writing papers during school?

Clovery · Oct 21, 2011

I'm in an ADN program and we have to write 2-3 papers per semester. They're not required to be long, about 2 - 5 pages, and we only need two references from nursing journals. So it's not too bad. I wouldn't totally count on this, but none of my teachers so far have been anal about format. We're supposed to write them in APA, but most people don't follow that strictly and their papers are accepted. At my school, we unfortunately don't get grades for our papers (would be nice to boost my average!). We just get complete/incomplete. As long as you hand something in, you'll be okay. If there are issues you'll have to redo it. But that's just my experience, I'm sure it varies. We also have to do a presentation to our clinical group, with a handout, along with our papers. It's really not so bad. If you want to prepare, learn to use your library's database system to search for articles in nursing journals and you'll be ahead of the game. Usually that's the biggest hurdle for most people - not knowing how to locate information since we're not allowed to use our text as a reference.

Despareux · Oct 22, 2011

I'm in an ADN program and we have 2-3 big papers due each quarter. The minimum amount for these larger papers is 8-10 text pages. Last quarter, my peds paper was 37 pages. Even though the minimum was only 8 pages, my research, along with a few other classmates, definitely warranted a vast amount of information.

I'm torn on the actual benefits of writing so many papers. Admittedly, I do learn quite a bit writing my papers. But I feel like I'm missing out on other valuable lessons/practices that will enable me to better assist those who will need my expertise once I graduate.

windmill182 · Oct 22, 2011

Im in a LPN program. Six weeks in and we have done 2 case studies and 2 research reviews. Each paper has been at least 4~5 pages.

turnforthenurse, MSN, NP · Oct 22, 2011

I was in a BSN program...we would usually have 2-3 major papers each semester, depending on the classes you are taking. We would also have "minor" papers (like 2 page double-spaced) for some classes. The one I remember writing the most in was for my mental health rotation; we had to do 2 process recording papers (which were lengthy - those were our major papers) and in addition we had 4 other assignments that included paper writing.

QuarterLife88, MSN, RN, NP · Oct 22, 2011

I'm in an ADN program - First year/first semester student - and we had one paper to write this term. APA sytle, 3pgs minimum. It was part of our first clinical rotation for the LTC/ECF. Depending on the course, there will be at least 1-2 papers each semester and/or a project from what I can see.

CBsMommy · Oct 22, 2011

I am in an ADN program and the first couple of semesters, we would have to complete care plans, which is like writing a paper, some of mine would be anywhere from 8-10 pages. In psych, we also had to complete process recording papers and they were anywhere from 5-6 pages long, each week. Finally, I have to write a paper this semester on a research review and one more paper for clinical. This semester, our papers for clinical are about 20 pages and we have to complete 3. I only have one more to go! We had several small papers that we needed to complete during the program as well but those only took a little bit of time. Overall, our program wasn't too bad when it comes to the paperwork. I was never up until 1am, like I see some of the posters on here are. Good luck to you, take it one day at a time, you will be fine!

BBRANRN2013, ASN, RN · Oct 22, 2011

I'm in my 3rd semester of an ADN program. We have like 5 or 6 assignments that are due after our clinical experience. Also have a "Guide" to complete. We have done process recordings, research papers, reaction papers, and pathophysiology papers. It's really not that much work but I don't likenthe fact that it's a Met / Not Met. We also have to write anecdotes after every clinical experience. This is on top of class readings, studying, and tests plus having time to test off on skills in the SIM lab. I LOVE NURSING SCHOOL. Not hard just need to prioritize and have good time management.