Explanatory Essay Topics: Best Ideas for Your Writing

Nursing students are often tasked with writing explanatory essays that analyze, inform, and explain a topic related to nursing and healthcare. Choosing an interesting and focused nursing topic is key to crafting a compelling essay. Here are some explanatory nursing essay topics and prompts to inspire your writing.

What Are Explanatory Nursing Essay Topics?

Explanatory nursing essay topics require the writer to objectively explain, analyze, interpret, inform, or clarify a focused topic related to nursing, healthcare, medicine, or health sciences. These essays are not meant to argue for a position but rather elucidate a concept, process, issue, or idea relevant to the field.

Characteristics of Good Explanatory Nursing Essay Topics

Ideal explanatory nursing essay topics should:

• Relate directly to nursing, medicine, healthcare, or health sciences
• Be specific, focused, and well-defined enough to discuss thoroughly within the word count
• Lend themselves to objective explanation rather than persuasion or argument
• Be intriguing enough to engage both the writer and the reader

How to Choose an Explanatory Nursing Essay Topic

Choosing a topic for an explanatory nursing essay requires careful consideration to ensure that the subject is not only relevant and informative but also provides ample scope for explanation and analysis. Here’s a guide to help you select an appropriate topic:

Identify Your Interests: Reflect on the areas within nursing that particularly interest you. This could be patient care, nursing ethics, medical technology, or public health. Writing about a topic that you are passionate about will make the research and writing process more enjoyable.

Consider Current Trends and Developments: Look at the latest trends, issues, and developments in the nursing field. This could include new treatment methods, changes in healthcare policies, or advances in medical technology. Choosing a contemporary topic can make your essay more relevant and engaging.

Ensure Clarity and Specificity: Select a topic that is clear and specific. A narrowly focused topic allows you to explore an issue in depth and provide detailed explanations, which is crucial for an explanatory essay.

Assess the Availability of Information: Ensure there is sufficient information and resources available on your chosen topic. This includes academic journals, books, reputable websites, and interviews with professionals in the field. A lack of available information will make it difficult to provide a comprehensive explanation.

Evaluate the Relevance to Your Coursework: If the essay is for a class, ensure that the topic aligns with your coursework and learning objectives. It should ideally contribute to your overall understanding of the nursing field.

Seek Inspiration from Your Experiences: If you have practical experience in nursing, consider topics that relate to your experiences or observations. This firsthand insight can provide a unique perspective in your essay.

Consider the Scope for Explanatory Analysis: Choose a topic that allows you to explain concepts, processes, or perspectives clearly and thoroughly. The goal of an explanatory essay is to inform and clarify, so the topic should lend itself well to this purpose.

Consult with Peers or Instructors: Discuss potential topics with classmates or instructors. They can offer valuable feedback and suggest angles you might not have considered.

Best Topics for Explanatory Nursing Essays

Here are some interesting, focused, explanatory essay topics appropriate for nursing students:

Interesting Explanatory Nursing Essay Ideas

• The placebo effect in medicine
• How nurses can detect and prevent compassion fatigue
• Pros and cons of medical marijuana
• The anti-vaccination movement: origins and implications
• How insulin regulates blood sugar levels
• What causes Alzheimer’s disease?

Simple Topics for Explanatory Nursing Essay

• Typical daily responsibilities of a registered nurse
• Different types of insulin
• Scrubs: history and function in healthcare facilities
• Stages of the grieving process
• How nurses maintain sterile fields in the operating room
• Common Medications Administered by Nurses
• Nurse-Patient Communication: Building Trust and Rapport
• The Role of Infection Control in Nursing Practice
• Nursing Care for Postoperative Patients
• Nursing Shift Handover: Best Practices and Importance

Creative Explanatory Nursing Essay Topics

• If the human body could talk, what would it say?
• The politics of universal healthcare
• An imaginative first-person account of a day as a nurse
• The sound, sights, and smells of a hospital emergency room
• A Conversation with the Human Body
• The Utopian Healthcare System
• A Day in the Life of a Nurse – A First-Person Narrative
• Sensory Journey in the Emergency Room
• Redesigning the Human Body
• If you could redesign the human body, what changes would you make?

Good Explanatory Nursing Essay Topics

• Evidence-based nursing practices
• How to insert an IV
• Risk factors for heart disease
• Common myths about vaccines
• Stress management techniques for nurses
• Evidence-Based Nursing Practices
• A Step-by-Step Guide to Inserting an IV
• Identifying Risk Factors for Heart Disease
• Debunking Common Myths About Vaccines
• Stress Management Techniques for Nurses

Unique Topics for an Explanatory Nursing Essay

• The role of laughter in healing
• Why some countries use midwives instead of OBGYNs
• Hildegard von Bingen: Medieval nurse and healer
• Healing gardens: Nature’s role in patient recovery
• The Healing Power of Laughter
• The Midwifery Model of Care in Healthcare Systems
• Hildegard von Bingen: Medieval Nurse and Healer
• Healing Gardens: Nature’s Role in Patient Recovery
• Leeches: Historically Effective Medical Tools

Explanatory Essay Topics & Ideas for Students

These topics are tailored for different academic levels:

Explanatory Essay Topics for High School

• Causes of adolescent depression
• Media portrayal of nurses on medical TV shows
• How vaccines work
• Effects of sleep deprivation on teens
• Causes of Adolescent Depression
• Healthy Study Habits to Reduce Stress
• Improving Cultural Competence in Nursing
• The US Opioid Epidemic: Origins and Solutions
• CRISPR Gene Editing Technology
• Improving Cultural Competence in Nursing:

Explanatory Nursing Essay Topics for College Students

• The US opioid epidemic: Origins and solutions
• CRISPR gene editing technology
• Telehealth: The future of nursing?
• Gender bias in healthcare
• Nurse Practitioners: Expanding Roles and Responsibilities
• The Impact of Nurse Staffing Levels on Patient Outcomes
• Patient-Centered Care: A Holistic Approach in Nursing
• Mental Health Nursing in the 21st Century
• Ethical Dilemmas in Nursing Practice
• Improving Cultural Competence in Nursing

Explanatory Nursing Essay Topics by Subjects

Drawing topic ideas from different academic disciplines allows for varied perspectives:

Explanatory Nursing Essay Topics in Literature

• Metaphors for illness in Sylvia Plath’s poems
• The role of sisters in Little Women during Beth’s scarlet fever
• Compassion and Healing in “To Kill a Mockingbird
• The Nurse-Patient Relationship in “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
• Nursing in Historical Fiction: “The Nightingale” by Kristin Hannah
• Narrative Medicine: Exploring the Use of Storytelling in Healthcare through “The Emperor of All Maladies
• Nursing Ethics in Literature: A Comparative Analysis of “The Death of Ivan Ilyich” and “The Yellow Wallpaper
• The importance of empathy in nursing: Analysis of Jodi Picoult’s novels

History Explanatory Nursing Essay Topics

• Florence Nightingale: The founder of modern nursing
• How the Black Death impacted medieval medicine
• Nursing during the American Civil War
• Nursing’s Role in Healthcare Reform
• Public Health Nursing: A Historical Overview
• The Evolution of Nursing Education
• Influence of Florence Nightingale’s Environmental Theory
• Nursing Heroes of the American Civil War
• The Red Cross: A Historical Perspective on Nursing and Humanitarian Aid
• Advancements in mental health treatment in the 20th century

Explanatory Nursing Essay Topics on Social Issues

• Racial bias in pain assessment and treatment
• Nursing shortages in rural vs. urban areas
• Healthcare access issues for LGBTQ patients
• Mental Health Stigma in Healthcare
• Maternal Mortality Disparities
• Elder Abuse in Healthcare Settings
• Obesity and Its Impact on Healthcare
• Obesity and Its Impact on Healthcare
• Healthcare Disparities in Indigenous Communities
• The anti-vaccination movement on social media

Science Topics for Explanatory Nursing Essays

• How cancer cells grow and spread
• The science behind medical marijuana
• Antibiotic resistance: Causes and solutions
• CRISPR: The future of genetic engineering?
• The Human Microbiome and Health
• Neuroscience and Pain Management
• Immunotherapy in Cancer Treatment
• Telemedicine and Healthcare Technology
• Epigenetics and Health
• Precision Medicine and Nursing Practice
• Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare

Technology Explanatory Nursing Essay Topics

• Robotic surgeries: Pros and cons
• Big data analytics in healthcare
• Telehealth technology in nursing
• How 3D printing is revolutionizing medicine
• Nursing Informatics and Decision Support Systems
• Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) in Nursing Education
• Nursing Informatics and Decision Support Systems
• Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Nursing Decision Support
• Internet of Things (IoT) in Healthcare

Business Explanatory Nursing Essay Topics

• Nurse staffing ratios and patient outcomes
• The financial costs of nurse burnout
• Private vs. public healthcare funding models
• Healthcare Economics and Value-Based Care
• Healthcare Reimbursement Systems
• Medical Tourism and Nursing
• Healthcare Marketing and Patient Satisfaction
• Healthcare Ethics and Financial Decision-Making
• Healthcare Policy and Financial Impact
• Healthcare Mergers and Acquisitions

Explanatory Nursing Essay Topics About Health

• Why we sleep: The health benefits
• How diet impacts Type 2 Diabetes
• Childhood obesity prevention methods
• What is depression, and how is it treated?
• The Aging Population and Healthcare Needs
• Social Determinants of Health
• The Gut Microbiome and Health
• Health benefits and risks of supplements

Explanatory Nursing Writing Prompts

These prompts offer springboards to develop your own unique essay topic:

• Explain a common misconception about _________
• How does ___________ work?
• Analyze the causes and effects of ____________
• Explain the significance of ___________ in nursing
• Describe the process of _______________

Final Thoughts

Choosing the right explanatory essay topic provides a focus for your ideas while engaging your interest as a nursing student. Use this extensive list of nursing essay topics and prompts to help craft an informative, explanatory essay that effectively analyzes and elucidates an important concept related to nursing or healthcare.