Writing Samples

This is my first long writing sample, it's not complete, but I still want your feedback on it. I was thinking the audience should be directed towards a "Nursing Journal" subscriber, but most of the information is for the oblivious, so the targeted audience is for your average newspaper "Health" section reader.

Amidst an economic whirlwind, even with the newly instated healthcare plan, the cost to visit your doctor or physician isn’t decreasing. As budgets are being cut across the board, hospitals, especially, are looking for cheaper ways to maintain outstanding patient care while still being able to diagnose and treat. Being so, staff in hospitals is minimized to those who can handle both needs, resulting in not only in a decrease in nurses, but a substantial rise in nurse practitioners.

The job of a nurse practitioner is relatively new and quite underestimated. Most people ignore their work, tossing them aside as an under-qualified doctor, or an overrated nurse, but their job goes beyond that. Nurse practitioners not only undergo patient-care training as well as a registered nurse, but they also have similar privileges, although slightly limited, as doctors and physicians. A certified nurse practitioner is able to perform complete examinations, run routine (and not so routine) tests on patients, diagnose acute illnesses, treat, and even prescribe (varying your state license) prescriptions with a write-off from a licensed doctor. With the ability to act as a primary-care provider and as a patient-care provider, the job of a nurse practitioner is truly versatile. In a sense, a nurse practitioner lies as the midpoint between your everyday physician and your doctor, with a much cheaper bill. Given today’s job market, nurse practitioners are in high demand in hospitals, offices, and clinics.

With an ongoing declination of doctors in America, nurse practitioners are becoming one of the primary-care providers in hospital units. “It is my responsibility to take the role of a resident when the doctors are busy. The nurses come to me when they need follow-ups to be done and tests to be given on the babies,” Julie Long, a neonatal nurse practitioner who works at Newark Beth Israel. Long, who has worked as a nurse practitioner at Newark Beth Israel for numerous years feels like her job is secure, even amidst the economic downturn. … Being able to provide patient care while being a primary provider, nurse practitioners save hospitals thousands. Working with numbers, the average nurse practitioner makes around 25% less than your average doctor and roughly 10% more than your typical registered nurse. Knowing their job description, having at least one more nurse practitioner on staff, as opposed to an additional doctor, hospitals can save 15%, not a great amount, but definitely enough to impact a budget over time.

Given their mastery, nurse practitioners are a “steal” to the medical industry.

The next long writing sample is the persuasive essay about abortion I wrote in your English Comp class. I don't have the copy where you sent feedback on me about it, I think it may be on blackboard, but I can't log onto it.

Since the controversial court case of Roe v. Wade, the topic of abortion has increased in sensitivity. Both radical sides of the topic think there belief is correct and a compromise regarding abortion has yet to be made. Pro-life Christians argue abortion should be illegal because it is against God’s will and have a shared belief that it is murder. However, while their beliefs are respected, abortion should be kept legal since it dismisses the right of freewill, blurs the line between separation of church and state, and violates a woman’s right to privacy.

So, while you argue it is against God’s will, what about the free will God granted to everyone? Abortion, regardless how evil people consider it, should be a choice. In the Bible, the theory of how evil came into the world is seen through the story of Adam and Eve. Just as Eve chose to eat the apple from the forbidden tree, women have the right to choose to have an abortion. The simple, unappreciated concept of choice is one that is granted through the Bible, through the words of God. Bishop Melvin Talbert of the United Methodist Church, said it best in his sermon, “In reality, there are many of us who believe that choice is the most logical and the most responsible position any religious institution can take on this issue (Singer).” Ultimately, it is not up to the religion, or any beliefs. It is the concept of freewill - that we choose our destiny and how we decide to ultimately determine our lives, that is granted in the Bible. This basic, fundamental belief is not only recognized in the Bible, but in the U.S. Constitution.

As an American, there is no greater feat than exercising our voices, carrying out a message, and acting out our choices. In the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson defined three natural rights: life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The idea of liberty, to be given options, to choose what you want for yourself, is a right that wasn’t granted to early American civilians. They fought for that right and their fighting deemed successful. Indirectly, outlawing abortion is like a slap in the face for those American settlers who fought for religious freedom and sought shelter from religious persecution. It is the exact opposite of why they first decided to settle in America. It is inflicting your beliefs on others. It is forcing your Jewish neighbor to carry that child although it means killing the mother. It blurs the line between separation of church and state.

Although the U.S. Constitution does not explicitly state the words “separation of church and state,” it is implied. The interpretation of the Supreme Court resulted that there cannot be an established religion and no one religion comes before another. So, if abortion were to be criminalized, how does one justify this to the Supreme Court? How is the basis of your beliefs not religious? Doesn’t this idea of an abortion-less America intertwine Church and State? So, why should this be an exception? You state it’s because abortion is murder. Then comes the question, who or what gets to decide if abortion is murder: the person, the beliefs, or the law? Only the Catholic Church has a fundamental belief that abortion is murder. By illegalizing abortion, you are forcing every woman, regardless if they believe in God or not to carry an unwanted child. Yes, adoption is an option, but how many kids are out there that are still waiting to be adopted? There are more than enough kids out there who are unloved, who are born because their mom decided they no longer want the baby. It is unfair to have a kid who will never be loved, who will never get to experience a meaningful life, than to have a kid who will live life in spite. So, before you really advocate the pro-life position on the basis of murder, think of the children who are already alive. Think of the countless amount of kids who don’t have parents, who are suffering through their childhood without the Christmases filled with presents, the Easters going to Church, and the birthdays without a cake. So, is illegalizing abortion really the right choice?

Again, I quote Bishop Melvin Talbert, when he says, “[…] we are dealing with something that is deeply spiritual and cannot be left to those who would choose to politicize this issue and further victimize those who must ultimately decide for themselves." A man with a high position in the Christian Church has a fundamental belief that abortion is wrong. He advocates abortion should be up to the individual. Abortion should be kept the way it was ruled in the Supreme Court case, Roe v. Wade. It should be an individual decision, left up to the woman. Last election, there was a hysteria over the revelation of Bristol Palin’s pregnancy. Her mom, obviously, the Vice Presidential candidate, Sarah Palin, is a strong advocate for the pro-life movement. I remember watching on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart when he interviewed Newt Gingrich. Throughout the interview, Palin’s stance on abortion was brought up and Stewart made a very valid point: Palin wants to veto abortions for women, but gave her the daughter the choice if she wanted to keep the baby or not (Stewart). How do you advocate “pro-life” but entitle your daughter to make a choice? Now, if abortion were to be banned in America, how many daughters are given that right to make that choice to have a baby or not? How many women are going to be taken away that entitlement to make such a huge decision? Again, how can you force such a huge responsibility on someone? Ultimately, this is a huge reason why abortion should be permitted. A woman’s right to privacy, a woman’s right to decide what to do with her body should be left up to a woman. Laws or ethics or beliefs should not come in the way between a woman and her choice. Taken from the New York Times, a woman named Jessica Sporn wrote to the editor how she had an abortion at a young age, the prime of her life, and did not regret it. She states, “I cannot imagine what path my life would have taken had I carried my first pregnancy to term. I do know that it would have led to somewhere very different.” It was Jessica Sporn’s choice how to lead her life and it should be a woman’s choice, not her faith and definitely not the law’s.

So, throw all religious differences aside and think: is banning abortion the smartest idea? Will banning abortion really make a difference? Remember, no one advocates abortion, but people advocate the right to have an abortion. The two are not the same, and as a Christian group, you should understand the validity of certain rights. The rulings decided in Roe v. Wade should not be overruled. Abortion is a right granted by God, granted by the Constitution and should be kept legal. Regardless of religion, the topic of abortion is not controversial at all, but rather very sensible. It is a choice, made my women, not by the law and not by faith, that should not be taken away and should be preserved.

The two short writing samples are still works in progress and I'll definitely revise my personal statement this weekend. Thanks!