Accelerated Second Bachelors Entry Essay

[ricardoj]

hey all, new to the forum and i have already gotten a lot of great information from all the different threads. i'm applying to a couple different accelerated nursing programs and one of them needs an entry essay. i attached what i've got below, i was hoping for some feedback. it's just a rough draft, so please be brutally honest!

thanks in advance. p.s. i put the essay prompt right at the start.

an essay which describes your reasons for changing your career to nursing. the essay should include why you are an excellent candidate for the accelerated second degree in nursing program and how the program will facilitate your career goals.

"i always knew, from an early age, that i was destined to be a part of the medical field in some capacity. in school i always excelled in the sciences, biology especially, and i have always had a keen interest in the human body and all its systems and processes. unlike the majority of the public i've always somewhat enjoyed going to the doctor's office for a checkup (so long as i didn't need to get a shot that is). i relished the opportunity of being able to get a glimpse at the medical equipment and see how it all worked. and in a more popular culture sense, some of my favorite television shows were always medical procedurals. in fact, when watching war movies i usually find myself somehow identifying with the field medics more than anyone else. so i've really always envisioned myself in the role of a healthcare professional.

after high school i attended umass amherst where i majored in kinesiology while also following the pre-medicine track, taking all the requisite undergraduate courses needed to pursue medical school. while working on my bachelor's degree i held a part time job at baystate medical center as an emergency room assistant (or "orderly" if you will. although i feel the former lends much more gravitas to the position). this afforded me the ability to not only work alongside the nursing staff of the emergency department but all other departments as well. in just a short time i was able to get a glimpse into virtually all aspects of nursing, from not only the direct patient care but also the myriad of technical and clinical aspects. and i loved every bit of it! and then as so often it does, life came along and sent me on a bit of a detour.

a very large part of my life while attending umass was being a member of the umass men's crew team. as with any collegiate level sport, and arguably even more so with rowing, my free time was always at a premium. between early morning rows, late night workouts and weekend regattas, on top of class and homework, i had no choice but to leave my position at the hospital. and i feel that decision marked the beginning of my (hopefully brief) distancing from the medical field.

while working at the hospital i was also able to get firsthand exposure to the work of the physicians throughout the hospital. one of the major drawbacks that i found with their profession is the inherent impersonality. due largely to the dynamics of the occupation, and the shear volume of patients they were required to see, the doctors were never really able to form a real bond with their patients in the way that the nursing staff did. i had a hard time envisioning myself in a profession where i would have to sacrifice that part of patient care. as a result i decided to forgo my pursuit of attending medical school and started to look into other lines of work.

for the past year i have been working as a police officer in the city of northampton. and while i do enjoy the work, i know it is not what i want to be doing for the rest of my life. it isn't my "calling" if you will. and while, as with nursing, there is definitely the appeal in policing that i am able to help people and be a positive influence on their lives it lacks the mental stimulation of science and medicine that i have always been so drawn to.

as i've grown older, and a bit more mature (although i trust my sister might argue that last part), i've begun to have a deeper desire to not only be a part of a profession where i could utilize my fondness of medicine but where i can also make strong connections with the people that i would ultimately be caring for. and nursing encompasses all of these things that i am looking for. it just so happened for me that the road i took to this realization had its fair share of twists and turns."