Personal Statement: Advanced Generalist Masters in Nursing
This personal statement was written in support of an application to an Advanced Generalist Masters in Nursing program — a pathway designed for applicants who hold a baccalaureate degree in a field other than nursing. The author traces her journey from a background in English Literature and financial services to a heartfelt commitment to healthcare, shaped by her father's death from cancer, personal adversity, and the encouragement of peers in the profession. The statement outlines her transferable skills, community service record, career goal of nursing administration, and long-term aspiration to earn a doctoral degree and contribute to scholarly nursing practice and leadership.
- Introduction: A New Chapter in Healthcare: Overview of the AGM program and applicant's motivation
- Reason for Pursuing Nursing: Career pivot, personal loss, and professional inspiration
- Strengths for the Nursing Profession: Transferable skills from business and communication
- Career Goals and Methods to Investigate the AGM Role: Nursing administration goals and supporting research
- Volunteer, Community Service, and Life Challenges: Adversity overcome and community service history
- Leadership and Work Experiences: Finance background and organizational leadership
- Additional Information for Consideration: Closing appeal and definition of nursing commitment
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What makes this paper effective
- The statement weaves personal narrative — including the loss of a father to cancer and other significant hardships — into a coherent professional motivation, making the application both emotionally resonant and purposeful.
- The author uses cited academic and professional sources to ground career goals in evidence, demonstrating scholarly awareness appropriate for a graduate-level application.
- Concrete examples of transferable skills (banking, customer service, project management) are connected explicitly to nursing competencies, bridging an unconventional background convincingly.
Key academic technique demonstrated
This statement effectively employs the "narrative arc" technique common in successful graduate admissions writing: it opens with aspiration, moves through formative personal and professional experiences, integrates supporting citations from the nursing literature, and closes with a forward-looking professional vision. Incorporating peer-reviewed references (Hensick, Kagan, Pierce) within a personal statement is a sophisticated move that signals graduate-level literacy and commitment to the field.
Structure breakdown
The statement is organized into seven labeled sections, each serving a distinct rhetorical purpose: introduction (purpose and program fit), motivation (personal and professional backstory), transferable skills, career goals supported by literature, adversity and service history, leadership evidence, and a closing appeal. This modular structure makes the argument easy to follow and ensures all components typical of a strong nursing school application are addressed systematically.
Introduction: A New Chapter in Healthcare
Pursuing an Advanced Generalist Master's degree in nursing has always been a dream of mine. Since completing my Bachelor of Arts in English Literature in 2009, I have felt that my purpose is to make a difference in the lives of others. The Advanced Generalist Nursing Program is designed for students who hold a baccalaureate degree in a field other than nursing. It provides the groundwork for practice as an administrator, public health nurse, clinical research manager, informatician, or nurse manager. Such a degree builds upon clinical knowledge and experience by teaching the leadership skills necessary for today's complex healthcare arena. Although I have made contributions in diverse fields, I yearn to give more — hence my decision to embark upon the next chapter of my life in healthcare, helping those in need.
Reason for Pursuing Nursing
I hold a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature, and I am deeply grateful for that accomplishment. However, my desire to enhance the lives of others led me to consider nursing as a career from an early stage. After graduating from college, I became an intern at Morgan Stanley and subsequently held various banking positions. Unfortunately, I was affected by a downsizing in October 2011, but that setback proved to be a turning point in my life, sparking my decision to enter the healthcare field. My inspiration is drawn not only from an intrinsic passion for helping others, but also from a close friend in medical school and another friend earning her Doctorate in Nursing. Their encouragement and support have added fuel to my pursuit of becoming part of this esteemed profession.
Sadly, my father passed away from cancer when I was seven years old. As a result, I had to learn to care for both my mother and myself. Because of my father's illness, my mother suffered from severe depression. While caring for my father, I learned how to administer his medication and injections. Since his passing, I have carried a deep sense of compassion for those who are sick or injured, having witnessed firsthand what he endured. I want to pursue a path of which my father would be proud — I think of him every day. In doing so, I hope to enrich the lives of the many people who need caring and empathetic healthcare professionals.
References
Cafazzo, D. (n.d.). Nurses will be charting own futures. The News Tribune, D.1.
Hensick, J. (1996). Guest editorial. Our contract with America: Nursing's social policy statement. Michigan Nurse, 69(5), 3.
Kagan, S. H. (2004). The advanced practice nurse in an aging society. Nurse Practitioner, 12–16.
Pierce, S. (2003). Nursing is defined. Tar Heel Nurse, 65(5), 8.
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