prompt.

Step 2: Use a Brainstorming Strategy

I am confident you have great brainstorming techniques up your sleeves. If not, The Writing Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill offers some very handy  brainstorming techniques  that you could use.

Try to resist the urge to skip right ahead to the full first draft. Brainstorming allows you to get your ideas out. For example, you might look at the prompt and make a list of whatever ideas comes to your mind. You don’t need to worry about organizing them or fully developing the content yet. You could also craft a formal outline as you brainstorm ideas. See which strategy works best for you.

Some writers like to use the actual writing out of sentences as a brainstorming technique. With this approach, you could just write or type whatever ideas come to mind. Setting a timer for this activity is useful. Then, you can go back in to shape your ideas.

Step 3: Craft the First Draft

Writing can be intimidating. You might feel as though you are totally committing to whatever words you put on paper. But the drafting process helps to overcome this anxiety. Sitting down to write the first draft means that you know you will make changes. As a result, you do not feel as pressured.

For some, writing is an enjoyable process; for others, just the thought alone is enough stress and a nuisance. If you fall into the latter group, budget your time. You could allocate an hour each day for a week to put together the first draft. This strategy works even when you love writing.

Step 4: Start with What You Know

Many writers become so concerned with the first sentence of their introduction that they end up losing valuable ideas for the rest of the essay. For example, imagine that you have four main ideas that you would like to explore in your nursing school personal statement. Your natural inclination might be to write about the experience that happened earliest chronologically before you tackle the others.

Consider the fact that you might feel more comfortable writing about the second or third chronological experience instead. Start with those paragraphs. You can then build the essay around them. Getting started is often the most difficult part of a writing project, so starting with what you know can help to inspire the rest of the piece.

Step 5: Prioritize Higher-Order Issues

In writing, topics such as organization, addressing the prompt, and developing ideas are often considered more important than issues like grammar and spelling. Of course, you want to present polished grammar and proper sentence structure in your nursing personal statement, but these issues are less important in your first draft.

When you are creating your first draft, pay attention to the content. Work to get the paragraphs into reasonable order, and aim to develop your ideas as much as you can. You will worry about the grammar, sentence structure, and proofreading issues when you go to revise.

Step 6: Put the Essay Aside

As mentioned earlier, planning your time is vital when it comes to the writing process. Therefore, as unorthodox as it may sound, you need to disconnect yourself from the work for quite some time before reviewing. Putting your work away for at least a day is a smart move. By doing so, you have the proper amount of time to really assess the changes that you want to make.

It’s tempting to immediately go into your paper to revise after writing the first draft, and this urge is particularly strong when the deadline is soon. You might miss important information though. Waiting allows you to recall more important details that you want to be included in the essay. Taking a break from your personal statement allows you that necessary mental space to potentially come up with fresh ideas.

Removing yourself from the project for some time also helps with editing. When you are first writing, you may include some unnecessary details about events related to nursing or your reasons for becoming a nurse. These details may be important to you, but they might not be important for your essay. Putting your work aside for some time will help you gain that perspective.

Besides, picking up on proofreading and editing errors is difficult when you have just written the paper. Your mind is likely to read the work as though it is correct because you just wrote it and you know what the text is supposed to say.

When you come back to read the text later, you are likely to catch these mistakes. For some, printing out the essay and editing it by hand seems to work great. Make sure to read the text out loud to catch errors. In other words, you may hear issues more readily than you see them.

Step 7: Visit a Writing Center

If available to you, a writing center is extremely valuable. Ben Rafoth in  Writing Spaces: Readings on Writing  explains  why writing centers are so valuable.  The main idea here is that you get the chance to review the work with a tutor. Having the insight of a professional or a peer on your work is crucial.

Writing centers function in a variety of ways. Some tutors may require students to read their papers aloud while others might make markings on the student’s paper. If you are already a student at a college, you likely have access to a writing center right on campus.

If you do not, ask a few people to read over and review your essay ( me shamelessly plugging in our services page here 🤦). Sharing your work with others might feel frightening, but keep in mind that an outside reader can offer you important insights.

Step 8: Revise and Revise Some More

One round of revisions is typically not enough for an important piece of writing. You want to make sure that your personal statement for your target nursing school is as polished as it gets. Now you will have to decide how many times is enough revision.

But as a rule of thumb, aim for at least 3 rounds of revisions. As you go through each essay each round, you will likely notice grammar and sentence-level issues that need fixing. At some point, however, you will feel confident with your paper. Then, you are ready to submit the document.

Related: 8 Best TEAS Prep Courses Today, According to Nursing Students

Topics and Approaches to Consider

In addition to allowing your writing to develop over time, you also need to make sure you are selecting appropriate content. But remember, you must always strive to address the specific prompt from your target nursing program. Consider the following clever tips to make your writing shine:

Tip 1: Start with an Anecdote

You want to grab the attention of your readers at the beginning of your nursing school personal statement. Beginning with an authentic anecdote is one way to do so. For example, you might bring in a specific experience that encouraged you to want to become a nurse or a situation that had a profound influence on your life.

Remember the importance of authenticity when taking this approach. You might feel like you need to manipulate the experience to make it sound more dramatic than it was. However, bear in mind that a commitment to honesty is imperative to your nursing goals.

As a word of caution, the admissions team has quite possibly read numerous nursing personal statements in the past, which means they can sniff out your inauthenticity from a mile away! You do not want that, now do you?

Tip 2: Talk about Yourself

Many students fall into the trap of talking about other people more than they discuss themselves. You might have a profound story about how a medical situation with one of your grandparents inspired you to become a nurse, or you might want to share details about an internship that you had with a particular nurse.

What you do not want to do is end up writing more about your grandparent or the nurse with whom you worked than you do about yourself.

While these individuals may very well have played a crucial role in your decision to pursue a nursing career, they are not the ones applying to a nursing school. You are essentially trying to sell yourself to the admissions committee. Talk about how these experiences shaped you and what you learned from the situations. Keep the focus on yourself.

Tip 3: Discuss the Target School

Chances are that you are applying to multiple nursing programs. If you are thinking of applying to only one program, casting your net wider is definitely wiser. After all, you don’t know for certain that you will gain admittance into your program of choice. When you apply to different schools, you should tailor the personal statement to each institution.

It’s quite possible that each school will ask you a similar question or that the prompts will resemble each other. While you might be compelled to do a one-size-fits-all personal statement for each of the nursing schools, that would be a sure recipe to get a rejection letter. The writing will sound as though it has been repurposed.

The admissions committee wants to see why you are a good fit for that specific school, not simply nursing schools in general. Now, of course, you can potentially use the same base. For example, you might want to share the same volunteer experiences or internship experiences with each school. However, you should have a section that is thoughtfully tailored to the individual school.

Incorporate specific details about the school that show why you want to go there. You could highlight particular classes that interest you or discuss a few of your role models who are that school’s alumni- basically, anything that, without a doubt, demonstrates that your essay is intended for the specific school.

Take a look at the following excerpt from an actual personal statement. While it is not for a nursing application, it should elaborate on the point.

“RIT is an excellent choice for me because it has successfully carved out a reputation for itself as a leading technology university. The availability of top-notch facilities, like the Simone Center for Student Innovation and RIT Venture creations Incubator, continue to set the university apart from its peers. As a result, the university sports a vibrant entrepreneurial culture that is leveraged on technology to inspire learners to identify problems that require innovative solutions. Importantly, I believe the MS TIME program will enable me to experience entrepreneurship in a reimagined way, like never before.”

Tip 4: Know What to Avoid

You already know that you should avoid manipulating personal stories and writing generic essays. You should also avoid begging for admission into the school. Further, avoid integrating clichés into your writing. Instead, look for personal ways to convey your ideas instead of simply regurgitating.

Avoid plagiarism as it can affect you professionally. Running your work through a  plagiarism checker  will weed out accidental plagiarism. When you read samples, you absolutely must not copy them.

Nursing School Personal Statement Examples

How about we examine (and comment on) some excerpts from samples of personal statements- to give you a general idea and hopefully get you started. Ready? Let’s go!

“Nursing is a very versatile field and the subjects I am currently studying have many links with adult nursing. Studying psychology has made me aware that the mental health of a patient is just as important as their physical well-being. I have learnt that the brain and the body are never in harmony, which can explain why we are such a diverse species in the way we act, or the beliefs we hold…”

– Read the rest  here

Commentary : The student does a splendid job of connecting his educational experience to the nursing field. He might want to watch for absolutes, such as the word “never.” But as long as you can back up your assertion, you are free to say what’s on your mind. The student should, however, break down this wall of text into two separate paragraphs, for readability purposes.

“After a series of illnesses and injuries during my early childhood, I was introduced to the role and care of Nurses. It was from here I became fascinated and realised this could be a satisfying future outlet for my empathetic self. I feel that nurses are truly inspirational professionals. They provide an inestimable service to society whilst working in a highly demanding and very challenging career, assisting individuals and their families through difficult times when they are at their most vulnerable. I feel I am ready to embark on this career and start to fulfill this ambition of mine to become a children’s nurse.

I believe nursing is a career in which I will excel because of my compassion for those who are at their most vulnerable. My ability to empathise with individuals would provide a positive nurse and patient relationship, putting the child and family at ease, allowing the family to approach me for support and guidance and therefore meet specific needs of the child and their family. Self-confidence is something I consider to be highly important within a nursing career. Having self-belief when working under pressure and in stressful situations is crucial when ensuring high quality care is delivered. Nursing can be a stressful career where traumatic situations are common…”

Commentary : This is an excellent example of how to start a personal statement for nursing school, and transition effortlessly from the introductory paragraph to the next. The student here clearly connects her experiences as a child to her desire to be a children’s nurse. And just from reading this sample, you feel she is well qualified for admission!

“I want to be a nurse to do something worthwhile with my career, I don’t want to waste my days working behind a computer, I want to be a nurse to utilise all of the best parts of my character…”

– Read the rest  here

Commentary : What’s useful here is that the student speaks with confidence. He seems to have a pretty clear direction from the start. However, the writing does contain comma splices, which is a grammar mistake. While the word “something” is vague, it wouldn’t be if the student elaborated on the same paragraph or the next one.

Also, the student here could better consider the audience. In this case, the audience might consist of admission committee members who work on a computer all day, and they might feel a little offended from reading the first line. Even if their personal feelings aren’t supposed to come into play when assessing the essay, the readers are likely not going into the rest of the essay brimming with enthusiasm.

In addition, the student should consider improving the opening line by focusing more on his specific goals and by eliminating information that could potentially alienate the audience.

“My motivation towards nursing did not emanate from anywhere. I relate it to the experiences that I have had since I was young. As I reflect on my life back, I remember that I grew in a family where my father and mother were nurses in the nearby hospital. I witnessed the care and love they extended to the infirm, some of who came to the hospital in dire conditions. As we lived in the staff quarters, I got a chance to sneak to my father’s office and saw how he handled the patients of different ages. I was encouraged to see him listen and take the history of every patient, something that enabled him to make an accurate treatment decision. since then, I wanted to extend the good works that I witnessed with my immediate parents…”

Commentary : This student does not have very advanced writing skills, which is why you can see her commit some grammar mistakes. For example, she ought to write “sneak into” instead of “sneak to”. However, she does a great job demonstrating how her past has led her to want to pursue a career in nursing. Do not be afraid to tell such a story on your nursing school personal statement. Just don’t dwell too much on it. And ensure the story is legit.

Writing a personal statement might seem like an overwhelming endeavor. After all, you do have to take several steps before you are ready to submit a polished essay and hopefully get accepted into your program of choice.

Keep in mind that your efforts will be worth it. Obviously, other aspects of your application come into play- Factors such as your GPA, recommendation letter, etc.

However, it is on your nursing school personal statement that you have the chance to really  craft your story how you deem fit  and showcase yourself in the best possible light. By putting the necessary time and effort into it, you could find yourself studying to become a nurse when the next semester begins.

Related Nursing Readings: 

13 Best Books for Nursing Students to Read- Reviewed

Is a Nursing Degree Worth it? Explore the Benefits

13 Best Online Nursing Programs for Non-Nurses

The 5 Absolute Best NCLEX Prep Books

Best NCLEX Prep Courses, According to Nurses

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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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Nursing Personal Statement Examples

What is a nursing personal statement?

Your nursing personal statement should tell the universities you are applying to all about your strengths and where you see yourself in the future as a nurse.

It should give nursing admissions tutors a good picture of who you are and why you would make a valuable candidate for their course.

If you are applying for a job as a nurse , it's possible you’ll need to provide a nursing personal statement for this, too.

To show that you’ve met the minimum requirements for promotion, you may need to write a band 6 or 7 nursing personal statement.

This piece of writing tells an employer all about your hands-on patient contact experience and why you are a good fit for the job.

How do I become a nurse?

Most people become a nurse by applying to study for a degree at university.

However, there are alternative routes available, such as Nursing Degree Apprenticeships , and starting out as an Associate Nurse .

You will also need to hold the correct entry requirements to secure a place on a degree course, and will also be expected to have some level of work experience.

Take a look at our blog post for more in-depth information on how to become a nurse .

How do I write a nursing personal statement for university?

If you're applying for a nursing degree to set youself on a nursing career path, we always recommend starting your personal statement by brainstorming ideas. Your notes should cover the following:

• achievements
• academic results
• part-time or Saturday jobs
• volunteering
• wider reading
• extracurricular activities

as well as anything else you can think of.

Take a look through our nursing personal statement examples above to give yourself an idea of what a successful nursing statement looks like.

Once you have put together an initial draft, it's a good idea to ask for feedback from family, friends and tutors. They will be able to look at your statement objectively and suggest ways it could be improved.

Incorporate their comments, and ask for further feedback. Don't worry if you have to do this three or four times - it's important you get your statement as perfect as possible before sending it off on your UCAS form.

How do I structure my nursing personal statement?

Your nursing personal statement should be structured with a clear beginning, middle and end, with the opening telling an anecdote or explaining why you are passionate about nursing.

The middle should generally focus on your work experience and current/past academic studies, and how these have helped you to develop skills that are useful and relevant to a career in nursing.

For example, you might talk about how your experience working in a care home helped you build and offer empathy to elderly people.

You should then write a memorable conclusion that mentions your plans for the future, and how you hope your nursing degree will help you achieve these.

What should I include in my nursing personal statement?

• Look at the content of the course and make sure your statement addresses the specific branch of nursing you are applying for, i.e. mental health , adult or child nursing . 
• Demonstrate important skillls that are required for a nursing degree , e.g. patience, empathy, teamwork and communication. Talk about how you have developed these, either at school/college, at your job or during hobbies or other activities.
• Most applicants spend the opening of their personal statement talking about why they want to study nursing , e.g. an unwell family member, or a friend who was in a car accident. Think carefully about whether there was one particular incident that sparked your interest in nursing.
• Don’t include any over-used phrases or quotes in your statement that university admissions tutors will have seen and heard before.
• Now is also not the time for jokes or humour - it often doesn't work well and admissions tutors might not be impressed!

For more help and advice on what to write in your nursing personal statement, please see:

• Personal Statement Editing Services
• Personal Statement Tips From A Teacher
• Analysis Of A Personal Statement
• The 15th January UCAS Deadline: 4 Ways To Avoid Missing It
• Personal Statement FAQs
• Personal Statement Timeline
• 10 Top Personal Statement Writing Tips
• What To Do If You Miss The 15th January UCAS Deadline.

How do I write an introduction to my nursing personal statement?

Like with any type of personal statement for university, we recommend you open with a paragraph on what you enjoy most about nursing, and why you want to study it at university. Again, an anecdote that inspired you to learn more about nursing will work well here, as long as you have a relevant story to tell.

For example, this applicant chose to talk about how their mother's illness inspired them to go into nursing:

"There has been many occasions during my life that I have spent hours sitting at a hospital bedside.

My mother battled a long term illness and as I sat with her trying to keep her spirits up, the Nurses who cared for her always drew my admiration. I feel there are a handful of truly inspirational professions and Nursing is without doubt one of them.

Along with doctors and other medical staff, nurses provide an invaluable service to society and to be part of that group has long been an ambition of mine."

Another applicant chose to talk about how their experience with mental health services as a teenager made them want to help others and make a difference in the world as an adult:

"I have wanted to work in Mental Health since I was 15 years old. When in crisis, I received a level of care which changed my life and I aspire to do the same for others. I also received care that was detrimental at times so I want to be a part of making a difference. I have seen a wide range of nursing approaches and I have learnt so much from my colleagues since working within the NHS, I now know what kind of nurse I want to be when I complete my training."

However you choose to open your nursing personal statement, make sure it's engaging and explains why you want to pursue nursing at degree level. You can see more examples of introductions over at our nursing personal statements section.

How do I write a conclusion for my nursing personal statement?

Try to round off your nursing personal statement with something memorable. This often includes talking about your extracurricular activities, hobbies and/or your ambitions for the future. For example:

" I am confident in my ability to communicate with people from any cultural background and an example of this would be during my time volunteering in a dog sanctuary in Paraguay. This was difficult due to the language barrier, and a virus outbreak between the dogs. I had to organize my time efficiently, an important skill for a nurse, communicate with vets and host families, in often very distressing times.

I acted effectively, thinking on my feet, all whilst remaining calm and treating the animals with compassion. This was a very challenging time for me but it was also very rewarding. I feel a career as a nurse, whilst challenging at times would also be very rewarding, educational, and encourage personal growth."

This applicant demonstrates that as well as communicating what you do currently, or have done in the past, it's also a good idea to try to include how these experiences have helped to shape you as a person, and how they make you a better candidate for a nursing course.

For more inspiration on how to write your conclusion, please see our nursing personal statement examples section.

Further information

• UCAS Nursing Advice
• Indeed.com - How To Write A Nursing Personal Statement
• Nursing Times - How To Write An Effective Personal Statement
• University of Cumbria - How To Write A Good Nursing Personal Statement For University
• Nurses.co.uk - How To Write A Personal Statement For A Nursing Course
• University of South Wales - How To Write A Personal Statement For Nursing & Midwifery

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How to Write a Nursing Personal Statement

28th May 2024

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Writing a nursing personal statement is a critical step in your journey to becoming a nurse. It’s your opportunity to demonstrate why you are passionate about nursing and how your experiences and aspirations align with the goals of the nursing school you are applying to. This article will guide you through crafting a compelling personal statement for nursing school, ensuring that your application stands out in a competitive field.

Understanding the Purpose of Your Nursing Personal Statement

The primary goal of a nursing personal statement is to highlight your dedication to nursing as a career and to show admissions committees why you would be a valuable addition to their school. This document should reflect both your academic achievements and the personal qualities that make you suited to nursing, such as empathy, resilience, and a strong desire to help others.

Preparing to Write

Before you start writing your nursing personal statement, it’s essential to understand what nursing programmes are looking for. Nursing schools want candidates with strong interpersonal skills, a commitment to healthcare, and a clear understanding of nursing. Start by reflecting on your experiences that relate to nursing, including any volunteer work, previous coursework, or personal experiences in medical settings.

How to Start a Personal Statement for Nursing

Opening your nursing personal statement is your first chance to make an impression. Begin with a strong hook—an anecdote, a compelling fact, or a poignant experience directly related to nursing. It could be a personal experience that inspired your choice to pursue nursing or an observation from your experiences that shaped your understanding of what makes a good nurse.

Example : “The moment I handed the newborn to her mother, feeling the tangible impact of care and compassion in the maternity ward, I knew my career had to be in nursing.”

Structuring Your Personal Statement

A well-structured personal statement for nursing school should flow logically and cover several key areas:

1. Introduction: This section should include your initial hook and a brief overview of why you are drawn to nursing.

2. Body Paragraphs:

• Motivation for Nursing: Discuss what drives your interest in nursing. Incorporate personal narratives or experiences that demonstrate your passion and commitment.
• Academic Preparedness: Highlight any academic achievements or specific coursework relevant to nursing. It might include sciences like biology or psychology, which are pertinent to the nursing field.
• Relevant Skills and Qualities: Outline the qualities that make you a good fit for nursing, such as empathy, patience, and the ability to work under pressure. Use examples from your experiences to highlight these traits.
• Professional Experience: Include any healthcare-related work or volunteer work that has prepared you for a nursing career. Describe what these experiences taught you about the profession and how they have shaped your career aspirations.

3. Conclusion: Summarise your vital points and restate your enthusiasm for becoming a nurse. Make a compelling case for why the school should choose you over other candidates.

Crafting the Perfect Nursing Personal Statement

To create a perfect personal statement in nursing, consider these five crucial points:

• Personal Reflection: Begin with a deep introspection of your unique experiences. Identify moments in your life that have distinctly influenced your decision to pursue nursing—whether it was an inspiring encounter with a healthcare professional or a personal experience caring for a loved one.
• Specific Examples: Instead of broad descriptions, detail specific scenarios highlighting your skills and determination. For example, discuss a particular instance when you managed a stressful medical situation or contributed to a team during a critical event. These stories add authenticity and depth to your statement.
• Professional Tone: A formal yet approachable tone throughout your nursing personal statement is essential. It demonstrates your professionalism and respect for the nursing profession. A serious tone underscores the sincerity of your commitment to healthcare.
• Structural Integrity: Logically organise your statement. Each paragraph should flow naturally into the next, with clear transitions and structured development of ideas. This coherence shows that you can communicate effectively, a vital skill for any nurse.
• Focus on the Future: While reflecting on past experiences is essential, articulate your future aspirations in nursing. Include details of how your previous experiences have prepared you for the challenges of a nursing career and how they’ve motivated you to advance within the field.

Editing and Refining

To effectively edit and refine your nursing personal statement follow these five steps:

• Take a Break: After completing your draft, take a few days. You’ll return to your text with a fresh perspective, thus making it easier to spot areas for improvement.
• Seek Feedback: Review your statement with mentors, educators, or peers with nursing or admissions experience. Their expert insights can offer valuable perspectives on enhancing the clarity and impact of your narrative.
• Focus on Motivation and Persuasiveness: During the review process, consider how your motivations for pursuing nursing are articulated. Ensure your reasons are compelling and that your experiences robustly support your aspirations.
• Smooth Transitions: Carefully review the transitions between paragraphs, ensuring they are smooth and logical. Good transitions help maintain the flow of your narrative, making your statement more readable and engaging.
• Grammar and Style Checks: Lastly, thoroughly check grammatical errors and style consistency. Consider using professional editing tools or services to polish your statement to perfection. A well-edited personal statement for nursing school reflects your attention to detail and commitment to presenting your best self.

The Value of Professional Assistance

As you finalise your nursing personal statement, consider the value of professional personal statement writing services. Crafting a statement that genuinely stands out requires introspection, technical writing skills, and an understanding of what admissions committees prioritise. Professional editors or experienced mentors in the field of nursing can offer substantial improvements to both the content and structure of your statement.

These experts can help refine your narrative, ensuring that it meets the high standards of nursing schools and showcases your unique qualifications and passion for nursing. Taking professional help can be a decisive step towards ensuring that your personal statement is polished, persuasive, and poised to make a memorable impact.

Oxbridge Personal Statements: Your Pathway to Success

Elevate your nursing application with the unparalleled expertise of  Oxbridge Personal Statements . Our team of skilled experts, who bring years of experience from top universities, specialise in crafting perfect nursing personal statements that resonate with admissions panels. Whether you are just starting to learn how to write a nursing personal statement or looking to refine an existing draft, our services are designed to meet your needs.

Reach your potential with a personal statement highlighting your dedication, skills, and readiness for nursing. At Oxbridge Personal Statements, we provide personalised guidance and strategic insights that transform your personal experiences into compelling stories of passion and purpose. Tell us your requirements and let us help you make a solid and positive impression that will make the way for your success in nursing school.

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How to Write a Nursing School Personal Statement: What to Include, Examples, and Mistakes to Avoid

So, you have decided to go to nursing school, or advance your nursing career by furthering your education. Now is the time to become familiar with the application process, get your transcripts and letters of recommendation in order and compose the, in some cases dreaded personal statement. Writing a personal statement is a common part of the application process when working to advance your education. However, the term "Personal Statement" is a bit of a misnomer. The universities and colleges asking for this essay are not looking for your life story. Instead, they want you to demonstrate what makes you uniquely qualified as a candidate for their program. In this post you will find the information necessary to make you stand out among hundreds of other applicants, create a personal statement tailored to your personal goals as well as to your potential institutions, and find out what common mistakes are made and how to avoid them.

Although some institutions will give you a specific prompt to discuss when applying to the program, many will request a general personal statement (aka a statement of purpose). There are some commonalities among all of these essays for which you will find appropriate advice here, to different degrees, depending on the program application requirements. Each of these essays should be written for the specific program you are applying to, so be wary of differences not only in essay type or topic but also appropriate formatting and length. Above all, be aware that you are writing to present yourself as a professional capable of caring for the lives of others; following their provided guidelines and avoiding familiar language (such as contractions and common word abbreviations) will allow you to present yourself in the best possible light.

General guidelines

The personal statement.

Although you want to refrain from telling the story of your life, you still want to make it personal. Be sure to illustrate with specific and unique examples why you are cut out for this career and the specific program you are applying to. There are many things that can be included in this category, not all of them will be right for each applicant to discuss or appropriate for the prompts that each individual provides. However, this list should give you an idea of what the evaluators are looking for in a strong candidate:

Educational background

• Did you take advanced biology classes in high school? If so, you may want to highlight this background and how it demonstrates your devotion to health care.
• Have you gone out of your way to learn relevant skills? Perhaps you can discuss your CPR certification training.
• Have you been administering insulin to a diabetic cat for years? This demonstrates a devotion to health care and the ability to learn transferable skills. In fact, my long history of doing this has come up in highly successful interviews in the past, which was the inspiration for this particular example. Although I was medicating a different species than I would be working with, this history demonstrates the ability to regulate insulin levels, properly store medication, fill a syringe safely, and correctly administer a subcutaneous injection.

Volunteer work

• Volunteer work at a hospital is likely a common point of discussion for aspiring nurses. e sure to tell a story about a situation that makes you stand out which solidified your certainty that this is the right field for you.
• Assisted living facilities, caring for special needs children, working at animal shelters, or volunteering at homeless shelters (among other things) may also be sources of inspiration that allow you to highlight why you should be accepted into the program.
• Supervisors in these types of positions may also be great resources for recommendation letters or potential proofreaders for the initial draft of your personal statement.

Work experience

• If you have worked in a related field in a paid position, this should definitely be not only included in your essay, but considered a potential source of a particularly persuasive letter of recommendation.
• Your employer may also be an excellent resource to ask for feedback regarding rough drafts of your personal statement.

Personal motivation

• Do you have a unique story that has compelled you to want to pursue the field of nursing; perhaps you helped care for a family member? These personal motivations are also excellent ways to set yourself apart.

Relevant acquired skills

• Have you acquired a particular skill set relevant to nursing outside of traditional means? This is the time to highlight that achievement. Perhaps you have experience working in a pharmacy or have proven yourself in high-stress situations; these characteristics translate well into the field of nursing.
• Another asset that you might find to be in your favor is fluency in a foreign language, or ASL. This unique skill set might make you a valuable candidate as well as a more highly sought after employee once you graduate.

Unique traits that make you stand out

• Thousands of applicants to nursing programs write that they have "always wanted to go into nursing", sometimes even in their opening line. Find a way to stand out.
• For example, in my personal statement, I wrote about how I actually did not have a traditional story that culminated in my pursuit of higher education. I found my way from grill cook and karate instructor to medical research science. Embrace the fact that you may not be conventional. Letting your personality, background and voice come through in your personal statement will help the admissions committee determine if you are a great fit for their program.

The right fit

As with any educational program, fit is important when looking into pursuing a nursing degree. Demonstrating that you have researched the program, and illustrating in your essay why it is the place for you, will set you apart from other applicants. Additionally, if your long term goal is to be an ER nurse, for example, and you are applying to a program known for a different type of nursing, application reviewers will see this in a negative light.

Essay topics

In some cases, colleges and universities will give you a specific prompt for this essay or ask for a series of short essays addressing particular questions. In these cases, be sure to answer their questions thoroughly and be aware of formatting guidelines and word count limitations. Equally important, be sure to demonstrate ways in which you are a good fit for not only the program, but also the nursing profession. This is a position that is both incredibly personal and physically demanding, but also a situation where you need to be cool under fire and fastidious with your work. Use any opportunity you can to demonstrate that you possess these characteristics in a way that makes you a highly competitive candidate and a potential star in your chosen field.

If you have applied for continued education in the past and have written this kind of essay before, you may have noticed that applying to nursing programs is a bit unique. Particularly, there is a more empathic slant to writing these essays. As personal statements go, writing one for a nursing program is much more 'personal' than preparing one for academic study. To put this all in context, below are some sample essay prompts used by nursing schools in the past. Following this, some advice from successful career nurses will lend an additional perspective from professionals directly working in the field you aspire to join.

Sample prompts

The Vanderbilt University website currently gives the following information regarding the personal statement portion of the application process:

Your Statement of Purpose should reflect your understanding of the role of the advanced practice nurse and your interest in a particular patient population. Before writing your statement of purpose, please carefully review information about the specialty on our web site so that you clearly indicate to the faculty that your career goals are a fit with the specialty. If you are applying to a dual specialty, be sure to address the scope of practice in each specialty area. Students are offered admission to their selected specialty; it is not possible to enter the program undecided about your specialty area. Vanderbilt University

As you can see, this program focuses on your understanding of what it takes to work in the nursing field and puts a particular emphasis on the patient population you want to work with and the reason behind this decision. They also focus on familiarity with the program, as discussed above. These are points that likely generalize to numerous programs and to personal statements for this field in general.

Yale University has the following requirements, according to a website which generates advice specific to nursing personal statements. This site offers the following advice, which echoes the focal points found here, and may offer further information as you pursue your continued education and refine your personal statement. As you can see, Yale differs in its requirements and constrains the length of the personal statement considerably.

Yale University nursing requires you to write a 250-word essay with free choice of your subject. In writing your essay, it is important that this provides you the advantage to stay ahead of your competition. You should be able to include intellectual development, skills, interests, potential contribution to the progress of National University nursing and among many others. It is important to note that Yale University school of nursing utilizes strict admission process so you should be able to comply with top-notch standards. Do not compromise your admission simply by sending out a poorly written personal statement. To improve your chances in Yale University school of nursing, your essay should be able to reflect your dedication, excellence, commitment, and genuine interest to belong to Yale. In your Yale University nursing personal statement, you should also be able to highlight components of your background from academic to personal that will provide the admissions committee an overview of who you are and what you can deliver. To guarantee your admission in National University Nursing, you should be able to provide your readers with information that is unique and interesting that is not shown in any part of your application. Yale University

The essay requested in this case is considerably short, however, it allows you to write about the topic of your choice. This gives you the opportunity to present yourself as a unique candidate. In this personal statement, it is still important to choose a topic that allows you to address all of their listed points of concern to the best of your ability within the constraints of the allotted space. This excerpt also stresses the focus on compliance to high standards necessary to successfully complete the nursing program. Although this is a very short essay, it is emphasized how important it is to ensure that this work is well composed. Writing a rushed essay will be obvious to those reviewing applications and reflects poorly on your ability to perform at a high level, both academically and as a potential future nurse. Additionally, it is re-emphasized in this piece that it is important to understand the program to which you are applying. As they state, it is important to demonstrate a "genuine interest in belonging to Yale"; this is true of all program applications. Always focus a portion of your essay on demonstrating why this particular program is right for you and what unique skills you bring to the table that other applicants do not. Finally, always remember not to simply reiterate information that already has been included elsewhere in your application; be sure to tell the committee something new and interesting that gives you a competitive edge.

This differs from Fairfield University's DNP program , which requires that the applicant:

• Discuss a practice problem in your field that, in your experience, has a broad impact on patient care outcomes.
• State professional goals for the next 5-10 years.
• Explain how a DNP will help you reach your goals.

As you can see, depending on the institution and level of degree program that you are interested in, the requirements for application can vary greatly. In the case of the Doctor of Nursing Program offered at this university, the personal statement is more focused on the background of the applicant directly relating to their previous experience in their nursing careers. There is also a focus on the ability to think critically about the field, its shortcomings, and how they can be amended. This institution also has an interest in your long-term career development and plans for up to the next 10 years. Remember that reflecting on this in your personal statement allows you to demonstrate your potential to raise the reputation of the university in the long term, a topic that they have a demonstrated interest in learning about you as an applicant. Planning your long term career goals will also assist you in deciding which programs are the best fit for you and will allow you to gain the appropriate background to reach these goals over your career.

What degree program is right for you?

It is important to know that there are a variety of nursing degrees that can be applied for, even within a single university. Each of these offers a different career path, and potential for further education or future job promotion. Before you decide which program you want to attend, you should research the many options available within the nursing field. An example of the options that should be considered can be found at the University of Rochester website :

• Accelerated Programs for Non-Nurses (BS & MS) for students with a non-nursing bachelor's degree and want to become a nurse in just 12 months.
• RN to BS program: for students who want to earn a bachelor's degree in as little as 16 months with part-time coursework.
• Clinical Nurse Leader (MS) for licensed registered nurses who already hold a bachelor's degree in nursing.
• Health Care Organization Management and Leadership (MS) for all applicants with a bachelor's degree.
• Nursing Education (MS) for nurses who aspire to teach at either a college of nursing or within a clinical setting.
• Nurse Practitioner program (MS) for nurses who want to provide another level of care for their patients.
• Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) for nurses entering at the post-baccalaureate or post-master's level.
• PhD in Nursing & Health Practice program for all licensed health professionals who already hold a master's degree.
• Legal Nurse Consultant Course for registered nurses or advanced practice nurses.
• Care Manager Education program for nurses or other health professionals currently working in a care manager capacity, or entering this growing field.
• RN First Assistant program for CNOR or APRN's.

This may not be a comprehensive list, but it gives you an idea of the level of diversity available to you. Become familiar with the programs at each institution you apply to and ensure that they will give you the appropriate foundation to achieve your long-term goals, both in your career and in potentially continuing your education further.

What do nurses say?

Discussions with successful nurses who have completed this process have revealed that, unlike personal statements for academic programs, this essay has a more personal bent. Revealing your altruism and desire to help people, as well as your motivation toward expanding your knowledge and personal growth are appropriate in these essays. You should also highlight how your increased knowledge and growth will allow you to help your patients and become a more effective practitioner. Emphasizing these things while telling an anecdotal story about volunteer work, an aid job, or other experiences will allow you the ability to express these things while demonstrating your unique skills and understanding of the field. Another point often made by individuals who have been successful in furthering their education, and therefore in writing these letters, is that it is sometimes appropriate to discuss your background disadvantages; perhaps you did not achieve top grades because you also had to work full time, for example. Communicating this to reviewers demonstrates that you can persevere in times of hardship and remained committed to your education.

Recapitulation of key points:

• Emphasize what makes you a unique applicant.
• Discuss why you want to be a nurse, and in what field, in a way that conveys your personality and sets you apart.
• Remember that this is a professional document; use formal language, not contractions.
• Do not start your personal statement essay with "I have always wanted to be a nurse." or "I have always wanted to help people." These, and similar sentiments, are common in these essays. An intriguing opening statement will get the attention of the application review committee and make you more memorable. Remember, the reviewers are reading hundreds of these a day, if not more.
• Refrain from reiterating the information that can be found in your application. Not only is this redundant, but you will be forfeiting the opportunity to demonstrate to the review panel how you stand apart from the other applicants.
• Research each program and write a letter that demonstrates why the program is a good fit for you.
• Remember to showcase any skills you have developed that will make you a successful student as well as a long-term asset to the program.

These techniques will allow you to compose a more competitive personal statement for any program you choose. A well-researched and written essay will give you an edge during the application process. Make yourself stand out from the rather large crowd of applicants with a compelling introductory statement and remember to be your (professional) self. This will help to ensure that you get accepted into a program that is a good fit for you, your education, and your career goals. Apply to multiple programs at a variety of levels of competitiveness, you will not get admitted into every program you apply to, but hopefully you will get into the right one.

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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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With this in mind, your personal statement should demonstrate a clear understanding of what the role involves, the challenges you’ll face, and the kind of skills, qualities, and values required.

We've asked admissions tutors to share their top dos and don'ts for nursing personal statements, and asked a careers adviser to create an example of how to write about your work experience – here's what they told us.  

Nursing personal statement basics – what to include

To structure it, try to write clearly and reflectively about:

• how you arrived at your decision to go into nursing
• why, specifically, you want to be an adult, child, mental health, or learning disabilities nurse
• how your experience and research has contributed to your understanding of the realities and challenges you'll face
• what it is about your skills, attitudes, values, and character that make the profession right for you
• anything you feel is especially relevant about your academic studies, or maybe a project you've undertaken

Some universities will score your personal statement against their specific selection criteria. Make sure you take a look at individual university websites, as these criteria may be listed for you to refer to. Look for nursing courses in our search tool .

Writing about relevant experience

Try to build up as much experience or observation as you can. Ideally this should be in a care environment, such as a hospital, clinic, GP practice, school, residential care or the voluntary sector. Any other experience of working with people is helpful too.

Back up these experiences by carrying out some relevant background reading or research –  Health Careers is a good starting point . Just talking to nurses about their work will also be valuable.  Nurse Ewout talks about his route into nursing . If possible, get to some university open days , as they’re great for picking up new insights and asking questions.

Then, when you write about all this in your statement, try to explain and reflect on:

• what you’ve learned about some of the realities of nursing, the challenges, constraints, and frustrations you’ll face (rather than the rewards), and the skills, qualities, and values you’ll need
• how you’ve demonstrated some of those skills, qualities, and values yourself through your experience, extracurricular activities, personal interests or achievements

The latter could include the responsibility and commitment you’ve shown through:  

• voluntary work
• the teamwork and interpersonal skills you’ve developed in your part-time job
• the empathy you’ve shown as a student mentor
• the leadership you’ve displayed as a guide or scout
• something specific that happened on a Duke of Edinburgh’s Award expedition, and so on

Tip:  Don’t waste space in your statement explaining what a nurse does – they know that! But if you’ve found out for yourself how nurses manage, prescribe, evaluate or critically review evidence when making decisions, do reflect on that.  

Focus on the field of nursing you're interested in

Most nursing admissions tutors expect you to apply for one specific field only, such as adult or child.

They'll expect you to choose between nursing and midwifery courses rather than apply to both at the same time. However, one university told us that you wouldn’t automatically be rejected if you are genuinely interested in the crossover between two different fields (same for nursing and midwifery), so do check first. Some universities also offer dual-field courses but you'll need to demonstrate a realistic understanding of the field(s) you’ve chosen.

For example, if you’re applying specifically for mental health nursing, you might want to reflect on your ability to understand other people’s perspectives or to advocate on their behalf. Or if you feel it’s appropriate to reflect on your own experience of mental health then, as one admissions tutor told us, the key is to explain how this has motivated you to become a nurse yourself.

For child nursing, you might wish to demonstrate your awareness of the diverse range of children you will nurse and the kind of challenges you expect to face. Similarly, for adult or learning disability, you could reflect on what you’ve learned from your interactions with elderly people, or how you’ve supported someone with a learning disability yourself.

The key words are ‘demonstrate’ and ‘reflect’. It’s not enough just to say you understand something – you need to show what it was that led to your understanding. Then, as Moira Davies, nursing admissions tutor at University of South Wales, advises, ‘highlight the skills you have that are transferable to the field of nursing you have chosen’.

If you’re interested in learning more about midwifery, read our guide .

Accuracy is vital

Nhs constitution.

For all degree courses that involve training within an NHS setting, there is likely to be some emphasis on values based selection, and how applicants' own values and behaviours align with the seven core values of the NHS Constitution . Familiarise yourself with this while writing your personal statement.

For more personal statement advice and examples, check out all our personal statement advice including how to write a personal statement and how to start yours .

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Tips for Writing a Great Nursing Personal Statement

When preparing to apply to a graduate nursing program, there are many requirements and submission guidelines to remember. The component that allows you to tell your unique story — your personal statement — is one of the most important.

Writing a compelling personal statement for an MSN program, like the Nursing@Simmons online  Family Nurse Practitioner  (FNP)  or Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner programs, takes time and can be challenging for some applicants. Just as a poorly written essay can hinder your chances of acceptance, a great one can set you apart from other applicants. Below are three steps to writing a personal statement that will make a positive impression on any admissions committee.

1. Plan Your Story

Very few people can sit down at a keyboard and craft the perfect personal statement without preparation. It may take several weeks of thinking about how to communicate your story, so give yourself plenty of time to plan, jot down thoughts, and make an outline as ideas come to you. Use the following tips to gather the information you’ll need to create an excellent statement.

• Consider how your work experience as a registered nurse (RN) has influenced you and shaped your goals for the future.  How will an advanced education promote your professional growth and help you transition into the role of an FNP or PMHNP?
• Think beyond your resume.  What traits, strengths, and accomplishments aren’t captured there? Consider your interests, including how they will contribute to your success in the program. Provide examples of nursing goals, leadership, mentorship, or growth you have accomplished or experienced. Write these down and keep them in mind as you begin your draft.
• Choose appropriate topics for your statement.  Avoid soapbox issues, and don’t preach to your reader. This kind of statement can come across as condescending and obscure the point you’re trying to make.
• Research the program.  Make sure you understand the school’s values and reputation. Do they align with yours? How so?

2. Create Your Draft

• When it is time to start putting your thoughts on paper, try to avoid overthinking your work.  Strive for a natural voice. Pretend you are talking to a friend and write without fear — you can edit and polish your piece to perfection in the next stage.
• Avoid cliches and nursing generalities.  Generic descriptors, such as “caring,” “compassionate,” “people person,” and “unique,” have been so often overused that they no longer carry much weight with an admissions committee. They also don’t address your personal experience in the nursing sphere. Try not to start your story with phrases like “for as long as I can remember” or your audience may stop reading.
• Show, don’t tell.  Strong storytelling is grounded in personal details that illustrate who you are, both as a nurse and a person. Be specific by describing how many patients you managed, how you earned promotions, or a time when your supervisor praised your professionalism and clinical abilities. Here are examples that illustrate the difference between telling and showing: 

“I perform well under pressure.”

“Although my patient arrived for a different ailment, I suspected that her symptoms were consistent with a serious infection. As a result, I was able to advocate for a care plan that prevented further damage.”

• Use specific examples when talking about your experience with direct patient care and evidence-based practice.  Provide details about how your clinical experiences have demonstrated patient advocacy, leadership, communication, or confidence.
• Discuss how earning a  Master of Science in Nursing  aligns with your career plans and why you want to become a FNP  or PMHNP .  Explain that you understand the commitment required and that you have the skills and dedication to become an FNP   or PMHNP. Be sure to let the admissions committee know why you are choosing their program and what makes their program stand apart from the rest. Reflect on the school and program research you did during your planning stage.

3. Edit and Perfect

Even the best writers have to edit and polish their work. Reviewing and revising your personal statement ensures that the piece is clear, organized, and free of errors.

• Once you have written your first draft, take a break and distance yourself from your work.  This will allow you to return to the draft with a clear head to review objectively and spot potential issues and errors.
• Read your statement aloud.  Does it sound like you? Does it reflect your best qualities and the strengths you’ll bring to a nursing program?
• Always use spell check on your essay, but be careful as it won’t catch every spelling error.
• Use a grammar editing tool, such as  Grammarly .
• Ask a friend, family member, or mentor to review your statement. This is a great way to catch errors or awkward phrasing that you may have missed.

Your nursing personal statement should be a window into your life. Use it to share specific experiences that have influenced your decision to advance your nursing education. Adhering to professional standards and presenting yourself in a positive, open, and honest way will help the admissions committee determine your fit and future in an FNP or PMHNP program.

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How to Write a Mature Student Nursing Personal Statement

Need some help with your mature student nursing personal statement? We’ve got you. Most nursing programs consider mature students (typically applicants who are 21 years of age or older) to be  non-traditional applicants , and although it is very common, applying for nursing school as a non-traditional applicant can quickly feel intimidating. However, with the right strategies, it is possible to create strong application components that will improve your chances of getting admitted, and one of the components you need to pay special attention to is your nursing personal statement. In this blog, we are going to tell you why your mature student nursing personal statement is so important, what you can do to strengthen your essay, and we’ll share some examples of  nursing school personal statements  that’ll inspire your own. So, keep reading to learn how to write a compelling mature student nursing personal statement.

>> Want us to help you get accepted? Schedule a free strategy call here . <<

Article Contents 10 min read

What is the purpose of a nursing personal statement.

The nursing personal statement is a common admissions essay that is part of the application process to nursing school, studying nursing, and practicing nursing. Writing skills are essential for nurses since they need to be able to communicate, verbally and in written form, with their colleagues, patients, and the medical community at large. Your nursing personal statement gives the admissions committee one of it's few chances to evaluate your communication skills. 

It also gives you a chance to tell them why you are a good fit for the field of nursing and for their nursing program specifically. Your essay should essentially outline who you are and why you're applying to nursing school. It should give answers the question, " why do you want to be a nurse ". It should be noted that many nursing school applications include an essay component, but not all of them do. You should take the time to verify the specific requirements of your chosen school.

1. Answer the Question 'Why Now?'

As a mature student, it is essential that you show the admissions committee that you are not only interested but also committed to nursing. This is why we recommend that you spend a paragraph or a few short sentences answering the question 'why now?' Perhaps this was always part of the plan for you, or perhaps your current career made you realize that nursing was a better fit for you – whatever the case is, providing some context of your decision-making in your mature student nursing personal statement will help the admissions board get a picture of your commitment to and suitability for the field of nursing.

You should not spend your entire essay explaining why you've decided to change direction and apply to this program at this particular point in your life, but you should briefly discuss the experience or event that led to your decision. Take some time to reflect and really brainstorm before putting pen to paper on this one. Sometimes your reasons for applying to a nursing program as a mature applicant are straightforward - like perharps, you simply could not afford it, but other times they might be less tangible than merely training for a new career. Start by thinking about why you didn't choose to go into nursing immediately after high school or college, consider what has changed since then, and how those changes have affected your decision.

One of the most important essay writing strategies we can share with you is to show, not tell. The reality is that anyway can talk about their accomplishments and use buzzwords to make themselves sound like a strong candidate. The admissions committee doesn't just want to read about the qualities and traits that you think you possess, they want to know how you know you have those skills, how you developed them, and how you have used them.

This is why you want to use specific experiences and examples in your mature student nursing personal statement. That'll show the admissions board that you have the skills and abilities required to thrive in their program. It is also a great way to discuss the advantages that being a mature student can give you. You can provide more information about your experiences and how they have prepared you for this next chapter of your academic and professional career by giving you new skills. For example, if you have been working in customer service in the medical field, you can share a short anecdote highlighting your communication and interpersonal skills. 

Remember to avoid summarizing or merely listing facts about yourself. Instead, use short anecdotes and describe specific experiences because this will make your nursing personal statement more impactful. The aim is to show the admissions board that you can back up the claims you are making about yourself. Moreover, people are also more likely to remember a narrative than a list of traits or facts, making your essay more memorable.

Have you started preparing for your nursing school interviews? This infographic can help:

3. Get Help From the Experts

Considering the role that nursing school admission essays play in the admissions process, you need to do everything you can to make sure that you are submitting the best essays possible. You can do that by working with  nursing essay writing services . These services are offered by  nursing admission consultants  , who are trained to assist students and guide them through the complex world of nursing school admissions.

These experts can review your essays and give you personalized feedback to help you edit and polish them until they are ready for submission. Please note that these advisors will not write your essay for you. Actually, we'll just go ahead and warn you right now: stay away from "admission experts" who offer to write your mature student nursing personal statement for you. It is not only unethical, but if the nursing school you applied to ever finds out, it could cost you the acceptance that you were hoping for. 

Instead, consultants can give you additional nursing school essay tips and strategies to help you write a compelling personal statement. They also review your essay drafts and help you edit them to ensure that your final essay highlights your strengths, skills, and abilities in the best way possible. They are able to see little things that the untrained eye wouldn't notice, but that could make a big difference in the quality of your overall personal statement.

Mature Student Nursing Personal Statement Example #1

My first official job was with a Rent-A-Car service as an assistant manager. I started as an intern during college and continued after graduating from Fictional University with a Bachelor of Commerce in Business Administration. At that point, I had never really thought about a career path. I grew up in a family that struggled financially, and I was always focused on making enough money to help with the bills in the best way I could. This job allowed me to do that, and I believed it would lead to a successful career in the industry.

After several months with XYZ Rent-A-Car, I realized that this job was not what I had expected. My happiest moments were when I got to speak to customers directly and help them out of challenging situations or make a small change that would make someone's day a little easier. The sad reality of my position as an assistant manager is that those days were few and far between. Each morning, waking up to go to work became more and more difficult as I started craving a career that would allow me to interact with others and help them more often. 

One of my favorite memories from my time at XYZ Rent-A-Car was helping a single mother who was driving across the country to attend her oldest son's college graduation. It was the middle of the night, and we only had two small sedan cars left in the parking lot, but she needed an SUV because she was traveling with two kids, and one of them was in a wheelchair. I knew how important this was for her, so I spent almost an hour on the phone with other XYZ Rent-A-Car branches in the state, looking for a car that would fit her needs before driving her for 1 hour and 35 minutes across the state line to pick up a vehicle from a different branch. 

That experience was a pivotal moment in my career. First, it was special to me because I felt like I had gotten the customer out of a jam, and I got to do it while interacting with her two adorable children. However, what made it truly special is that she left a review on our website in which she explained how grateful she was for the patience I showed her son, and how comfortable I made her son feel when I was helping him out of his wheelchair and into the new car. She explained that he has cerebral palsy and often gets defensive with strangers but that he had taken a liking to me because of how I treated him.

I hadn't paid attention to that moment because it had come naturally to me, but the fact that she had noticed it and it had made a difference for them made me very happy. I wanted more of that in my career, and I decided to start thinking about the different career options that would allow me to do so. I wanted a job that would suit my compassion and innate desire to help people and that also had longevity and security. 

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After carefully researching different fields and career options, I realized that nursing was my best choice. I have always been curious about the field of medicine, but I never had any interest in becoming a doctor. Even as a child, I remember playing doctor and being more interested in helping my dolls manage their pain, ensuring they were clean, dressing their wounds, and making sure they felt cared for rather than curing them.

I knew that becoming a nurse would not be easy or cheap, so before embarking on this journey, I wanted to make sure that I was on the right path for me. I spent the following months talking to different nurses and researching the many roles nurses occupy depending on their credentials. 

I even spent three months shadowing a nurse practitioner who works as a travel nurse. During those three months, she was taking care of a terminal patient in their home, and I got the opportunity to learn so much about interacting with patients. I watched as she administered his medication with care, spoke with him, listened to him, made him laugh, and did many other little things to ensure he was as comfortable as possible. It helped me understand that a big part of being a great nurse is interacting with your patients and communicating with them, verbally or otherwise. 

I know I am finally on the right path for my career, and I look forward to learning more about all the other traits and competencies that make a great nurse. I am confident that my desire to care for others, commitment to nursing, and work ethic will make me a great student and, eventually, a great nurse.

My desire to become a nurse - a nurse for elderly patients in particular - has developed over the years. I have always believed that my fulfillment lies in serving those most vulnerable, but I was not sure which career path would allow me to do so and also suit my skills. After high school, I worked a number of different jobs. One of them was as a customer service representative for an insurance company, which enabled me to not only develop my communication skills but also understand that I wanted to play an active role in patient care. 

One of the companies that we represented was a nursing home, and I always felt a connection to many of the residents who called us. So when I started looking for a role that would allow me to actively interact with people in person, taking a job as a care assistant in that facility felt natural. That job helped me discover how satisfying such work could be and how it gave purpose to my life, both personally and professionally. 

I tended to the needs of several terminally ill patients. That experience taught me about the emotional demands of nursing while simultaneously helping me gain a deep sense of reward from feeling that I had contributed to their welfare during their final days. One of the patients I bonded with the most suffered from Alzheimer's, and I remember being especially touched by his frustration at being unable to communicate effectively. To make his life a bit easier, I helped him create infographics and write sticky notes that we strategically placed around the home so that he could be a bit more independent. To this day, it is one of the most rewarding experiences I have ever had. 

The next role I took - as an in-home healthcare assistant- gave me even more opportunities to gain experience with a wide variety of illnesses and a chance to observe nurses at work. For example, recently, I have been working with a patient with tetraplegia who suffers from emotional and cognitive disabilities, which sometimes manifest themselves in challenging behavior. With patience and clear communication, we have been able to build a mutually trusting relationship, thus helping him manage a degree of independent life. 

In addition to learning how to build trust and interact with even the most challenging patients, I have been learning many nursing skills - such as taking blood pressure, noting symptoms, as well as the administrative processes of nursing like keeping accurate notes, relaying information, and the like. 

Over the years, my experiences and the conversations I have had with other professionals in the industry have shown me that being an adult nurse is very demanding and calls for a greater level of personal commitment than many other occupations. That is part of what appeals to me. I genuinely believe that most of the best things in life require a great deal of commitment and hard work. I am prepared to take on this challenge. Additionally, my experiences have prepared me for nursing school and the nursing profession by sharpening my communication skills, attention to detail, sense of empathy, and work ethic. 

Now that I have found the right career path for me, I am ready to start my tertiary education and become a nurse. I took the time to research several institutions before deciding on which ones to apply to because it is important to me to study at a school that not only has an excellent curriculum and practicum opportunities but one that also values patient-centered care. 

So, as you read this essay and the rest of my application, I'd like you to know that I took the time to learn about myself, my chosen profession, and your school before making any commitments. I am indeed committed to becoming the best nurse that I can be, and I know that you can help me on that journey.

Nursing school acceptance rates in the US and Canada differ widely depending on your school and program of choice, but it is safe to say that nursing schools are pretty competitive, and most schools are highly selective.

Not necessarily. Most nursing schools have a written application component, such as a nursing personal statement or letter of intent. That said, different schools have their own admission requirements and process, so you will need to check the requirements of your school of choice.

Your nursing school personal statement is supposed to tell the admissions committee more about who you are, what will make you a good nursing school student, and eventually, a nurse.

Unless otherwise stated, your personal statement should be between 650 and 800 words. That said, verifying the requirements specified by the school you're actually applying to is important as some schools may require a longer or shorter essay.

As a mature nursing applicant, you should discuss your reasons for applying to nursing school at this stage of your life and the different experiences in your journey that have prepared you for nursing school and a career as a nurse. 

Essentially, it means that you should use specific examples and anecdotes to highlight the various qualities and traits that you want to showcase instead of simply telling them that you possess those qualities.

A strong mature nursing student personal statement should be concise, grammatically correct, have specific examples, address the 'why now' question, have a strong opening statement, and follow the instructions given by your chosen school. 

Writing a solid personal statement requires time. We recommend giving yourself at least six and eight weeks to work on your essay.

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• 18 December 2018

How to write a nursing personal statement for your first nurse job application

• Chloe Registered Mental Health Nurse
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Your personal statement could be the difference between getting your first nursing job and just missing out, so make sure yours is as good as it can be.

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Draft everything together

Once you have a rough idea of everything you want to include, get it down on paper.

Don’t worry about length or organisation of the statement at this stage, just get down everything you think you want to say.

Carefully read the job description to make sure you’ve highlighted how you fit those requirements.

If you’re applying for a job where you don’t quite meet all the requirements, explain how you’re going to ensure you are able to meet this element of the job if they give you the position.

Revise and edit

Your first draft is likely to be a mess as you include things as they spring to mind. So this is your opportunity to rework it into a more cohesive piece.

Make sure it flows and group similar talking points together so that you’re not jumping back and forth talking about different things.

Have an objective, experienced and motivated voice throughout.

Ensure that you sound confident and professional.

Make sure you’ve addressed all the essential criteria and any desirable ones that you fulfil. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking you aren’t experienced just because you haven’t worked as a fully qualified nurse before.

You’ve just spent the last 2-3 years training and learning, so you do have some knowledge and experience.

Once you’re happy with it the next step is to proof read. Ask a friend or family member to do this for you if you can, as they’re more likely to spot mistakes that you might have missed.

Or you can always take a couple of days away from it, then come back to read it again with fresh eyes.

Be strict with yourself. Ask yourself if this is necessary and relevant to mention.

Chop out any unnecessary words or parts where you’re repeating a point you’ve already made.

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Personalise your statement to the role

Unless you’re applying for multiple very similar roles, you should always seek to change up your statement for each application.

Even very similar roles might have slightly different criteria for different employers, so its worth checking that your statement is relevant for each job you are applying for.

Once its written it won’t take you long to tweak it each time for different roles.

It will be easy for employers to spot a generic personal statement that isn’t tailored to their role, and it doesn’t exactly display commitment to the role if you haven’t even bothered to re-write your personal statement.

To look at how to sharpen your CV for your job search, check out a blog I wrote on how to build your nursing CV . This will ensure you stand out amongst other candidates when applying for nursing jobs .

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I qualified as a Mental Health Nurse (RMN) in August of 2018 and started as a newly qualified nurse shortly after. On top of nursing I juggle creating content for both my YouTube channel and blog.

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7 Essential Topics To Include In Your Personal Statement

Nurse Practitioner (NP) programs often ask for a personal statement with your application. So, what exactly is a personal statement, and why does it matter so much?

A personal statement is an essay where you talk about yourself – your background, work experiences, why you want to become a nurse practitioner, and your goals for your career. 

Here’s why it’s key to your application:

It shows who you are.  Beyond grades and test scores, this essay lets you share your unique story. You can show the admissions team your personality, values, and what makes you a great candidate for their NP program.

It proves you can communicate well.  Being able to clearly express yourself is crucial for nurse practitioners. Your personal statement lets you show that you can organize your thoughts and explain things well, skills you’ll need for both your studies and your career.

It explains your motivation.  This is your chance to talk about why you want to be a nurse practitioner and how the program you’re applying to fits with your career plans. It’s your moment to share your passion for nursing and healthcare.

It highlights your experience.  You can use the essay to shine a light on the healthcare work you’ve done, like nursing roles, volunteering, or research. This helps show you’re ready for the challenge of an NP program and a career in advanced nursing.

It sets you apart.  When many applicants have similar backgrounds, a well-written personal statement can help you stand out. Sharing your unique experiences and viewpoints can leave a lasting impression on the admissions team.

7 Topics To Include In Your Personal Statement With Examples:

1. Your Motivation for Becoming a Nurse Practitioner

Start with a strong introduction that captures your passion for nursing and your reason for pursuing an advanced practice role. This could be a personal anecdote that illustrates your dedication to healthcare, patient care experiences that motivated you, or an encounter with a Nurse Practitioner who inspired you.

• Example 1: “Growing up, I witnessed firsthand the impact of health disparities in my community, which ignited my passion for nursing. A pivotal moment came when a nurse practitioner in our local clinic went above and beyond to care for my family. Her dedication inspired me to pursue a career where I could make a significant difference in people’s lives, especially in underserved areas.”
• Example 2: “My motivation to become a nurse practitioner was solidified during my work in a pediatric unit. Seeing children’s resilience in the face of illness, and realizing the profound difference that personalized, compassionate care can make in their recovery, drove me to seek a role where I could offer such care on a deeper, more autonomous level.”

2. Educational and Professional Background

Outline your academic achievements, especially those relevant to nursing and healthcare. Include any honors, awards, or scholarships. Also, detail your work experience, particularly in healthcare settings, emphasizing roles that have prepared you for advanced practice nursing. This could include leadership positions, special projects, or initiatives you were part of.

• Example 1:  “ Earning my BSN with a focus on pediatrics, I graduated with honors and worked at a children’s hospital for over five years. This role deepened my skills in managing diverse pediatric conditions and honed my ability to communicate with young patients and their families effectively. My passion for child health care drives me to specialize further through a Nurse Practitioner program, aiming to enhance my impact on pediatric well-being.”  
• Example 2:  “I graduated summa cum laude with my BSN and actively contributed to research on geriatric care management. Working as a nurse in a community health center, I spearheaded a project to improve patient education for managing chronic conditions, which fueled my desire to advance my practice through an NP program.”
• Example 3:  “After achieving my BSN, where I specialized in emergency care and graduated at the top of my class, I embarked on a career in a Level I Trauma Center. This fast-paced environment honed my decision-making skills and my ability to quickly adapt to changing situations, traits essential for the dynamic role of a Nurse Practitioner. My leadership capabilities were recognized when I was appointed as the head of the unit’s mentoring program for new nurses, a role in which I thrived by guiding others towards excellence in patient care.”

3. Clinical Skills and Experience

Highlight your clinical experiences and the skills you’ve developed. Be specific about the types of healthcare settings you’ve worked in (e.g., hospitals, clinics, community health), the medical specialities and patient populations you’ve served (e.g. pediatric, oncology, cardiology, surgery), and any specialized skills or certifications you have (e.g., ACLS, PALS).

• Example 1: “In my role as an RN in a cardiac care unit, I developed proficient skills in managing acute cardiac episodes and providing post-operative care. This experience, complemented by my ACLS certification, has prepared me for the acute care challenges I will face as a Nurse Practitioner.”
• Example 2: “My clinical rotation in a rural health clinic exposed me to a wide range of primary care issues, from managing chronic illnesses to delivering preventive care. This experience honed my ability to adapt to diverse healthcare settings and solidified my commitment to primary care as a Nurse Practitioner.”

4. Professionalism and Leadership

Demonstrate your commitment to professionalism and leadership in nursing. This could include involvement in professional organizations, volunteer work, leadership roles you’ve held, and how you’ve contributed to improving patient care or healthcare delivery.

• Example 1: “As a member of the Nursing Professional Development Committee at my hospital, I led initiatives to enhance ongoing education and training for nurses, demonstrating my commitment to professional growth and quality patient care.”
• Example 2: “Volunteering as a nurse in a local shelter, I organized health screening events and educated the community on disease prevention. This leadership experience reinforced the importance of community health and advocacy in nursing practice.”
• Example 3: “As a charge nurse in a busy medical surgical unit, I’ve honed leadership skills that are directly transferable to a Nurse Practitioner role. Managing a team of nurses, I’ve learned the importance of clear communication, teamwork, and quick decision-making to ensure efficient patient care and safety. My experience in delegating tasks, mentoring new staff, and collaborating with interdisciplinary teams has prepared me to take on the advanced responsibilities of a Nurse Practitioner. I believe these skills will enable me to effectively lead patient care initiatives, contribute to team-based healthcare delivery, and ensure positive outcomes for my patients.”

5. Your Understanding of the Nurse Practitioner Role

Show that you have a clear understanding of what Nurse Practitioners do, the challenges they face, and the impact they have on healthcare. Discuss how you see yourself fitting into this role and contributing to the profession.

• Example 1: “I recognize that Nurse Practitioners play a critical role in expanding access to healthcare, especially in primary care shortage areas. My aspiration is to contribute to this effort by combining my clinical skills with a holistic approach to patient care.”
• Example 2: “Understanding the Nurse Practitioner’s role in leading patient-centered care teams, I am eager to leverage my experience in interdisciplinary collaboration to improve healthcare outcomes and patient satisfaction.”
• Example 3: “Shadowing and working alongside Nurse Practitioners in a primary care setting provided me with invaluable insights into the multifaceted role of NPs in healthcare. Observing their holistic approach to patient care, from conducting thorough assessments and developing personalized care plans to educating patients on disease prevention and health maintenance, reinforced my understanding of the critical impact NPs have on improving healthcare outcomes. This experience has deepened my appreciation for the NP’s role in bridging gaps in healthcare accessibility and has motivated me to contribute to this vital field. My firsthand observations of NPs in action have equipped me with a clear vision of the collaborative, patient-centered care I aspire to provide as a Nurse Practitioner.”

6. Personal Qualities and Strengths

Share personal qualities and strengths that make you a good fit for the Nurse Practitioner role. This could include empathy, resilience, excellent communication skills, ability to work well under pressure, and a strong commitment to lifelong learning.

• Example 1: “My colleagues commend my empathy and ability to communicate effectively with patients from diverse backgrounds, strengths I believe are essential for a successful Nurse Practitioner. My resilience, developed through handling challenging patient care situations, has prepared me to face the complexities of advanced practice nursing.”
• Example 2: “Known for my meticulous attention to detail and analytical skills, I am adept at assessing patient needs and developing comprehensive care plans. These strengths, coupled with my commitment to continuous learning, will enable me to excel in the dynamic environment of advanced nursing practice.”

7. Your Goals and Aspirations

Conclude with your professional goals and aspirations. Explain how the NP program will help you achieve these goals, the areas of practice you are particularly interested in (e.g., family health, pediatrics, geriatrics), and how you plan to contribute to the field and to improving patient care.

• Example 1: “Upon completing the Nurse Practitioner program, my goal is to work in a rural health clinic, addressing the gap in primary care access. I aspire to advocate for preventive care measures and manage chronic conditions, improving the overall health of rural communities.”
• Example 2: “After completing the Nurse Practitioner program, I aim to specialize in mental health, addressing the urgent need for accessible psychiatric care. My goal is to integrate holistic and evidence-based approaches to support individuals with mental health challenges, fostering resilience and well-being in my community.”
• Example 3: “My long-term aspiration is to specialize in oncology as a Nurse Practitioner, contributing to both patient care and cancer research. I aim to use my skills and knowledge to improve treatment protocols and support services for patients undergoing cancer treatment, ultimately enhancing their quality of life.”

Each example is crafted to showcase not only the candidate’s qualifications and experiences but also their personal connection to the field, their understanding of the NP role, and their future aspirations. Tailoring your statement to reflect your unique story will make it compelling and memorable.

Remember, your personal statement should be a reflection of who you are. It should be well-organized, concise, and clearly written, free from grammatical and spelling errors. Tailor it to each program you apply to, ensuring it aligns with their values and expectations. Showcasing your unique experiences and aspirations will make your application stand out.

Don’t forget to check out the other helpful articles on this website!

• How to Prepare for NP School While Still in College
• How to Prepare for NP School- Advice From Current Students
• The Top 9 Things Most Nurses Don’t Know When Applying to NP School
• A Detailed Guide to the Nurse Practitioner School Interview
• Can You Go to NP School Right After BSN With No Experience?
• Stethoscope Recommendations for Nurse Practitioners

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Personal Statement for Mental Health Nursing With Examples

Table of Contents

A personal statement for mental health nursing is one of the most vital parts of any nursing student’s application. 

Writing a personal statement for nursing shows you have an interest and a clear understanding of why you want to pursue the career. 

A great personal statement can help you stand out from other applicants and land the nursing school of your dreams. This article focuses on how to write a captivating nursing statement with great examples to learn from.

What Is a Personal Statement for Mental Health Nursing?

 A personal statement is integral to your application package for a mental health nursing position. It allows you to share your story and highlights why you are interested in a nursing career.

In addition, it showcases your experience working with patients with psychiatric problems and your ability to provide support and nurturing care.

How to Write a Captivating Personal Statement for Mental Health Nursing

When writing a personal nursing statement , many people find themselves at a loss for words. After all, you want to impress the admission committee with your skills and qualifications but don’t want to come across as boastful or insincere. So, where do you start?

The best way to approach writing your nursing statement is by researching what makes a successful one. 

What are the critical points that admissions committees are looking for? Focus on highlighting those same qualities in yourself.

Be sure to give concrete examples of how you have demonstrated these qualities in past experiences. It could be during volunteer work, internships, or jobs shadowing nurses’ etcetera. 

Finally, be authentic and honest – reflect who you truly are!

Personal Statement for Mental Health Nursing Examples

When writing a personal nursing statement, one of the trickiest things can be striking the right tone. It’s important to sound professional while still showing your personality and motivations for wanting to become a nurse. Here are some great examples from INK.

Nursing is a unique and challenging field that requires technical skill and compassion. I am interested in becoming a mental health nurse because it would allow me to support patients struggling with complex issues.

Mental health nurses must build strong relationships with their patients, empathize with them, and offer emotional support. I have experience working with people going through tough times, and I am confident that I can handle the challenges of this career path.

I am motivated by chance to make a difference in someone’s life, as I believe nursing is one of the most rewarding professions. Thank you for your consideration!

I became interested in nursing because I wanted to help people. I have always been drawn to the medical field and knew nursing was the right path for me. My mental health background has also played a role in my decision to pursue a career in nursing. I want to use my experience and knowledge to help those struggling with mental health.

Nursing is not only a challenging but also a gratifying profession. I am excited about the opportunity to work and make a difference in the lives of patients of all ages and backgrounds. Nursing is more than just a job; it is a calling, and I am passionate about positively impacting others through this career choice.

Personal statements for mental health nursing can be daunting because it requires a personal touch. Often, this is something that students might not know how to do on their own. 

If you struggle with personal statement writing, you can use INK to create a unique statement. 

Abir Ghenaiet

Abir is a data analyst and researcher. Among her interests are artificial intelligence, machine learning, and natural language processing. As a humanitarian and educator, she actively supports women in tech and promotes diversity.

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Sample Personal Statement in Nursing

by Talha Omer, MBA, M.Eng., Harvard & Cornell Grad

In personal statement samples by field.

The following essay was written by an applicant who was admitted to top MSN (Masters of Science in Nursing) programs in the US. Variations of this personal statement got accepted at Duke, UPenn, and Ohio State.

This personal statement is intended to provide an example of successful graduate nursing school essays for a top MSN program.

Sample Personal Statement for Nursing (MSN)

I had never been an early riser. But at my first clinical rotation at various hospitals, I had to wake up at dawn, dress in my scrubs, and change two local buses to reach the first hospital by 5 am, followed by a one-hour journey to another public hospital in rural Nepal. After working shifts, I boarded another crowded train in the afternoon to get back, determined to make a difference in my patients’ lives. I cursed my stars.

Ensuing months proved how wrong I was.

That initial experience tested my resolve and commitment to nursing and healthcare. Learning the intricacies of patient care and communicating medical protocols to patients, most of whom were unaware of their medical needs, was challenging. But it opened a new perspective for me. For the first time, I was exposed to the realities of healthcare delivery and how it can affect people’s lives. Then, I started taking nursing not just as a job but as a sacred trust and responsibility.

For me, each experience and activity has brought some value addition. I was exposed to strict regulations and tough competition during my nursing training. That brought out the best in me. I excelled in my studies with honors and medals, but more importantly, I explored avenues beyond that. Volunteering in hospitals, providing care to the elderly, and participating in disaster relief efforts helped me understand the actual value of nursing. During a clinical rotation at a long-term care facility, I was exposed to the daily struggles of the elderly and disabled. It was a humbling experience that taught me compassion and patience in patient care. My clinical rotation at a children’s hospital was equally transformative. Caring for pediatric patients helped me connect with children and their families on an emotional level.

Duke University – where I did my BSN – was a continuation. With academics, I was lured by the thrill of participating in medical outreach programs. As the President of the Duke Nursing Society (AAMN), I had the opportunity to train aspiring nurses through workshops and sessions. This was more of a learning experience for me. The communication, advocacy, and care skills learned during those years have proved vital in my professional nursing career. This training enabled me to secure the first position in the entire state in my interviews for the posts of Nursing Assistant and later Head Nurse.

As I started my nursing career, I would always look for an impact and lasting impression on my patients. However, at times I felt the desire to extend my reach beyond the confines of the hospital. The aspiration became a reality as I got the opportunity to work as Research Associate for a major hospital. Tasked to work in the patient care and advocacy sector, the experience opened a world of possibilities for outreach and dissemination. It instilled an understanding of healthcare as an integrated concept. Formulating and implementing initiatives in providing quality healthcare services to vulnerable populations helped me progress in the dynamic field of healthcare practice. Juggling nursing with community outreach stretched me to my limits. That six years of experience was worth the long hours of hassle and impossible timelines.

Now that I look back and ponder over my journey through academic corridors and professional portals, I see it as a quest to make an impact as a leader in the field of nursing. This yearning has motivated me to contribute, and in turn, it has enriched my being. My overriding passion for expanding the scope of my target audience has never ceased. For this purpose, nursing is the avenue through which I can effectively utilize my experience, potential, and aspirations to make a meaningful, broad-based, and sustainable contribution. For these reasons, I am eager to join the Masters of Science in Nursing at the Ohio State University.

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Traditional BSN Pathway | Admissions

Application deadlines.

This program admits students once-per-year for the Autumn semester.

• Autumn 2024 Opens: October 1, 2023 Deadline: January 15, 2024 Transcript deadline: May 20, 2024

Admission Requirements  |  Prerequisites  |  How to Apply

BSN Transfer Applicants  |  Admissions Timeline

Decisions are made after the application deadline, and applicants are notified through the  Applicant Center  and via email (sent by the Office of Graduate and Professional Admissions) by mid-June. Some applicants may be placed on a waitlist and will receive an admission decision later in the summer.

For questions regarding our admissions process or requirements, please contact our Student Affairs team at  [email protected] . For further assistance and information on applying, you may  RSVP to attend one of our Overview Sessions here  at the College of Nursing.

The Bachelor of Science in Nursing is highly selective and involves a comprehensive evaluation. Our goal is to build a class that exemplifies the values of our college and the university. We receive more applications than seats available in our program and are in a position to deny qualified applicants.

For Autumn 2023, a total of 399 applications were received. Out of the total number of applications received, 278 applications were qualified for review and considered for admission. We admitted a class of 175 students.

Of the 278 applicants who were eligible for admission:

• 171 were from Ohio State’s pre-nursing major; 113 were offered admission and 106 accepted their admission.
• Another 107 were from other majors at Ohio State, regional Ohio State campuses or transfer students from other colleges and universities; of those, 57 were offered admission and 55 accepted their admission.
• The remaining seats (14) were filled by students offered admission through the Early Admission pathway.

Admission Requirements

To be considered for admissions, applicants must meet the following minimum eligibility requirements.  For Autumn 2024 applicants, these requirements must be satisfied by May 20, 2024 or you will not be considered for admission. No exceptions can be made to this deadline. 

This GPA is calculated on a 4.0 scale. It will include all graded undergraduate and graduate college coursework, including college credit earned while in high school, completed by the transcript deadline.

Applicants must complete the seven prerequisite courses by the transcript deadline.

For undergraduate students that have completed coursework in 2020 and in the Spring and Summer of 2021, please visit our pass/no pass policy page  for more information on the Pass/No Pass and Emergency Pass policies.

Applicants must complete at least 30 undergraduate college credit hours by the transcript deadline. Any transferred college credit, credit earned during high school, credit earned through Advanced Placement testing, and graduate credit will all be included in this total.

Applicants must be 18 years of age by September 1 of the autumn semester of their first year in the BSN program.

Prerequisites 

Applicants and Early Admission Pathway students must complete seven (7) prerequisite courses with a grade of C+ or higher by the transcript deadline. Courses completed at other institutions must transfer in as a direct equivalency to one of the Ohio State courses listed below.

For Autumn 2024 applicants, these courses must be completed and official transcripts reflecting a final grade for these courses received by May 20, 2024 or you will not be considered for admission.

All applicants must complete one course in each of the following seven areas. Please refer to the course description in  the course catalog  to determine if you are eligible to enter the courses listed below.

Note for currently enrolled Ohio State students: If you do not meet the requirements to enroll in the class, you will need to request permission of the instructor via email in order to enroll. Once permission is received, you must forward that to your academic advisor for enrollment.

Click on each of the subject areas below for a list of Ohio State courses that fulfill the requirements.

Must include a laboratory component. 

• BIOLOGY 1101 Introductory Biology 
• BIOLOGY 1102
• BIOLOGY 1110 Biology for the Health Sciences 
• BIOLOGY 1113
• BIOLOGY 1114

*1113 Biological Sciences: Energy Transfer and Development will fulfill this requirement 

Must include a laboratory component.

• CHEM 1110 1110, 1210, 1220, 1610, 1620, 1910H, 1920H, 2510, 2520, 2610, 2620, 2910H, BIO CHEM 2210
• ANATOMY 2300 Human Anatomy
• ANATOMY 3300 Advanced Human Anatomy
• EEOB 2510 Human Anatomy
• EEOB 2520 Human Physiology
• PHR 3100 Human Physiology and Disease
• PHYSIO 3101
• PHYSIO 3102
• PHYSIO 3200 Human Physiology
• ENGLISH 1110 First-Year English Composition
• PSYCH 1100 Introduction to Psychology
• RURLSOC 1500 Introduction to Rural Sociology
• SOCIOL 1101 Introductory Sociology
• SOCIOL 1102 Social Foundations of Race, Ethnicity, Gender, and Social Class

Note for direct from high school pathway applicants: A score of 3 or higher on the corresponding AP test is required to satisfy a prerequisite requirement.  For Autumn 2024 applicants, scores must be received by July 31, 2024. If an AP score is being used to fulfill a prerequisite requirement, your admission decision may be delayed until the AP score is received.

Current Ohio State students should run a Degree Audit Report (DARs) through  Buckeyelink  to verify the completion of their prerequisite courses. This includes applicants who recently transferred to Ohio State and students with Advanced Placement or Post Secondary/College Credit Plus coursework. If scores or transfer coursework do not appear on your DARs, you will need to submit official scores and official transcripts to the  Office of Graduate and Professional Admissions . 

Prerequisite courses taken at other institutions must be direct equivalents to the Ohio State courses listed above in order to meet corresponding prerequisite requirements. To determine if a course completed at another institution will transfer as a direct equivalent, you can refer to  Transferology , a web resource containing transfer information for courses offered at colleges or universities. You can also review the  transfer credit charts  created by the Office of Graduate and Professional Admissions. If you are unable to locate your courses through these two resources, please email the Office of Graduate and Professional Admissions at [email protected] to request assistance with evaluating your courses. All prerequisite courses completed at other institutions are reviewed by the Office of Graduate and Professional Admissions. The College of Nursing is not involved in these determinations.

You are responsible for verifying that all the prerequisite courses taken (or planned) satisfy prerequisite requirements.

The following are other important aspects of completing prerequisite courses outside of Ohio State:

• Students taking prerequisite courses at institutions that do not award grades on a +/- scale must earn a grade of B or higher in each of the prerequisite courses to be eligible for admission.
• General (GEN), special (SPL), or technical (TECH) credit will not satisfy prerequisite requirements.
• The "To-Do List" in the Applicant Center will alert you if a transfer course is not considered a direct equivalent or you have other deficiencies related to your prerequisites. The College of Nursing will not inform you of any unfulfilled prerequisite courses or incomplete requirements.
• It is important to include all current and planned transfer coursework in the prerequisite summary on the BSN application.
• If you are required to have any of your prerequisite courses reevaluated, you will need to contact the corresponding  Transfer Credit Coordinator . It is critical that you communicate the results of the reevaluation to the College of Nursing prior to the May admission requirements deadline. Results of the reevaluation should be emailed to  [email protected] .
• You will not be considered for admission if coursework does not meet the required direct equivalencies or if you do not meet all other admissions requirements.

Questions or concerns regarding your transfer prerequisite coursework should be directed to the Office of Graduate and Professional Admissions at  614-292-9444  or  [email protected] .

How to Apply

To apply for the Bachelor of Science in Nursing, you must complete the following steps:

You can complete and submit the online BSN application through the Office of Graduate and Professional Admissions. A $60 fee is required at the time of submission of the application.

The personal statement and essay questions provide an opportunity for you to share your story and how you can contribute to the nursing profession and/or excel as a nursing student at Ohio State. See the Who We are Looking For section  for further details.

The personal statement and essay questions are included in the online application, available starting in October, and must be completed before you submit that application. We recommend that you begin the application to find the prompt and questions, work on your statement and essays in a separate word processing software, and then copy and paste them into the application when you are ready to submit your application.

Employees of the College of Nursing cannot review or edit your personal statement or essay responses.

The recorded online video interview is another way you can exemplify the attributes and experiences desired in an applicant to the BSN program.

The recorded online video interview must be completed by January 15 for your application to be considered for admission.

Click here to access the recorded online video interview and instructions.

All up-to-date transcripts and test scores (including those demonstrating completion of prerequisite courses) must be received by May 20, 2024 for your application to be considered for admission. No exceptions will be made for this deadline.

You must submit official transcripts from  all  colleges and universities that you have previously attended or currently attend. This includes transcripts for any college credit earned through dual credit (i.e. college credit plus) education programs, regardless of whether the credit appears on your high school transcript.

Applicants do not need to submit transcripts for coursework completed at Ohio State.

Official transcripts are submitted to the Office of Graduate and Professional Admissions. Please refer to their website for instructions on how to submit your transcripts. If a transcript for a college or university is listed as requried on your application To-Do List but you never attended that institution, please contact the Office of Graduate and Professional Admissions. You should also contact the College of Nursing at [email protected] to notify us of the requirement.

If steps 1, 2, and 3 are not completed by 11:59 p.m. Eastern time on January 15 during the year of application and step 4 by 11:59 p.m. Eastern time by the deadline listed, you will not be considered for admission. There are no exceptions to these deadlines.

Additional information for international applicants applying to the BSN program, including English proficiency testing requirements, may be found by visiting the Office of Graduate and Professional Admissions website . For applicants that may need to start at the university as a pre-nursing student to complete prerequisite requirements to apply to the BSN program should consult the Office of Undergraduate Admissions here .

BSN Transfer Applicants

Students who have completed any bachelor’s-level nursing coursework at an  ACEN ,  CCNE , or  CNEA  accredited BSN program are eligible to apply to Ohio State’s BSN program as a transfer student. Transfer students apply during the regular application period detailed in the section above and will follow the same admission decision timeline provided in the section below.

Students enrolled in pre-nursing programs at other institutions are not eligible to apply through the transfer BSN process, but can apply through the Traditional BSN process or can apply to the university as a transfer student to enter the College of Nursing’s  Pre-Nursing program .

BSN transfer application process

• BSN transfer applicants must meet the Ohio State traditional BSN program’s  admission requirements  to be considered for admission. To apply to the BSN program as a BSN transfer applicant, you must complete all steps of the traditional BSN program’s  application process  detailed in the “How to Apply” section of this webpage. All application requirements must be completed by the corresponding deadlines.
• Answer the BSN transfer applicant questions located within the application. These questions include identifying as a BSN transfer applicant, listing all current, previously completed, and planned nursing coursework, as well as grades earned in those courses.
• If you do not complete the BSN transfer applicant questions in the application, nursing course work completed at another institution will not be evaluated for transfer credit. Non-nursing specific coursework can still be considered for transfer to meet university and General Education requirements.

Applying and being admitted to the BSN program also counts as applying and being admitted to The Ohio State University as a general undergraduate student for the Autumn semester. Likewise, not being admitted to the BSN program will also result in not being admitted as a student to Ohio State. If a transfer student wishes to attend Ohio State regardless of their admission to the BSN program or they wish to complete non-nursing coursework at Ohio State prior to the Autumn semester, they should also complete the University’s  transfer student application process  in addition to the BSN application process.

Nursing coursework evaluation

Nursing transfer credit will only be evaluated after an offer of admission to the BSN program has been made.

The evaluation process is outlined below so you may begin preparing the required materials in advance:

• Transfer applicants will be contacted by the College of Nursing via email after they have been notified of their offer of admission. This email will contain instructions on how to submit their specific nursing coursework documentation and will be sent to the email address the student included on their BSN application.
• A syllabus is a document that outlines the expectations for the course, along with the topics that will be taught, grading scale, and expected outcomes from the course. Please reach out to the institution you attended to request a copy of course syllabi.
• Only nursing courses completed at the bachelor’s level with a C+ or greater can be considered for transfer into the BSN program.
• If required documentation is not submitted by the deadline, previously completed nursing coursework cannot be considered for transfer. The student will retain their offer of admission and be required to complete all nursing-specific courses to earn a BSN degree from Ohio State.
• Non-nursing specific coursework can still be considered for transfer to meet university and General Education requirements through the  university level transfer process .
• By mid-July, the results of the nursing coursework transfer credit evaluation will be shared with BSN transfer students via email. These results will be sent to the email address the student included on their BSN application.
• Once the results of the nursing coursework evaluation have been shared, BSN transfer students will have 1 week to accept the offer of admission.

Admission Timeline

All required application materials must be submitted by their published deadlines in order for your application to be considered. Please check your  Application Status page  to review your status and ensure all required materials are submitted by the deadline. If you have questions about your application checklist, please contact the Office of Graduation & Professional Admissions at  [email protected] .

If you applied for Autumn 2024, you can view the  admissions timeline here .  This admissions timeline covers what you can expect throughout the application process, including an anticipated timeline for when admissions decisions will be released and next steps if you are offered admission.

Once released, all admission decisions for the BSN program are final.

Individualized feedback on your admissions decision or materials cannot be provided. We can offer guidance on alternate pathways to the nursing profession that are offered through the College of Nursing an direct currently enrolled Ohio State students to campus resources. We encourage parents/guardians to have their student reach out to our office for help when assistance is needed or when they have a question.

Applicants to the BSN program who are interested in alternative pathways, such as the Bachelor of Science in Health and Wellness degree or Path2BSN should contact  [email protected] .

In accordance with the non-discrimination policy of The Ohio State University and the College of Nursing, we strictly prohibit any discrimination based upon age, color, ethnicity, race, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, national origin, religion, pregnancy, or veteran status in its application, admission, or enrollment practices. 

Ohio State is committed to treating applicants fairly and with dignity and respect. Please review Ohio State’s post-admissions policy .

[email protected]

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Personal statement For Bachelor of Nursing - Essay Example

• Subject: Nursing
• Type: Essay
• Level: Undergraduate
• Pages: 1 (250 words)
• Downloads: 3
• Author: schmidtjosefina

Extract of sample "Personal statement For Bachelor of Nursing"

Nursing is the heart of healthcare Pursuing a path which leads to the God, always compel and motivate me to divert my all attention towards Nursing. After a chaos of choosing the right profession, I found nursing to be the best, matching all my abilities with the attributes of this profession. This is my firm belief that I am blessed with the nature which is so caring, helping and passionate to serve humanity, which blends with the needs of the nursing industry. It’s my habit to complete the task with flying colors, so I am portraying it in my professional degree i.e. Bachelors of Nursing.

I consider myself as a creative, bold, confident, determinant and ambitious individual along with a presentable personality. I have sound nursing and interpersonal skills as I always perform my duty and task with full integrity and devotion. There are some domains in which I possess command and expertise. They are Patient’s behavior analysis, General Physician Consultancy, Medical report analysis, and Performing diagnostic tests. As my academic reports are illustrating my interest in the pious filed of Nursing, so I have decided to continue my dedication and devotion towards it.

I have decided to precede my educational and professional experience up to such an extent where I can help humanity at my best. In this era of exclusive technology and inventions, I need to upgrade myself and need to keep pace with the profession, so a scholarship for higher studies will definitely help me to sharpen my skills. I feel that after a scholarship I can serve humanity at my best because “Serving humanity is to serving GOD”.

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Updated on: June 20, 2024 / 1:47 PM PDT / KCAL News

The University of Southern California student accused of fatally stabbing a man he allegedly saw trying to break into a car will not face criminal charges, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office said Thursday.

Ivan Gallegos, 19, and two other people approached the man in the 700 block of West 28th Street around 8:15 p.m. Monday, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. The victim, identified by police as 27-year-old Xavier Cerf, was not breathing when officers arrived. Cerf was believed to be homeless, police said.

Gallegos stabbed Cerf multiple times and remained at the scene before being detained by officers, police said. He was initially held on $2 million bail.

Police said the two people with Gallegos were questioned and later released.

On Thursday, the DA's office said it would not be pursuing charges against Gallegos.

"After careful consideration and a thorough review of all available evidence, we have decided not to pursue charges against USC student Ivan Gallegos," DA's office spokeswoman Venusse D. Dunn wrote in a statement.

"We believe that Mr. Gallegos's actions were driven by a genuine fear for his life and the lives of others," Dunn wrote. "Our heart goes out to the deceased's family, friends and everyone impacted by this tragic incident."

Upon release from LAPD 77th Station on Thursday afternoon, media gathered in anticipation that Gallegos would speak publicly. His mother said that he was traumatized and was not ready to speak, and just wanted to go home.

USC has said Gallegos was a student in the Marshall School of Business.

• Los Angeles
• University of Southern California
• Fatal Stabbing

Marissa Wenzke is a journalist based in Los Angeles. She has a bachelor's degree in political science from UC Santa Barbara and is a graduate of Columbia Journalism School.

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