Help with Personal Statement for Nursing School

[KALFRN14]

I am applying to 2 programs that require a personal statement and I am unsure of where to start. I have so much to say and little room to say it all. It would be nice to get tips or examples of where to start and what to include when writing the statement. I don't want it to be a pity party but I do want to express the challenges I've faced trying to get into nursing school, my reasons for choosing nursing, etc. I would appreciate any insight from anyone who has experience in writing the statement for a nursing program. Thank you in advance! ?

[RunBabyRN]

Being concise is very important. When you're in nursing school, you'll have to whittle your papers down to what seems like an impossible length, but think about documentation- who wants to read 5 pages about a wound dressing change? That's part of the reason behind it. Plus, when you're speaking with a doctor, they don't care that the patient prefers corn flakes for breakfast and refuses to wear the red socks, they want to know the lab values, how the patient is responding to treatment, and what needs to happen right now.

Don't get too deep into your challenges, because you don't want to make it look like you'll have a lot of road blocks during school, or that you take a lot of baggage with you into nursing, unless you tunneled your way out of North Korea and swam to the US.

What are the prompt questions? What kinds of things do you want to include?

[KALFRN14]

Thank you so much RunBabyRN for your response! The questions are: Why did you choose nursing? Why now? Healthcare experiences? What challenges have you faced personally or academically? What do you plan to do after receiving you RN/ your future nursing career goals? Why did you pick this particular program?

So many questions, so much to say to answer them but I definitely want to be concise. I just feel it's impossible and I want to highlight the important parts of myself. I've had a rough road getting to apply to nursing school from family issues to academic failure. I have such a passion for nursing and this is my dream. I heard the personal statement pretty much makes or breaks you no matter how good or bad your entrance exams and grades are, so I just want to win them over with this..