Writing an essay or research paper in school usually comes under one of those “you love it or hate it” categories.
Many nursing students hate writing papers in nursing school, while others may find it enjoyable (or even preferred) compared to other activities such as group projects.
But will you have to write a lot of papers in nursing school? If so, how many papers will you have to write? These are all great questions for anyone interested in possibly enrolling in a nursing school program.
Writing Papers In Nursing School
Generally speaking, yes, you will most likely have to write a few papers before graduating nursing school. The good news is that you probably won’t have to write A LOT of papers. But it is almost guaranteed that you will have to write SOME papers.
How many papers you write will often depend on how long you attend (example: 4 year degree vs. 2 year degree), the specific curriculum your nursing school uses, as well as the individual teacher’s course requirements or preferences.
All of these variables can really make the number of papers you write hard to determine with any precision.
How Many Papers Will Your Write with a 4 Year BSN Degree?
Most 4 year BSN programs are divided into 2 parts: General education and Nursing Education. The general educational classes will be subjects such as Philosophy, English, Math, etc. 
The nursing program will be classes specifically geared towards nursing (such as Microbiology).
In my general education college program, I had to take 2 standard English classes (Critical Reading and Writing, and Argumentation and Debate). These required papers throughout the entire semester. I also had to take a literature class, which did require a bit of writing. I also had to write the occasional paper for classes such as sociology, and a couple of other general classes, but these were relatively rare.
Once I was into the actual nursing program, the number of papers I had to write diminished quite a bit. I do recall writing a handful of papers though. One paper was for a nursing community class. There were also a few group projects where we were required to write a paper together, or a presentation.
Writing Papers in an ADN (2 Year) Degree Program
Since most ADN programs go straight into the nursing classes, I would imagine that you won’t have as many papers to write.
You will still probably have the occasional group project or be required to write up your opinion or do a research paper or essay on something in the healthcare profession. But these will not be the norm for the bulk of your classes, and it isn’t that bad to write the occasional paper.
The good news about writing papers in nursing school is this: Since most teachers specialized in science or health, they won’t be “experts” on the English language. In my own experience, teachers in the nursing program were much more laid-back, and didn’t grade the papers as stringently as you might expect a teacher from the English department would.
This is good news for those of you who struggle with writing (or for those students who may not speak English as their first language).
Writing Papers in a Master’s Program
I also have a friend going back to school to get her Master’s Degree in Nursing Education. She just started this fall, and recently commented about the number of papers she will have to write this semester. In addition, most Master Degree programs do require a very lengthy “thesis” or “research paper” at the end of the program to qualify for graduation. Therefore, you should keep in mind if you ever plan on pursuing a Master’s degree in Nursing, you will be writing a lot more papers.
Thinking about going to Nursing School?
Are you contemplating going to nursing school, or are you actually in nursing school right now? Nursing school can be challenging, especially if you do not know what to expect. Here is a great guide by S. L. Page BSN, RN called “How to Pass Nursing School“. This book gives you detailed information about how to pass nursing school from beginning to end. S.L. Page, the creator of this website, complied all the information students what to know about nursing school into one easy to read guide. She gives in depth information on how to succeed in nursing school.
S.L. Page graduated from nursing school with honors and passed the NCLEX-RN on her first try. In this ebook, she reveals the strategies she used to help her succeed.
Here is what the book looks like:
