Rhetorical Analysis

Throughout my time at USM, my studies have consisted of pre-requisite courses that pertain to the pre-Nursing major.  While I am currently a Biology major, I quit the Nursing program after last semester.  My analysis of a rhetorical situation will be related to a class pertaining to my Nursing academic career.

As a Nursing major, one is required to take a course that teaches on the beginning of Nursing’s history to where it is today as a respectable job.  The text we read was informative and its purpose was to enlighten the reader of a woman named Florence Nightingale, who is known as the “founder of modern nursing.”  The author of the piece is actually an instructor at the USM School of Nursing.  She is working toward teaching young Nursing students the values that have stemmed from nursing’s greatest turning point in history.  The text is unbiased and wholly informative based on facts.  The author does not use any foreign terminology that typically distracts and confuses the reader.  Rather, she uses simple and common terms that are familiar and easy to comprehend.  The reader is meant to gain further understanding on the history of nursing, where it currently is in society’s eyes, and compare the present to the long, arduous road that many do not realize existed.  From gaining this new knowledge, one recognizes a newfound respect and amazement at what Nursing is as a whole in present day.  From being a man’s position in society, to a job that only the lowest of women would have, to its infamous turning point during the Crimean War solely because of Florence Nightingale’s efforts, Nursing has a history that none too few are aware of its existence and impressive road to the esteemed career that it is today.   

Overall, the author's work is successful.  A certain respect and feeling of honor as a student nurse is the outcome after having read this piece.  To understand the way society used to view nurses- the worst job imaginable- and compare it to the way nurses are appreciated today- respected and praised- one is anything but disappointed in the progress that this field has made for itself.  The author evoked pride and determination within her readers to continue on the legacy that is Nursing.  

I finished my first semester of Nursing school and then made the decision to quit the program.  I still and always will have the deepest appreciation for who nurses are and the tremendous amount of effort that they put into their job.  However, it was after much deliberation and personal reflection that I decided that such a field was not meant for me, and I am better suited at doing scientific research.  I am now a Microbiology major and look forward to adapting to and furthering the vast field of science with the small amount I hope to contribute.