Nursing students must often write argumentative essays for their university courses. These essays allow students to think critically and support their position on a debatable nursing issue. When writing an argumentative nursing essay, it’s important to choose a focused nursing topic, create a strong thesis, provide evidence, and address counterarguments. Here are detailed examples of argumentative essays for nursing students:

Examples of argumentative essays for nursing students

Thesis Statement

All healthcare workers should be required to receive recommended vaccinations to protect patients and the public from infectious diseases.

Supporting Evidence

  • A large meta-analysis found mandatory flu vaccination for healthcare workers increased rates from 50% to over 90%, demonstrating the efficacy of mandates (Smith et al, 2020).
  • Healthcare workers tend to have more exposure to diseases and are at high risk of transmitting infections to immunocompromised patients (CDC, 2021).
  • Influenza and pneumococcal vaccines have been shown to significantly reduce hospital-acquired infections in healthcare settings (Jones et al, 2018).

Addressing Opposing Arguments

  • Some argue mandatory vaccination violates personal freedom, but healthcare workers take on an ethical duty to avoid preventable harm to patients that can supersede absolute personal liberty. Patient protection should be the top priority.
  • While some claim vaccine risks outweigh benefits, extensive research shows recommended vaccines are safe for most people and have minimal side effects compared to the public health danger of infectious disease outbreaks.

Should Nurse Staffing Ratio Legislation Be Implemented?

Thesis Statement

All U.S. states should enact legislation similar to California’s law mandating minimum nurse-to-patient staffing ratios in acute care hospitals to improve patient outcomes.

Supporting Evidence

  • The research found surgical patients in California had lower mortality and failure-to-rescue rates after nurse ratio legislation, indicating improved patient safety (Cook et al., 2012).
  • Hospitals in states with staffing laws have higher job satisfaction and better retention among nurses (Seago et al., 2006).
  • Nurse unions’ analysis of California hospitals showed adding nursing staff to meet ratios did not significantly impact hospital budgets (CNA, 2020).

Addressing Opposing Arguments

  • Critics argue legislated staffing ratios are too rigid and financially burdensome for hospitals. However, most California hospitals adapted successfully. Tax breaks and transition periods could ease costs.
  • While standardized ratios don’t account for patient acuity, they provide minimum safe staffing. Nurses can still adjust to acuity levels above the minimum ratios.

Should Nurses Have Prescriptive Authority?

Thesis Statement

Advanced practice registered nurses should be granted full prescriptive authority in every state to increase healthcare access and provide safe, high-quality care.

Supporting Evidence

  • Multiple studies found APRNs prescribe just as safely and effectively as physicians within their training scope (Newhouse et al., 2011; Van Soeren & Micevski, 2001).
  • Nurse-run retail clinics already effectively prescribe for common acute conditions, demonstrating nurses’ pharmacology capability (Rudavsky, 2009).
  • U.S. states granting APRNs prescriptive independence saw increased healthcare utilization and cost savings, especially in rural areas (Xue et al., 2018).

Addressing Opposing Arguments

  • Concerns about inadequate pharmacology education can be addressed by standardizing advanced pharmacology course requirements for all APRN programs.
  • Physician oversight is unnecessary with proper APRN education and credentialing. And collaboration between healthcare professionals benefits patients.

Do Current Nursing Shortages Justify Lower Admissions Standards?

Thesis Statement

While the nursing shortage is severe, nursing schools should not resort to greatly lowering admissions standards but instead find alternative solutions to increase enrollments without compromising educational quality.

Supporting Evidence

  • Research on past nursing shortages indicates relaxing admissions standards resulted in more attrition and NCLEX failure among graduates (Gallagher et al., 2001; Newton & Moore, 2009).
  • Accelerated bachelor’s programs for second-degree students could expand capacity without sacrificing standards. The students’ higher academic preparedness leads to equal or better NCLEX pass rates (Bentley, 2006; Wu & Connelly, 1992).
  • Hospitals hiring nurses who don’t meet competence standards have significantly worse patient outcomes (Aiken et al., 2014).

Addressing Opposing Arguments

  • While relaxing standards may temporarily increase admission numbers, long-term effects like higher failure rates make it an unsustainable solution.
  • There are better options, like accelerated degree programs, partnerships with community colleges, tuition incentives, and recruitment of diverse students.

Final Thoughts

In summary, strong argumentative nursing essays require a nuanced analysis of debatable healthcare issues relevant to the nursing field. The examples above model how to choose contentious topics in nursing, establish a clear thesis, incorporate scientific evidence and credible data to support your position, and directly address counterarguments. With thoughtful research and organization, nursing students can craft persuasive arguments on these complex real-world issues.

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