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Nursing Personal Statement Guide: Examples, Tips and Structure
According to recent data, nursing schools receive thousands of applications yearly, and admission rates are increasingly competitive. But fear not! We’ve got your back.
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This blog equips you with insider tips and expert advice to craft a standout nursing personal statement that captivates admissions committees. Whether you’re a seasoned writer or the thought of putting pen to paper sends shivers down your spine, we’ve simplified the process to make it a breeze.
So, let’s dive in and discover how to showcase your passion for nursing, highlight your unique experiences, and create an impressive statement that makes you stand tall among the crowd.
Let’s get you one step closer to your dream nursing programme !
What Is a Nursing School Personal Statement?
When applying to nursing schools, one crucial document can make or break your chances of acceptance: the nursing school personal statement. This short essay, typically limited to two pages, serves as your introduction to the admissions committee, giving them insight into your passion for nursing and what drives you to pursue this career.
Unlike your resume or CV, a personal statement for nursing allows you to delve into your journey toward nursing. Share the experiences and encounters that shaped your decision, whether it was a family member’s influence, personal health struggles, or a deep-rooted desire to help others.
Each nursing school may have specific prompts or requirements , so tailor your statement accordingly to produce a good nursing personal statement. The goal is to showcase your unique traits and demonstrate how you align with the programme’s values and mission.
This article will show you how to write a personal statement for nursing and will cover areas from format, key topics, to relevant experiences. Through this guide, you will be able to get started with creating your own personal statement and beginning your journey. If you do require further support following this guide, one of our curated personal statement services may be the right fit for you:
Medicine Personal Statement https://www.medicmind.co.uk/personal-statement/
Nursing School Personal Statement Format
A well-structured nursing school personal statement is key to making a lasting impression on the admissions committee. Follow this tried-and-true format to ensure your statement stands out from the crowd.
1. How to Start a Nursing Personal Statement : Engaging Introduction
Capture the reader’s attention from the start. When thinking about how to start a personal statement for nursing, we want to open with a compelling story, an impactful quote, or a personal anecdote that reflects your passion for nursing. Clearly state your motivations for choosing this career path and why you are applying to their programme.
2. Informative Body:
Use the body paragraphs to showcase your experiences and achievements that align with nursing. Avoid a simple list of accomplishments ; provide context for each one. Highlight any healthcare-related work, volunteer experiences, or academic achievements demonstrating your nursing dedication and suitability.
3. Relevant Connections:
Establish a strong connection between your experiences and the nursing program’s values. Research the programme thoroughly and mention specific courses, faculty, or opportunities that excite you and align with your goals. This demonstrates your genuine interest and commitment. A key component here will be making your statement relevant to the area of nursing that you are applying to for example an adult nursing personal statement may have different experiences and goals from a children’s nursing personal statement or even a mental health nursing personal statement . Being able to apply relevant experiences and show reflection on this will put your personal statement to the top of the list for memorability.
4. Showcase Skills:
Showcase essential nursing skills such as empathy, communication, problem-solving, and teamwork. Provide examples of how you’ve demonstrated these skills in your past experiences and explain how they will contribute to your success as a nurse.
5. How to end a nursing personal statement : Powerful Conclusion
End with a memorable conclusion reinforcing your passion for nursing and commitment to making a difference in healthcare. Reiterate why you are an ideal candidate for their programme and express your eagerness to contribute to nursing.
6. Proofreading and Editing:
Once you’ve written your statement, carefully proofread it for grammar, spelling, and clarity. Seek feedback from trusted friends, family, or mentors to ensure your statement is clear, concise, and error-free.
Tips for Writing a Stellar Nursing Personal Statement
Writing a stellar nursing personal statement requires careful thought and attention to detail. Follow these expert tips to create a compelling and authentic statement that sets you apart from other applicants:
1) Be Genuine:
Share your authentic self in your statement. Admissions committees value honesty and want to know the real you . Reflect on your motivations for pursuing nursing and draw from personal experiences that have shaped your passion for the field.
2) Focus on Your Journey:
Use a storytelling approach to take the reader on a journey that led you to choose nursing as your career path. Discuss significant experiences, challenges, and moments of inspiration that ignited your interest in nursing. Avoid generic statements and, instead, emphasise what makes your journey unique.
3) Showcase Your Strengths:
Highlight your key strengths, skills, and qualities that make you a great fit for nursing. Whether it’s empathy, leadership, adaptability, or problem-solving, provide concrete example s of how you’ve demonstrated these attributes in various situations.
4) Keep it Concise:
Adhere to the specified word limit and keep your statement concise and focused. Admissions committees read numerous applications, so a clear and well-structured personal statement will make a lasting impression.
5) Avoid Clichés:
Steer clear of overused clichés and generalisations. Instead, provide specific and meaningful examples illustrating your unique qualities and experiences.
6) Show, Don’t Tell:
Instead of making broad claims, back up your statements with concrete evidence and specific instances. This approach adds credibility and depth to your statement.
7) Stay Positive:
Maintain a positive tone throughout your statement. Focus on your aspirations, accomplishments, and enthusiasm for nursing rather than dwelling on negative experiences or setbacks.
Now equipped with expert tips and a clear roadmap, it’s time to seize the opportunity and create your standout nursing personal statement. Showcase your passion, experiences, and genuine motivations for nursing. Tailor each statement to your dream nursing programmes, highlighting your unique strengths.
Make every word count , and remember, authenticity is key. With a captivating and well-crafted personal statement, you’ll open doors to the nursing career of your dreams. Start writing now and secure your spot in your desired nursing school!
Need help and expert advice? Contact Medic Mind !
→ Q: How long should my nursing personal statement be?
A: Most nursing schools have specific word limits for personal statements, typically 500 to 1000 words. Make sure to follow the guidelines provided by each school to stay within the desired length.
→ Q: Can I use the same personal statement for multiple nursing schools?
A: While you can use a general template, you must tailor your personal statement for each nursing programme. Highlight specific reasons why you’re interested in each school and demonstrate how you align with their values.
→ Q: Should I mention my grades and academic achievements in my personal statement?
A: Your academic achievements are already listed in your application. Instead, focus on sharing experiences, skills, and personal qualities that make you a strong candidate for nursing.
→ Q: Can I use humour in my nursing personal statement?
A: While a touch of humour can be engaging, use it judiciously and ensure it aligns with the overall tone of your statement. Remember, professionalism and sincerity are essential in a nursing personal statement.
→ Q: What if I don’t have direct healthcare experience for my personal statement?
A: Even without direct healthcare experience, focus on transferable skills gained from other experiences, such as volunteer work, leadership roles, or communication abilities that can be valuable in a nursing career.
Q: Do you have any specific band nursing personal statements. For example band 5 nurse personal statement examples, band 6 nurse personal statement examples, or band 7 nurse personal statement examples?
A: We are always collating further examples from a variety of levels of nursing but the key principle as you progress through the career ladder, from a newly qualified nurse personal statement to a critical care nurse personal statement, in nursing is to be able to continue to grow from your clinical experience and to reflect on those processes. As you progress to higher bands, it is also important to shift the focus from learning to teaching and leadership in order to demonstrate that career progression.
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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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Instant access to all of the examples so you can complete your NHS application fast! PLUS… get a 14-day free trial to our bestselling Online NHS Interview Masterclass to elevate your interview to a whole new level! (Thereafter just £27+vat per month, no minimum term. Cancel anytime). SPECIAL OFFER £ 39.99 TODAY'S PRICE ONLY: £ 7.00. Yes!
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For example band 5 nurse personal statement examples, band 6 nurse personal statement examples, or band 7 nurse personal statement examples? A: We are always collating further examples from a variety of levels of nursing but the key principle as you progress through the career ladder, from a newly qualified nurse personal statement to a ...
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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. ... you may need to write a band 6 or 7 nursing personal statement. ... Take a look through our nursing personal statement examples above to give yourself an idea of what a successful ...
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General Practice Nurse, Claire Carmichael, examines what employers look for on your nursing personal statement and guides us through the 6 Cs of nursing. Topics covered in this article. Introduction. Make your statement unique to the job you're applying for. Demonstrate that you represent the Trust's values. So, what do the 6 Cs actually mean?