Voicing an opinion

kla374 · May 22, 2010

I agree! And for my last semester of school I did have to write opinion based paper. Granted, it had to be backed by some form of evidence based article. I loved that they gave us the opportunity to have some voice. Several policies at my local hospital have been changed in the past due to these papers also.

Bug Out, BSN · May 22, 2010

Watch "Thank you for smoking."

That movie changed my life and how I debated and what I thought of opinions. He answers many of your questions.

Moogie · May 22, 2010

I'm reading this interesting book by Kathleen Heinrich called A Nurse's Guide to Presenting & Publishing and she writes fairly early in the book that as nurses we spend so many years quoting others that basically we forget how to express our own opinion in writing.
It really hit home. I'm working on an MSN and have hopes of getting a doctorate one day and am having some trouble -- its not the academic work -- for example I had to write a paper that discussed the ethics of abortion. Well I'm not going to turn this thread into a debate on abortion but the point is that I know how I feel about it but I would never express my belief to a patient and I try extremely hard to be objective and not have a personal feeling on a patient's decision like that (now let them not take their bp meds and I'm all over it with giving them my opinion).
How in the hell am I going to write a dissertation if I can't find ten pages to express my views on some ethical issues? Have I really become so focused on the nuts and bolts of nursing that I don't have an argument on an issue like that anymore? I really think my issue is that I feel I can't add anything substantial to the debate because its already been said and nothing I can add will "prove" that abortion is right or wrong.
Why can't we write papers on something I feel I can discuss that matters? (Meaning, why does it matter how I feel on abortion if the world doesn't operate based on my feelings? I can't prove that my feelings are the right ones to have no matter how many good points I can type out. On the other hand, I can write a paper about whether clear occlusive dressings or gauze and tape dressings are better for PICC lines and I feel I can say something substantial that has measure and can be proven so its worth writing out an opinion)
I guess I don't really have a question but I was wondering if anyone else out there felt the same way.

Is this for an ethics class? It's tough to try to write an opinion when you're used to looking to the peer-reviewed journals to find everything. While there will be discussions of ethics in the literature, there aren't going to be many articles that will look at the pros or cons of a controversy such as abortion.

If it's within the parameters of the assignment, I would suggest you look to some different sources for information. You may wish to look at the issue from a faith-based perspective and look into some things that have been written by persons in different faith backgrounds, for example, or look for government statistics regarding the demographics of abortion. There may be articles on CINAHL that will discuss the consequences of abortion so that may help strengthen your argument either for or against.

Fell free to PM me if you want a kindred spirit. I'm in a grad program, too, so I feel your pain.

TDCHIM · May 22, 2010

Sometimes the issue with a situation like the paper you're attempting to write is that the topic is vast and in some ways murky, and it seems like every possible argument has already been voiced. It can end up making people feel overwhelmed just thinking about it, which is rather how you sound to me from your post. Perhaps you could try to zero in on one aspect of the debate (states changing their laws to basically ban abortion, parental notification for girls under 18, etc.) if that is allowed for the whole of your paper, or if it isn't, you could do so for a brief while and then apply/contrast your conclusion there to your thoughts on the rest of the debate.

I took a medical ethics course a couple of semesters ago and had to do a similar type of paper. In my research, I ran across some useful articles. If you'd like, you can PM me and I can give you info on them so you can find them.

cb_rn · May 22, 2010

Thank you all for your input. I don't know that I'm overwhelmed with the topic, I just don't have anything substantial to add to a debate. Maybe I'm afraid to really examine the reasons for my position and realize they're weak and my position is purely based on what I've been told is the "right" way to think.

Ugh. Did I mention I'd much rather write about something tangible?

TDCHIM · May 22, 2010

Thank you all for your input. I don't know that I'm overwhelmed with the topic, I just don't have anything substantial to add to a debate. Maybe I'm afraid to really examine the reasons for my position and realize they're weak and my position is purely based on what I've been told is the "right" way to think.
Ugh. Did I mention I'd much rather write about something tangible?

Maybe the way I put it wasn't quite right...I didn't so much mean that you might be overwhelmed by the topic as that you might be overwhelmed by trying to find a place to start writing a paper about something so huge, grey, nebulous, and philosophically open to interpretation. Does that make more sense? And as for examining your position...there is no such thing as a philosophically perfect position. Any stand can be successfully and effectively attacked, even the position that murder is wrong (what is murder? is it always evil? what about self defense? why should it be considered wrong? etc.), so try not to worry about it. Just work on being honest, look for places in your position where someone could poke a hole the size of a mack truck through your argument, and try to be consistent in your reasoning - that's a big part of a strong analysis paper, whether in ethics or any other field.

cb_rn · May 22, 2010

Is this for an ethics class? It's tough to try to write an opinion when you're used to looking to the peer-reviewed journals to find everything. While there will be discussions of ethics in the literature, there aren't going to be many articles that will look at the pros or cons of a controversy such as abortion.
If it's within the parameters of the assignment, I would suggest you look to some different sources for information. You may wish to look at the issue from a faith-based perspective and look into some things that have been written by persons in different faith backgrounds, for example, or look for government statistics regarding the demographics of abortion. There may be articles on CINAHL that will discuss the consequences of abortion so that may help strengthen your argument either for or against.
Fell free to PM me if you want a kindred spirit. I'm in a grad program, too, so I feel your pain.

Yessss, darned ethics classes. Its soo much worse than philosophy. You have some good ideas, I'm going to look into them but I feel like I'm just stalling. My guess is everyone else is writing these opinionated papers with passionate reasons they feel for or against it and using few citations. I don't know, to be honest I don't want to discuss it with any of them because I don't want to stir up a debate on the topic.

I'm Catholic and I really do feel like life begins at conception (and I DO NOT want to turn that stone on this forum, this post is not about my actual opinion, just my need to express it in a paper) so I should have a compelling religious based argument, right? Well. I don't. I never even think about religion in regards to my nursing practice (unless I'm praying for no more admissions on that shift). I feel like my position as a nurse is to bring scientific treatment to the situation and only support the patient's religion/culture/beliefs as they need me to. That isn't to say I don't support spirituality in healing, I really do, I just know that the beliefs of the Catholic church aren't the beliefs of everyone.

I know I'm making this so much harder than it is. I'm going to check out that Thank you for Smoking and read up on these other suggestions you all have kindly given me.

cb_rn · May 22, 2010

Maybe the way I put it wasn't quite right...I didn't so much mean that you might be overwhelmed by the topic as that you might be overwhelmed by trying to find a place to start writing a paper about something so huge, grey, nebulous, and philosophically open to interpretation. Does that make more sense? And as for examining your position...there is no such thing as a philosophically perfect position. Any stand can be successfully and effectively attacked, even the position that murder is wrong (what is murder? is it always evil? what about self defense? why should it be considered wrong? etc.), so try not to worry about it. Just work on being honest, look for places in your position where someone could poke a hole the size of a mack truck through your argument, and try to be consistent in your reasoning - that's a big part of a strong analysis paper, whether in ethics or any other field.

It makes perfect sense. You've been very helpful. I need to remember that this paper is not nursing practice and its ok to actually express my opinion. I'm going to do a little "light" reading today and start this paper from scratch again after Mass tonight.

CNL2B · May 22, 2010

Did you get to pick your topic? Was this what you chose?

People have been writing about abortion for years and years. It has been a controversial topic for decades. So yes, probably everything has been said, and you might not (as you fear) have anything to add to the debate. You are going to have to scrape the bottom of your brain for a new perspective. This issue has been debated by politicians, medical professionals, and religious groups, to name just a half handful.

I remember getting an assignment like this in HIGH SCHOOL (obviously the academic standards are much, much higher for you) and the instructor I had specifically stated that he did not want any papers on the abortion debate because indeed, everyone has an opinion on it, and both sides are heavily supported.

I guess I would pick something different if I could. There are therapies out there in just about every practice area that people have varying opinions on and the data to support them goes both ways. I guess if I were doing your assignment I would write about something like that.

cb_rn · May 22, 2010

Did you get to pick your topic? Was this what you chose?
I guess I would pick something different if I could. There are therapies out there in just about every practice area that people have varying opinions on and the data to support them goes both ways. I guess if I were doing your assignment I would write about something like that.

Hell no I didn't pick it I wish we could choose. It specifically asks me to discuss how I feel about abortion. This class is going to make for a long summer session...hehehe

metal_m0nk, BSN, RN · May 22, 2010

I really think my issue is that I feel I can't add anything substantial to the debate because its already been said and nothing I can add will "prove" that abortion is right or wrong.

Aaaah ha!

Here's where you're going wrong.

A good argument can neither prove nor disprove something. The best a decent argument (for or against something) can do is present a well researched, convincing, compelling argument.

Your goal is to try to accomplish one thing depending on your perceived audience:

1) If you believe your audience is in accordance with your views, then your goal is to present a value/belief affirming argument and a call to action.

2) If you believe your audience is neutral or undecided about a subject, your goal is to state your thesis, give grounds for your statement, back it up with evidence, and then respectfully address and refute opposing views.

3) If you believe your audience is resistant, your goal is to find common ground and sneak your argument in. Rogerian (the psychologist) theory works well here - acknowledge a resistant audiences views without refuting them, try to find concepts upon which you can agree, and save your thesis for the end of the argument.

In cases 2 and 3, your primary goal is to sway the audience to adopt or at least seriously consider your point of view (not necessary in case 1 because the audience is already behind you). Writing effective arguments is about changing minds.

(Edit: forgot to add this part - very important)

Most argument papers are written either for an audience in accordance, or a neutral/undecided audience. Writing for a neutral audience is probably what the person who will be evaluating your work will want to see.

Here are a couple of resources to help you with the structure and content of your paper:

The Toulmin Model of Argumentation

http://www.austincc.edu/buck/eng/1301/pubtexts/Argument.htm

The first link outlines the Toulmin model of argument. It will give you brief examples of what claims (theses), grounds, warrants (unstated assumptions), backing, etc. are and how and when they are used in an argument.

The second link is an explanation of classical argument structure. It will tell you how to order your paper.

With those two concepts you should have a good start. For further reading and refinement of your argument, look into logical fallacies, rhetorical analysis, and building effective ethos, pathos, logos, and (if appropriate) kairos.

With the right tools for how to present an effective argument, you should be able to do so for any topic.

Hope this helps.

Good luck on your paper!