In the context of graduate school applications, a statement of purpose (SOP) refers to an essay that forms one of the most significant parts of your application. A statement of purpose details your background information and focus on informing the committee who you are and the reason for your application. The statement of purpose also tells the committee if you are a good candidate and whether they should consider your application. A statement of purpose is sometimes referred to as an application essay, cover letter, objectives for graduate study among other terms.

The main purpose of the statement is to enable the applicant reflect on his/her background information, as well as your abilities to write. In graduate schools, you are expected to be doing much writing and so the committee would want to gauge your writing capabilities even before you start. These are some of the things you should consider when writing a statement of purpose

• The statement of purpose should not have any grammatical and spelling errors
• You should use a strong, concise and clear tone when writing the statement of purpose application
• Avoid repetitive language and clichés when writing a statement of purpose
• Avoid an informal language when writing a statement of purpose
• Employ a confident and positive language when writing a statement of purpose

The format of statement of purpose and what to include

The first paragraph should contain information about you and what you do currently

The second paragraph should focus on what you want to do

In the third and fourth paragraphs explain why you are the write candidate for the program you are applying for

The fifth paragraph should provide detailed information on what you want to do in the future, this should form the closing paragraph.

STATEMENT OF PURPOSE

My interest in patient care occurred during my placement as a pharmacist’s assistant in Bangladesh. Upon completion of my undergraduate studies in pharmacy, I worked as a pharmacist assistant where my primary role was to give prescriptions and advice on patient medication. During this period, I would constantly come across patients most of whom were in pain and needed some care before being attended to by the physician. While the provision of care was predominantly, a nursing role, I found myself in most cases offering assistance to the desperate patients. I needed to offer more assistance, but I couldn’t due to my limited knowledge in patient care. Since then, the interest and passion for acquiring relevant skills in nursing and patient care lived in me.

While the above case formed the foundation of my desire to offer patient, my conviction to undertake a nursing course occurred on 15th October 2017. It was one semester after I had started my MBA at Southerncross University that I realized the course was not my passion. Sitting on my balcony and having a deep thought of the reasons that led to my current status. I reflected that the decision to undertake an MBA was misinformed. Having done undergraduate and post-graduate courses in pharmacy; I assumed that an MBA would contribute towards my career growth by providing additional business management skills to the pharmaceutical knowledge. While it may work for others with the same assumption, from my honest point of view, it is not working for me. I come to realize that my inherent passion for practical work cannot be completely erased. To me, the failure of an MBA course to offer challenging experience requiring the indulgence of a practical skill made it a boring subject. I needed to undertake a course that will not only be challenging on a daily basis but will also enable me to make a change in the society. Also, I needed a course that I am passionate about, something that will not bring me back to my current situation. That course was nursing. From my reflecting, I began searching for colleges that offer an undergraduate course in Nursing.

During my search, I came across some Universities. After some evaluation, I settled on Western Sydney University. I needed an International University that is not within my locality. Apart from just getting the degree certificate, I wanted to be sure that I will get adequate knowledge and professional expertise in the field. I aimed to learn and acquire quality skills in patient care that is mostly offered by the international Universities mostly that are in Europe, and America. Also, the possibility of obtaining a placement in the major healthcare universities In Sydney also justifies my choice of the University. Apart from just acquiring knowledge and skills in patient care, I want to translate the same skills and the management approaches adopted by the well-established healthcare facilities to smaller healthcare organizations in Bangladesh. Taking the nursing course will, therefore, assure me of achieving all my goals about acquisition of knowledge in patient care and offering the skills acquired in a healthcare facility.

I am certain that taking an undergraduate course in nursing will awaken my interest in patient care. I am convinced that I will offer better services to the patients. With adequate background knowledge in pharmacy, the nursing degree course will enable me to offer maximum quality care to patient thus alleviating suffering.