Caribbean CRNA Personal Statement Example

Nurse Anesthetist originally from the Caribbean contributing to diversity.

I am a young woman originally from the Caribbean who especially relishes diversity and I am proud to contribute to that diversity as a latina nurse who is reaching for the stars, despite my humble origins in the Dominican Republic. I have been living in NYC since the age of 6, in communities where most are underserved. I want to serve America's urban poor, those needy individuals whose background is similar to my own. I especially thrive when I give back to underserved communities. I strongly believe that your program at the University of ____ is uniquely suited to help me maximize my contribution to America's underserved.. I appreciate how your institution caters to a large urban area with many residents whose first language is Spanish, my native tongue.

My intense motivaton to realize my dreams in nurse anesthesia has been inspired by my father and principal role model. My father became a physician at the age of 50. After first bringing us to America, dad supported us as a taxi driver to make sure his three kids were comfortable and secure and then went to meical school, which had been his lifelong dream which he was finally able to fulfill without jeopardizing the education of his children.  Watching him persevere through whatever hardship came at him and still being able to come out on top has been an enormous inspiration for me to pursue my own dream of becoming a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist.  

I feel strongly that I am the best fit with the Nurse Anesthesia Program at the University of ____s School of Nursing and Health Studies. Completing your program will enable me to meet all of my personal, educational and professional goals in order to become an outstanding CRNA. As I see it, the education and training offered in Nurse Anesthesia at the University of ____ is unmatched. I am attracted to the low student-to-faculty ratio, the variety of advanced clinical rotations available, and I particularly appreciate your early integration of simulated learning activities. I look forward to preparing for my clinical rotations with this simulated training and hope to have the opportunity to invest an enormous amount of time in this in order to excel from the very beginning in my clinical rotations. My long-term objective is to become a well-trained CRNA who builds a lifetime, professional focus on the special medical needs of individuals living in underserved areas of the US.  Currently working in such areas in NYC, I understand how important availability of proper healthcare is for all communities, regardless of social status and income.   

My first nursing job was in the ER at Jacobi Hospital’s, Level One Trauma Center in NYC, where I met a CRNA who served as a wonderful role model and mentor. At least once a week I watched him in action in the trauma room, intubating and sedating critically injured patients prior to the physician’s treatment.  I was in awe of how calm, cool and controlled he appeared in a not so controlled situation.  I was particularly impressed by how knowledgeable he was in nurse anesthesia.  We bonded over our shared background in emergency care and became good friends.  He encouraged me to pursue a career in Nurse Anesthesia as he thought I would be a good fit.  This CRNA had also begun his career in medicine serving as a Paramedic before becoming a nurse. I also worked first as a paramedic and learned a great deal in this position - especially about Emergency Medicine. While serving as a Paramedic, I was accustomed to providing care for only one patient at a time.

Nursing, of course, is quite different; as a nurse, I have become a master of multitasking in the care of multiple patients. I enjoyed very much serving as a Paramedic, cultivating my attention to detail, developing my critical thinking and organizational skills. I was proud of the fact that I felt confident in the management of a critical patient in an uncontrolled environment and I became quite accomplished at providing frontline emergency medical response: intubating, resuscitating and providing critical, always patient-centered, care. While working as a paramedic, I also volunteered to teach CPR and how to use AED's in churches and schools in the community. I still volunteer twice a year at our community fairs to educate the community about hypertension, diabetes and other common ailments. 

Once I decided that my heart was set on becoming a nurse anesthetist, I took a position in an ICU at a 350-bed teaching hospital in Brooklyn, NY., were I was able to use my skills as an Emergency Room RN, while cultivating new skills in the Medical ICU.  The experience I gained at this hospital prepared me for my CCRN exam and ultimately also helped to prepare me to apply to CRNA school. 

I look forward to giving everything that I have to the Nurse Anesthesia profession.  I also seek a professional lifetime engagement with research, particularly with respect to the study of CRNA’s who practice independently.  I would especially like to contribute to research on patient outcomes in states where CRNA’s practice independently vs states were they must practice under physician supervision.   

There are so many reasons why I want to become a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist but the most important reason, the one closest to my heart, is that I want my daughter to see me devote myself to something I love, and follow through with it.  I have an example to set for her and I know she’s watching intently. I want her to follow her dreams the way I am following mine and the way my father followed his.  My husband and I have been working extra hard preparing our family for this move.  We have been investing mentally and financially in this opportunity and I am ready for this next big step in my professional career.  

Thank you for considering my application to Nurse Anesthesia at the University of ____. 

Caribbean CRNA Personal Statement Example