The following statement of purpose was written by an applicant who was admitted to top MSN (Masters of Science in Nursing) programs in the US. The applicant aspires to specilize in the field of nursing informatics. Variations of this SOP got accepted at Johns Hopkins University.

This SOP is intended to provide an example of successful graduate nursing school essays for a top MSN program.

The fact that nursing has been dubbed “One of The Most Rewarding Careers of the 21st Century” by the American Nurses Association might be a source of motivation for many aiming to pursue this line of work. But for me, the reasons are multi-faceted and much more meaningful, such as the ability to provide direct patient care and the satisfaction of helping others. Moreover, working in various settings, from hospitals to old homes, further adds personal appeal to this field. However, the prospect of having the most rewarding career of the 21st century is undeniably appealing.

I did my undergrad in nursing, where I excelled in patient care. During my BSN, I learned all the foundational nursing concepts and applied them to advanced courses such as Advanced Nursing Practice, Clinical Nursing Skills, and Advanced Pharmacology. After obtaining licensure as a registered nurse, I joined Cleveland hospital as a nursing informatics specialist, where I fully understood my undergrad courses’ practical applications and technical know-how.

I joined the hospital when its primary healthcare information system (HIS) was just launched. The system is a mature product used by several hospitals, medical centers, and healthcare providers to manage and track patients’ medical records. Some of the notable features that I worked on were Electronic Health Records (EHRs), Personal Health Records (PHRs), and Electronic Prescribing (e-Prescribing). I also worked on some data-driven analytical tasks, such as predicting the availability of medical resources based on the trends of patient visits. Through my work, I increased the efficiency of nurse documentation, streamlined the patient admission and discharge process, improved communication between healthcare practitioners, and reduced medical errors in prescriptions and dosages.

I have recently been working on crucial data-intensive tasks that require statistical analysis. These tasks include analyzing the success rate of medical treatments and converting it into the recovery rate to determine what treatments made the patients recover faster. In addition, I studied the performance of several healthcare teams to assess which nurses were efficient at administering specific therapies. This ensured that the right patients were assigned to the proper nurses. These tasks required me to take analytical and statistical courses in healthcare informatics from online resources such as Coursera and Udemy. However, I need a greater degree of expertise in nursing informatics.

Through my work, I understood the power nurses yield in today’s world, where humanity continues to rely on healthcare professionals. If there is one worthwhile thing that nurses have achieved, one that I am most inclined toward is the use of technology and healthcare systems to improve patient care. I am confident in my ability to manage complex nursing tasks, such as patient documentation, medication administration, and critical care assessments while leveraging data analytics and information systems to ensure best practices in patient care. Tasks such as utilizing electronic health records, implementing evidence-based practice, and analyzing patient data to improve care processes are among the responsibilities that I want to undertake. With this goal in mind, I am committed to dedicating the necessary time and effort to acquire the specialized knowledge and skills required to excel as a professional in this field.

My motivation to improve patient care and reduce illness and disease by analyzing patient data, a core practice of Nursing Informatics, came from an annual healthcare report by the World Health Organization (WHO). However, to do this successfully requires a great deal of expertise in healthcare systems, clinical practice, pharmacology, and health informatics. Furthermore, we are responsible for educating and training other healthcare providers in using health information systems. By mastering the knowledge and skills in these areas, I can become a successful nurse informaticist and contribute to improving patient care.

I am passionate about joining Johns Hopkins University for its MSN program because it has implemented Nursing informatics to improve patient care. For example, the medical centers at JHU work to develop specific protocols that analyze and extract useful information from patient data. Another thing that JHU has implemented is to analyze patients’ health data and devise a unique treatment plan after applying some unique models. A similar project of inspecting a patient’s medical history and predicting the best course of treatment is already in use at JHU. That application was also developed by Professor Jon Doe, an award-winning healthcare professional currently teaching at JHU.

Taking inspiration from such success stories, I aim to further the work that JHU has successfully implemented to improve patient care and subsequently apply it to third-world countries where healthcare problems are rampant. If my country possesses nurses with the right motivation, zeal, and specialized knowledge, such dreams could become a reality.