Argumentative paper help, PLEASE. (NICU subtopic)

[futureflrn]

Hello, I am a pre-nursing student and I need to write an argumentative paper. Most people I've talked to in my class are writing about things like the war in Iraq, the auto bail and other current issues. While I do have an opinion on each of these things, there isn't one in particular I'm very passionate about. My dream is to work in a NICU, so I'd like to write my paper on something in relation to NICU's. I want to make a point about something that most people are going to write about. Maybe I can open someone's eyes to something they don't put much thought into.

I'm having trouble developing my thesis. I'm not sure what exactly to write about. I was thinking something along the lines like, "why it is important to fund research on the prevention and care of premature babies." But, I can't decide what points to make.

If you have any suggestions, or ideas of something similar I should look into and research that can make a good arguement, please let me know.

Thank you in advance for any and all input.

[nicusince86]

Ethical dilemma of late term abortions, some the same gestation as babies we save in the NICU. Varies from country to country.

[talaxandra]

You could look at arguments that funding research and care for extremely pre-term babies would be better spent in other areas, as that seems to be the area you're interested in. Read articles that take that position, analyse the key parts of their arguments (perhaps poor short term survival rates, long term consequences for the baby, ongoing cost to the state) and then create a counter argument.

For example, in response to the argument that dialysis should be restricted to patients under the age of sixty five, because of expense and the fact that elderly pateints have fewer years of life to begin with, you could argue that improving technology and technique has resulted in better survival outcomes across the board.

The great thing about an academic argument is that, provided your points are well supported, there's no objective right or wrong side. Of course, for some people that's a drawback...

[llg, PhD, RN]

The classic arguments for the question of why should we fund research to help us prevent premature births:

1. Cheaper to prevent the premature births than to pay for the expensive care that premature babies require (both in the NICU and throughout the rest of their lives in some cases)

2. The prevention of human suffering is a high priority human value consistent with most cultural/societal belief systems

Gather you data on the costs of caring for premature babies -- and then make your case that the resources would be better spent preventing the problems than responding to them.

[futureflrn]

:bowingpurThank you all, for your suggestions. I ended up writing my paper stating why it is important to fund research for the prevention of premature births.