Question about APA paper

VickyRN, MSN, DNP, RN · Sep 7, 2006

I just started in graduate school and have been assigned yet another paper on "my nursing philosophy". However, I've been told to write it in third person. I am open to any and all suggestions. How do I not use 'my, mine, I' when writing about 'my' nursing philosophy?
Thanks in advance from all you nurse educators!
And, yes, I have already emailed my facilitator and classmates this same question.

Scientific writing uses the third person (avoids the use of I, we, or you). This is awkward, but can substitute third-person or passive voice constructions such as "this author," "nurses," or even "This paper reviews... and then discusses..." Here are some links which may be of help to you with your writing project:

http://www.acsu.buffalo.edu/~mmhenry/NursingPhilosophy.doc (very short and sweet, but does not use first person!)

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/workshops/hypertext/apa/introduction.html

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/grammar/g_actpass.html

http://writing.umn.edu/sws/quicktips/documentation/APA_editorial.htm

http://www.ohlone.edu/instr/nursing/philosophy.html

Is there a student writing support center at your university? If so, you may also want to contact them. Best wishes to you with your project :)

llg, PhD, RN · Sep 7, 2006

Another hint for writing in 3rd person ... is to focus on the subject itself and not on your feelings about it. State your opinions as fact, using references as appropriate to support your assertions.

For example: instead of saying, "I believe that nursing is ...blah blah blah" say simply that "Nursing is blah blah blah. The nurse does blah blah blah." etc.

llg

slinkeecat · Sep 7, 2006

I hated APA format... but found the most fabulous computer program to help me.... ORDER "STYLE-ease it is a wonderful APA format disc. practically writes the paper!!!!

msn2008, MSN, RN · Sep 7, 2006

Thanks for your help. I also heard back from some classmates and my facilitator. Their recommendation is the same as was sugested here; use 'this writer, this nurse, and then she or her'. Someone suggested I write my paper as if I was writing it about my best freind. That helped. So now, I just need to do all my citations and references, since my philosophy isn't based on any of my original ideas! It does feel strange, since we use these terms all the times, to stop and think where we learned them and then give credit where credit is due!

Thanks again for taking the time to help me!

VickyRN, MSN, DNP, RN · Sep 7, 2006

Thanks for your help. I also heard back from some classmates and my facilitator. Their recommendation is the same as was sugested here; use 'this writer, this nurse, and then she or her'. Someone suggested I write my paper as if I was writing it about my best freind. That helped. So now, I just need to do all my citations and references, since my philosophy isn't based on any of my original ideas! It does feel strange, since we use these terms all the times, to stop and think where we learned them and then give credit where credit is due!
Thanks again for taking the time to help me!

You're very welcome :)

RebeccaJeanRN · Sep 7, 2006

Before I read this post, I would have done it like this: "One philosophy that seems to be well supported in research is such & such. In a recent literature search, it appeared that in over X number of articles it was...blah, blah,blah"

But I like 'this writer, this nurse, and then she or her' as was suggested above, even better! It sure takes a bit of creativity to mention ones personal preference without speaking in the first person, but its do-able.

[its really fun when I learn something new here, which I always seem to do!]

msn2008, MSN, RN · Sep 8, 2006

Update: the paper is finished and submitted; I'm enrolled in an online masters course. It was amazing to cite all the different authors who have influenced my philosophy! Makes me realize I haven't had an original thought in years! I'll keep you posted regarding the evaluation of this paper.