Essay Assignment Guidelines
1000 word
APA formatted
Topic: how to achieve success as a nursing student in the RDPN program.
Expectations:
Focus on THREE points of interest related to your chosen topic of nursing student success. Be sure to state these three points of focus in your thesis statement.
For example: Prioritization, Time Management and Motivation may be of interest to you. Return to your LASSI or your VAK results to get an idea of what should be included.
The opening paragraph needs to capture your audience and introduce your short paper. A thesis statement at the end of your introductory paragraph is mandatory. There are resources provided below that will assist you in creating a good thesis statement.
Each topic sentence of each body paragraph introduces the point of focus for that paragraph. Each topic sentence in each body paragraph should appear in the order stated in the thesis statement.
The final paragraph summarizes the main points that you discussed in your essay and restates your thesis statement in a new and interesting way.
Title page, essay and reference list all to APA formatting standards – no abstract is required.
1000 words. Essays over/under 1000 words by 10% will be penalized.
Your essay must contain the following:
Two direct quotes (APA format)
One block quote (APA format)
Paraphrase (APA format)
A minimum of three evidence-based, peer-reviewed articles from the past 5-6 years retrieved from ProQuest must be cited for this assignment within the body of your essay as well as appear on your reference list. Students are welcome to use resources found in this course but they must be in addition to researched articles from ProQuest.
Students are to read and reference ONLY from the articles located from ProQuest and this course. Do not refer to any other sources (websites or literature) for this assignment.
Steps in writing your first essay
1) View the resources from this week to prepare and organize your essay
2) One of the most helpful ways to start a paper is to brainstorm. Read the guidelines so you understand exactly what is expected (for example, the instructions state to focus on three points) then brainstorm about these three points.
3) Look at the Brainstorm Resource template. Try one of the templates to organize your thoughts and ideas.
I also have already wrote a body,
How to achieve success as a nursing student in the
RDPN program.
Self-care, Resiliency and Perseverance
Every student has a story to tell. We came from different walks of life with
different reasons and ambitions for taking up the RDPN Program, but regardless
of the intent and our purpose, what really matters is how we can overcome and
be successful in the end. What does it entail to be considered a successful
Nursing Student under the RDPN Program?
Self-discipline is a foundation something we often hear about to lead us toward
our different goals in life, but what it does it really mean depends on how a
person perceives and embodies it. Being disciplined could mean a lot of things.
It can include following strict schedules to study, accomplish school or work
projects, carry out commitments to families and friends, attend appointments
here and there, and the like, but the most important part that some people
actually lack to be really disciplined about is by taking care of our health,
which should be the number one priority in order to succeed. We could be the
most hardworking and inquisitive person we want to be in order to achieve our
goals in life, but none of it would count if our health is not in tune with our
plans. If our health deteriorates, all of our sacrifices would be wasted. We
need to set a time to breathe, to relax, to ensure of having enough sleep,
watch what we eat, to move, and exercise our bodies. Those are considered the
basics, but we have to accept the fact that it is actually hard to take care of
ourselves in the current state of the world we live in. We need to be in
control not just with the way we do and organize things to perform better in
academics, but we need to be disciplined in all areas of opportunities, most
importantly on how we take care of our health, mind, and spirit. We should not
let stress take over us. After all, we will be looking after other people’s
well-being, but before it can be done, we have to make sure that we are healthy
individuals to provide the care they need.
We may not be born resilient. We may not have that attitude engrained in us,
but it’s an effective approach to cultivate problem-solving skills as change is
the constant thing in the world. We might find ourselves stuck in a position
where adapting to a new environment or situation is the only option. Change
could be a dilemma. While there might be different coping mechanisms available
such as asking help from a loved one or a friend for support, but most of the
time, it might not be possible. We need to be open that odds will not always
work in our favour and that there might be drawbacks along the way. Being resilient
can help us build our own strength and safeguard our sanity from depression and
anxiety to acknowledge the fact that sometimes, our mind and body can only take
much of what’s troubling us and that it is okay to pause and heal so we can be
better after a storm. If we can have the self-control to take care of our body,
mind, and spirit, then we can have a better sense of condition to create a more
positive environment to our community and most certainly, to our own mental
health. It’s easy to forget, but we have to keep in mind that we’ve come this
far, because the first step we took towards reaching our success is by getting
out of our comfort zones. That risk alone is a great example of resiliency that
shows to be an effective attitude to become successful not just for being a
Nursing Student, but as a whole.
We have to try hard. We must constantly find solutions whenever the situation
seems hard enough to bear, we need to maintain optimism that this too shall
pass. We must utilize our resources, read through our books over and over again
until we can finally find our groove, and if not, to just keep on trying. Some
of the basic solutions are often overlooked. We can educate ourselves through
research, by asking a professor, or even a friend, a family member, or a
co-student for some tips and advice to outcome a hurdle that is pulling us
down. If there’s something that we cannot really comprehend, then we should
find ways to understand it. It could be by attending additional collaborations,
seminars, watching, and listening to conferences related to the scope of the
study. We should find our strategies instead of reasons why it cannot be
discerned. We can bounce back from the struggles and not let them discourage
us. We are free to seek help, we can ask for guidance, we can choose to persist
and seek inspiration to have a mindset that it will get better each day. We
should persist. We should persevere. We have to find our core on why we keep it
going even when the situation is tough. As Nelson Mandela once said in a speech
he delivered in 2001, “It always seems impossible until it’s done.”
I have come to realize that being at a Nursing school is challenging enough
with all of the information and tasks that needs to be absorbed and
accomplished, but the most important part of it all is how it can be overcome
and addressed accordingly through proper mindset of ideologies. We have to
unearth our purpose in how and why we do things. We need to learn how to rule
ourselves in all possible aspects: mentally, emotionally, socially and
spiritually to fit in a situation where we can push through to maximize our
potentials and capabilities. In the end, we can fully savour the smell of
success by recollecting how the obstacles we faced have shaped us. Oftentimes,
it is not really about the destination that will teach us, but the bits and
pieces of the journey that taught and shaped us.
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