can ANY student nurses PLEASE help me with my personal statement? <banging head against wall.....>

[tiredemma]

WHY IS SO HARD TO DO THIS???

I have hit a mental block.... i cant even think of the first sentence, I have been trying for four weeks to prepare a PS to be given to my tutor when i go back to college in september.

I think because I know that my future career depends on this, im finding it hard to start something that will make ME stand out from all off the other applicants- 640 apps for 100 places < vomits with fear into carrier bag>

can anybody help me, please, pretty please?

im not a student nurse, but for my personal statement i put in stuff like how exciting i found the subject, why i wanted to do the course, what motivated me (mainly the kids and wanting to make a better life for them), how i anticipated having a few problems due to the kids but that i had thought them through and had support network in place to deal with thm, why you chose the college you did rather than a different one.

start typing everything you can think of, then you can cut and paste or delete bits. i find its best to start with a list.

good luck

Patient care patient care patient care!!! That is always a winner. Focus things around this.

Looking forward to embrasing (sp) all the challenges which nursing offers.

You are a 'people person' who looks forward to patient contact.

You work well in a team, but also feel you can be independant and are good at decision making.

You are aware of your limitations and the aspect of responsibility and accountability.

You have researched the NMC code of professional conduct and feel you have an understanding which greatly underpins the entire value system of nursing.

Do you have any experience in nursing homes etc? Try and talk about that positively if you can, or identify reasons how it needs to change if bad and show enthusiasum to make theses changes yourself if qualified to do so.

Also as giglinggoblin says, think of reasons why that college etc etc.

Not a student, am qualified but these sort of things are what I put in when I'm applying for a job now.

I have just handed in my personal statement but mine wasn't for nursing... but i focussed a lot on my maturity being a GOOD thing, years of life experience etc... Can your tutor not help you out?? Ours read over our's and helped us out with bits! I was told to mention my children too... I don't know if this would apply to you.

No idea about nursing, but some adaptations from teaching and industry:

...you believe in equality of care regardless of age or background of the patient...

...you believe in cotinuing your education through experience, personal research, in-service training...

...you work well in teams...

...you put patient care first, ahead of personal blah blah, bureaucracy etc...

...you can identify problems and work towards finding solutions...

...you have thoroughly enjoyed your training and experience to date and relish the prospect of the new responsibilities and challenges...

I think it would be useful to summarise your experience so far. Every student nurse has a different experience so a sentence that encompasses what you have done so far will be really useful.

Think about reflection, reflective practice, isn't this how you learn from experience? From this you should be able to think about what you have learnt and how you are going to 'build' on that experience.

What are you trying to acheive from this statement? Is this for a job application or a statement about what you have learnt so far?

Buzz words - holistic care, evidence based-practice, confidentiality, working within a team, communication skills, adaptive, enthusiastic, development of skills....

YOU ARE ALL STARS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!