Nursing students are often required to write descriptive essays to demonstrate their knowledge and reflect on impactful clinical experiences. Well-written examples can provide inspiration and direction for crafting your own compelling essay. This article will analyze excerpts from sample essays to showcase techniques for vividly conveying details.

Example Essay Excerpt Describing a Nursing Specialty

This excerpt transports readers into the sights, sounds, and emotions of a bustling emergency department:

On the Front Lines in the Emergency Department

The electric doors slid open and my ears were immediately met with cacophony. Phones rang, doctors shouted orders, monitors beeped loudly. The waiting room was packed with people wearing blood-stained make-shift bandages, kids wailing, elderly moaning. As I followed my preceptor through the chaos, I felt my heart start to race. So this was what it was like on the front lines in the emergency department.

The smells hit me next. Pungent antiseptic mixed with stale coffee and hospital food. We hurried past rooms with crying, coughing patients separated only by thin blue curtains. My preceptor was focused, her sage experience evident in the swift way she prioritized who to see first. I shadowed her into a room where a middle-aged man lay pale, breathing heavily. She asked him symptom questions, took vitals, and hooked him up to an EKG while explaining each step calmly to me. Her steady expertise was an oasis of calm in the madness.

In one short shift, I witnessed the full range of human emotion - fear when delivering worrisome test results, joy when stabilizing a critical patient, grief when unable to resuscitate someone in time. This was nursing at its most raw and intimate. The ED nurses confronted life's fragility head-on each day. Their compassion under pressure and teamwork inspired me more than any classroom lecture could. This was truly nursing in action.

Key Techniques:

• Vivid sensory details like sights, sounds, smells
• Active verbs like “beeped”, “rushed”, “crying”
• Precise descriptions like “blood-stained make-shift bandages”
• Conveying a range of emotions
• Anecdote integrating narrator’s reflections

Example Essay Excerpt Describing Collaboration in Nursing

This excerpt emphasizes connection, communication, and camaraderie among nurses:

The Power of Collaboration in Nursing

The shrill code alarm sounded, reverberating through the bustling unit. As the attending doctor rushed into room 309, we nurses fell into our prescribed roles seamlessly. Megan took over chest compressions from the exhausted intern who had been pumping continuously. Jay Begin gathering supplies for intubation and medication administration. I reviewed the patient's chart for vital details on medical history while calling out instructions. In moments like this, our team worked in wordless sync like a well-oiled machine. The scene was tense yet coordinated as we delivered revival care.

Finally, we heard a steady beep on the heart monitor. Our collective sigh of relief was palpable. Because we knew each other so well, communicated calmly, and trusted one another's skills, we were able to save a life. The solidarity of that shared purpose created an unbreakable bond between us. Later, as we recapped the experience over coffee, I felt overwhelming gratitude for their quick thinking and support. The camaraderie here bolstered me during the hardest days. In nursing, you must be competent but never isolated. Because at the end of the day, it's the strength of the team that enables us to best serve our patients.

Key Techniques:

• Dramatic opening hook with vivid Code Blue scene
• Active verbs like “rushed”, “falling”, “delivering”
• Dialogue and descriptors showing seamless collaboration
• Reflection on shared bonds, purpose, solidarity
• Direct statements about themes like “the strength of the team…”

Example Essay Excerpt Describing a Impactful Clinical Experience

This excerpt conveys the emotions of a poignant patient interaction:

Bedside Lessons in Compassion

I will never forget Mrs. Clark. At 76, her body had been ravaged by late-stage lung cancer, but her spirit remained strong. During my oncology rotation, I cared for her daily, learning about her numerous grandchildren and love of baking bread. Although initially reserved, as she grew more comfortable, her wisdom and humor shone through. We developed a special rapport. One day, she motioned me over quietly. Looking into her weary eyes, she confessed softly that she was ready to let go. I squeezed her wrinkled hand, reminded her of the peace awaiting. Holding space for someone during their final release is an honor.

Over those weeks, Mrs. Clark taught me that a nurse's compassion and presence can comfort even when medicine falls short. On my last day, she pressed a worn recipe card into my palm for "Mrs. Clark's Famous Cranberry Bread" and made me promise to bake it. The bread turned out perfectly sweet and tart. But what I'll remember most is the profound lesson in compassion that recipe represented. Mrs. Clark showed me the power of human connection - how doing small things with great love uplifts us all in the end.

Key Techniques:

• Vivid backstory and physical details about the patient
• Anecdote focused on a poignant interaction
• Emotive language like “ravaged”, “weary eyes”
• Dialogue revealing relationship and personalities
• Direct reflections linking experience to broader themes
• Meaningful metaphor of the recipe card lesson

Conclusion On Descriptive Nursing Essay Examples

Well-written sample essays provide helpful models for students looking to hone their own descriptive writing skills. Vivid details, active writing, anecdotes, dialogue, reflections, and metaphors all help craft compelling profiles of impactful nursing experiences. Use these techniques to convey your own stories and perspectives vividly.