Personal story in Personal Statement

i'm currently in the process of writing my personal statement for adult nursing and wanted some advice! i am wondering whether it is a good idea or not to mention my mother who had cancer and relating it to how it helped me come to my decision of nursing, but i've heard mixed opinions on mentioning family members illnesses in your personal statement from different colleges and online sources. any opinions welcomed!

Hey 👋🏻 I believe I will be able to provide some ideas for you to write a good personal statement as I am a current BSc Occupational therapy student studying at the University of Essex. Although I am not doing adult nursing, they are similar healthcare subject and hopefully some tips I suggested will be able to help you develop an eye-catching personal statement!
1️⃣Good to include the reason why you want to be a healthcare professional
As you have mentioned, I believe it is a good idea to mention how you are inspirited to be a nurse by your mother. However, don't put it too lengthy, otherwise, your personal statement will become too descriptive about your life story instead of why you want to study nursing. You may start with mentioning your mother cancer and how it affects/ inspired you to become a nurse.
2️⃣State your relative experiences
It will be great if you have relative experiences, like work placement, voluntary experiences or maybe some inspirational conversations with someone to show your knowledge and passion of being a nurse. Mentioning relative experiences will then enables you to elaborate relative skills developed!
3️⃣Mention NHS values
I was advised to include some NHS values in my personal statement, it can be showing your qualities which meets the NHS value. You may also link your experiences to NHS values to show your understanding of qualities required to be a good healthcare professional and how you have started practising those skills/ qualities!
4️⃣Just show them your passion and YOURSELF!!
One of the important element of writing a good personal statement is telling the reader about yourself especially your personality and personal experiences which shape yourself! You can imagine the reader use your personal statement to get know more about you, so never hesitate to tell them more about yourself! Always remember to elaborate and explain your experiences and how they can develop your skills which enabled you to become a good nursing student!
These are the tips I can think of and I hope they give you an idea about writing a good personal statement! Wish you all the best for your application 🍀
Claudia 🩵
Occupational Therapy student (year 3)
University of Essex