Sample Nursing Personal Statement
It was through making a series of visits to visit a sick relative in the psychiatric wing of a South London hospital that I began to develop an interest in mental health nursing. During these visits I was struck by two things. Firstly, I came to realise that mental health questions are becoming an increasingly pertinent issue that our society must face, due to trends such as an ageing population in which people’s bodies in many cases outlive their minds. Secondly, I was filled with admiration for the mental health nurses in the hospital, who treated each patient with a tremendous level of respect, dignity and empathy, and as a consequence were able to make a truly positive difference to their lives. I am a compassionate person who is motivated above all by a wish to help people, and I realised that mental health nurses play a vital role in caring for some of the most vulnerable individuals in society.
Inspired by this experience, I committed myself to following this career path. One of the first key steps in this journey was to return to education. I am currently in the final year of the BTEC National Diploma in Health and Social Care Level Three. This course has been very rewarding, and in addition to expanding my understanding of care-giving on a general level the course has also contained elements that are directly relevant to mental health nursing. For example, studying psychology has helped me to gain a better understanding of the theories of how the mind works and the factors that help mould human behaviour and cognitive processes. The sociology elements of the course, meanwhile, have taught me about the way the structures of our society and social norms and discourses can play a role in stigmatising those with mental health problems. Having invested a great deal of my efforts into completing the BTEC and gained excellent grades as a result, I believe the course has given me a solid foundation for studying mental health nursing at university.
Through looking after my sick father at the same time as caring for my family, I have gained an insight into some of the demands that face nurses in their professional lives. My father has been disabled since early childhood as a result of polio. Over the last few years, as his condition has worsened, I have played a hands-on role in his physical care. Doing so has helped me to develop patience, to recognize the importance of empathizing with patients, and above all to appreciate that treating people with dignity is an essential component of care-giving.
For the last seven years he has been suffering from kidney failure and insulin-dependent diabetes, as a result of which he receives peritoneal dialysis on a daily basis. I completed a training course in operating the dialysis machinery, through which I also learnt how to care for a peritoneal catheter wound. Through the training I also learnt how to spot the signs of the onset of peritonitis, fluid overload and dehydration. This experience has made me aware of how nurses must always pay attention to detail and administer treatment to the very highest of standards; anything less can place their patients at risk. I have carried out these tasks in a community hospital, and have also become accustomed to communicating with specialist nurses in the course of discussing my father’s condition with them.
Before I decided to work towards becoming a mental health nurse, I worked for several years as an office administrator. This line of work has equipped me with several transferable skills. For example, I regularly worked as part of a team, in busy periods I was required to work under pressure, and I developed excellent communication skills through my role bringing me into regular and close contact with individuals from both inside and outside the company. I believe that these qualities are an asset for a mental health nurse, and I look forward to developing them further as I begin training.
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