I grew up accompanying my physician father on his rounds in our native Lebanon. Pain medicine was and still is scarce and expensive in Lebanon if it can be found at all. Many if not most wounds continue to be painful for a lifetime and few can afford medication even when it is available. My experiences as a witness to pain are the primary inspiration and driving force behind my application to your highly distinguished and competitive program in Nurse Anesthesia at XXXX University. I grew up in war torn Lebanon until the age of seventeen, flying alone to Los Angeles in 2006 to build a new life.
I am an excellent student who loves studying and a learner who puts a high priority on creativity; thus, I am a good fit for a rigorous program such as yours. I have a diverse background in the physical sciences that goes well beyond my classes in nursing; having taken courses in general and organic chemistry as well as physics and completing several continuing educational classes for certifications through my hospital, CCRN, TNCC, and stroke education.
XXXX is my first choice to study towards becoming a CRNA because you are a Jesuit program that puts a remarkably high value on human rights and the dignity of human life, as well as having a pronounced preferential option for the poor. After I complete your program, for many decades to come, I look forward to participating in medical missions to disaster zones for decades to come; humanitarian missions that I see as my responsibility as a nursing professional who is also a native speaker of Arabic. Since I did not leave Lebanon until the age of seventeen, I identify very much with the country and the people as my home.
The Lebanese people continue to be threatened from within and without and rapidly filling up with refugees from neighboring Syria. Thus, I anticipate feeling called to my duty as an international, humanitarian CRNA working to save lives of those who have been wounded because of the widespread political strife that has afflicted the entire Middle East region for decades, recently worsening because of the conflict in Syria and growing strength of fundamentalist groups. I also look forward to supporting research endeavors as a CRNA and participating in clinical pain and sedation management research.
My first major exposure to disadvantaged communities in need of basic medical necessities was around the age of thirteen when I began assisting my father in his clinic after school. Thus, I see a lifetime of participation in front of me in educational activities and collaborating with other health care professionals at the service of the marginalized as the fulfillment of my inheritance and tradition, my calling, vocation, and spirituality.
CRNA Nurse Anesthesia Personal Statement
After Mandarin and Spanish, Arabic is one of the most widely spoken languages in North America. For this reason, there will be at least one or two Arabic-speaking students in each CRNA class. The composition of the classroom is intended to mirror the composition of society. An Arabic-speaking nurse is necessary for every large urban hospital in North America. Arabs are everywhere, and not all of them have a level of ability in English. This might also increase in the future. This nurse did not leave Lebanon until she was an adult, so she is fully bicultural as well as multilingual. She is exemplary and the struggle of her and her people is most admirable. This underscores her identity as a nurse dedicated to the marginalized. Her focus on the underserved is bolstered by her ethical principles that attract her to a Jesuit program.