ENGL 220 Unit 5 Discussion Board

Sample Answer

Congratulations on your career choice!

I would like to offer some advice and insight on ways to help you through your studies and beyond. Throughout nursing school, effective writing skills will help you communicate with your instructors as well as learning how to note in patients charts during clinical rotations. There are many projects and papers that must be completed throughout nursing school, and effective writing and skills will help enable you to convey what you are trying to say effectively. When entering the world of healthcare, you will also be essentially learning a new language.

Things are spoken and written in very different ways in medicine than in other areas of academia. Having a foundation of solid writing and communication skills prior to studying nursing will help you immensely. Once you enter nursing school and learn about different fields and specialties, you may want to further your education and go on to get a master’s degree. Other options include teaching, nursing management, research, and furthering your practice to become a Nurse Practitioner or Physician’s Assistant. All of these advancements require excellent writing and communication skills.

The development of research skills is also extremely important in furthering your academic career and will carry over into your professional career as well. The field of nursing is one that is broad and ever-changing, so nurses should never stop learning. Throughout nursing school, you will learn the basics to get you started in the field. Once you decide what area of nursing you would like to peruse, your knowledge must grow to fit that area and continue growing throughout your entire career.

There are so many ways to research and so many platforms to use when learning. There will be research assignments throughout nursing school, and knowledge of how to use the available resources effectively can be very helpful and save time and stress. There are multiple research platforms available in most academic online libraries, which makes research much less difficult and time consuming. These platforms are specific to healthcare, and some even more specific to nursing. If you do go on to get a graduate degree after nursing school, there will be more extensive research required for papers and projects. I advise you to learn as much as you can to have a solid foundation for continued learning throughout your academic career.

When entering the world of nursing professionally, effective writing skills are paramount in ensuring that you are articulate in writing what you mean to say in both patient care notation, as well as communication with other nurses, healthcare providers and other healthcare workers. Communication is the biggest way to keep your patients, peers, and yourself safe. Miscommunications can be dangerous and even fatal in the world of healthcare. Writing something incorrectly could cause someone else to provide care that is already done, not necessary, incorrect, or completely unwarranted.

When working at any level as a nurse, you will be not only communicating through your charting, but through email as well. Emails are exchanged between others at your place of work, as well as outside organizations. To be taken seriously in the healthcare world, one must have effective writing skills. Writing skills can also help advance your career goals. Upper management and those in charge of hiring are much more likely to hire or promote those that demonstrate clear and effective writing skills as that is a big asset. People are often seen as a potential liability if they cannot write effectively, as this can be dangerous to the patient and the organization.

Research can help advance your professional career and goals by making you more knowledgeable and stronger as a practicing nurse. One can also use the skills that they have learned to conduct and publish research, sharing their expert findings with other nurses. Many specialties require research to further medical advancements, such as infectious disease research, research on new medication or treatments, or issues related to nursing burn out or staffing issues and how these can be improved. All research is important to the field of nursing and is required to continue to advance the field and provide excellent patient care.

I urge you to learn as much as possible in the world of writing and research and promise you that these skills will be an asset to you throughout your education and career.