The University of ____ is my first choice among DNP programs in Nurse Anesthesia for several reasons, from the location to the sheer excellence of your program. I am the best fit for the University of ____. My life experiences have shaped me into a hardworking, committed, and resilient person who is highly motivated to build a distinguished career. I was fourteen when my severely autistic brother Matteo was severely burned and would spend many months in the hospital recovering from numerous surgeries. This helped me mature early and provided many opportunities to cultivate my compassion. It also gave me the greatest gift of my lifetime, familiarizing me with the hospital environment at a tender age. Matteo’s nurses provided him with consistently optimal care during those long, physically, and emotionally challenging months. I found myself enormously inspired and decided to join their ranks.
As one of four children in a lower-middle-class family, I was not spoiled growing up. The most outstanding educational achievement of anyone in my family was a high school diploma, and I desperately wanted to change that. I spent countless hours playing basketball, partly to attend college on a basketball scholarship.
I received multiple offers of full-ride basketball scholarships. My grades were at first disappointing but gradually improved. During my sophomore year, my brother experienced some complications with skin graft surgery, and I took the time to help even though I did not have it to spare as a full-time student-athlete. I forged onward and became a three-time Academic All-Conference Selectee and Team Captain. When I graduated with a bachelor’s degree, I was offered a position playing professional basketball in Europe. It was another valuable experience that drastically changed my life. Living in another country so culturally different from what I had known my entire life and interacting with people from all over the world helped me attain a new appreciation for diversity, tolerance, and inclusion. We were a fully international team with different languages and playing styles and this pushed me from my comfort zone and enhanced my leadership skills.
My undergraduate degree in Exercise Science provided for a smooth transition from basketball to nursing and from athlete to a Registered Nurse by propelling me to complete an accelerated bachelor’s degree in nursing at Creighton University. I applied that same level of heart, commitment, and perseverance to become an excellent, autonomous critical care nurse. Winning for me no longer occurred on the basketball court but in the hospital. Victory for me became a happy patient. I have grown to become a leader, mentor, and knowledgeable preceptor on my unit. Over the past year, I acquired both CCRN and TNCC certifications, mastered bedside ECMO and CRRT, and cross-trained in NICU and CVICU. I do understand that I am applying to a high-intensity program. However, a fast-paced environment, where challenging work is expected, is where I thrive the most and perform at my best.
As an RN, I have been committed to the patient experience by providing safe, high-quality care, implementing new protocols, and participating on various hospital committees.
I am committed to advancing in my field. I believe that with my practiced communication skills and determination to excel, I will be prepared to take on the new challenges and responsibilities that come with shifting from a bedside to the CRNA role. I will continue to advocate for advances in the nurse anesthesia specialty as I develop into a leader in the field. I will actively assess my own and my team’s performance for quality assurance and improvement, engage, and collaborate with others to accomplish shared goals. Thank you for considering my application to Nurse Anesthesia at the University of ____.
CRNA Personal Statement
This applicant was not born with a silver spoon in their mouth. He correctly cites his lower-middle class background with pride, humility, and dignity. In this way, becoming a professional athlete made a lot of sense, while the applicant did an excellent job at articulating the transition from athletics to nursing, having earned a BS in Exercise Science.
Still, the strongest part of the statement is the first paragraph and the story of their severely burned brother that is the most poignant and effective, because it certainly explains why this experience of this childhood would make an impression, leading to Nurse Anesthesia.
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