All courses that students take during their academic life are essential, but the one that this paper is focused on was particularly helpful for me. Learning how to write and revise a research paper has given many insights into the future profession, and the skills obtained during the work on this project can be further employed in many other assignments. To select the topic for my research paper, I consulted with my senior colleagues and other healthcare workers that I know. I asked them about the most dramatic issues in their profession, and they pointed out several instances. Work-life balance seemed the most crucial of all, and I decided to research it thoroughly. After devoting eight weeks to the topic, I still find it interesting and important. I would like to perform more investigations of nurses’ burnout and shift length as the reasons for the insufficient work-life balance.
While working on the class, I developed essential research skills. First of all, I learned how to use scholarly databases and how to filter search results by the necessary parameters. Such knowledge allowed me to use only the most recent and relevant sources in the project. Also, I gained the understanding of different types of scholarly papers, such as a literature review, a case study, a systematic review, a meta-analysis, and others. I also was instructed that respectable sources are published in peer-reviewed journals, and it may take some time for authors to see their work published.
My peers’ feedback was rather helpful during the whole source project. The major change I made based on such feedback was the inclusion of the analysis of nurses’ job dissatisfaction as the result of a negative work-life balance. Upon my peer’s review, I performed more research and found the articles by Leineweber et al. (2016) and Zhang, Tai, Pforsich, and Lin (2018). Without advice from my colleagues, I could have missed a valuable aspect of the topic. I think that every scholarly work should undergo the procedure of peer-reviewing.
Not only others’ evaluation of my work was rather helpful in the research process. The acquaintance with the work of my peers allowed me to understand different points of view and indicated how various people could treat the same problem differently. I was pleasantly impressed by the number of critical approaches employed by my colleagues. I think that getting to know different opinions helps individuals to shape their views better or even change them if they see enough evidence.
Reviewing the work of my classmates has also provided me with the opportunity to learn about additional writing strategies. From one peer, I learned how to organize the paper logically and select brief but sufficient headings. From another classmate’s paper, I found out how the use of synonyms and periphrasis could enrich the language of the scholarly paper and make it more interesting to read. Other strategies that I learned were concerned with making shortenings and abbreviations to make the work free from abundant repetitions.
Working on the course project provided me with many insights into both research work and the future profession. The selection of the topic was a crucial step in that process since it allowed me to work on an interesting issue that had an impact on many nurses. Reviewing other students’ papers helped me to avoid some mistakes and also taught me how to improve my own work. Finally, when peers left comments on my project, I gained valuable experience and could see opportunities for the enhancement.
References
Leineweber, C., Chungkham, H. S., Lindqvist, R., Westerlund, H., Runesdotter, S., Smeds Alenius, L., &Tishelman, C. (2016). Nurses’ practice environment and satisfaction with schedule flexibility is related to intention to leave due to dissatisfaction: A multi-country, multilevel study. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 58, 47-58. Web.
Zhang, X., Tai, D., Pforsich, H., & Lin, V. W. (2018). United States registered nurse workforce report card and shortage forecast: A revisit. American Journal of Medical Quality, 33(3), 229-236.