Born in Jamaica, I came to the US at the age of ten and was raised in Brooklyn. After becoming a nurse, I moved to Florida where I remain 5 years later; I now have extensive experience and could not be more dedicated to my goal of becoming a CRNA. I love planning short-term and long-term; it brings me joy and peace. Nothing brings me greater satisfaction than feeling and demonstrating empathy towards another in need.
My first choice among DNP Programs in Nurse Anesthesia is the University of XXXX, where I worked at the Hospital for two years; I still feel like the people that I worked with are like family. I love the resource-rich academic environment and admire your profound and extensive commitment to medical research and education. I am the best fit for your BSN-DNP Nurse Anesthesia Program at the University of XXXX because of my focus and 24/7 dedication which will enable me to excel at the doctoral level.
My volunteer work stands at the center of my personal as well as professional identity, especially my work with the organization Heart to Heart World Mission. We do medical mission trips to the Developing World; last year we went to Jamaica, and this summer, 2017, we’re heading to Haiti, Jamaica, and Ecuador. I serve as a registered nurse with the group. (We pay all our expenses out of pocket, flight, hotel, meals, etc.).
Traveling is for me another central passion along with giving my services to those who have the greatest need. In fact, I see this as my central purpose here on this earth: nursing the underserved. Here in the USA, after completing your program I would like very much to relocate to a rural area where CRNAs are the principal providers of Anesthesia. As a CRNA volunteer, I look forward to joining an organization such as Doctors Without Borders, traveling around the world providing medical services to individuals most in need.
Dedicated, determined and very highly motivated, I am a woman who works to achieve whatever it is that I set my mind to, no matter how long it takes. At 31, single, with no children, I feel the climate for success is exactly right to begin this demanding and emotional journey in Nurse Anesthesia. All my time will be dedicated to the program. I have shadowed several CRNAs, and now have the experience that I need in ICU under my belt. I feel most at home on the Code Blue and Rapid Response teams. Some time ago, I started working extra shifts to save money to fulfill my dream of going to graduate school and becoming a CRNA, so I am now able to do so comfortably.
Earning my first bachelor's degree in forensic psychology (2007) helped me to excel as a nursing student. I also worked at the XXXX Institute of Justice; a research organization concerned with social justice issues where I served as the Project Coordinator for the Prosecution of Racial Justice Project. I had the opportunity to work with different players in the criminal justice field across the country, lawyers, judges, polices officers, etc. I toyed with the idea of going to law school. But I decided to become a nurse.
I chose nursing over law because I like to see positive change occur daily, in the twinkle of an eye, not policy changes 20 years down the road. An upbeat and most gregarious woman, I love to smile and interact with people, making positive, daily contributions to their lives. Many of my friends of Caribbean decent were in healthcare and they helped me to understand how I was an excellent fit with nursing, mostly because, as my friends argued, I am extremely compassionate and empathetic, especially important qualities for a nurse. By January of 2010, I was enrolled in a BSN program, and earned my second bachelor's degree fifteen months later.
I spent my first year as an RN mostly providing dialysis to patients with renal failure. I always greatly admired the ICU nurses in our hospital, how well they handled crises and stressful situations, saving lives, and this made me want to become an ICU nurse. I applied for some positions and got some interviews but was told I needed to work on the floor as a nurse for at least one year before going to ICU. Undaunted, I continued to apply and was hired by the University of XXXX to work on their Progressive Care/Step-Down Unit. It was not ICU but as close as I could get at the time. Patients leaving ICU came to me; I was enormously happy and could not wait to get to work each day, often arriving a half hour early. I loved people and thus spent two years in this position at the University of Miami, living through many of the finest moments of my life so far. I left my job at the University of XXXX for my present position as a Critical Care Nurse in ICU at XXXX Regional.
It was in my position at the University of XXXX where I became fully dedicated to the goal of becoming a CRNA and I shadowed the CRNAs to the extent to which the opportunity presented itself. I never failed to listen with rapt attention as the patients that I took care of when they were visited by a CRNA, in addition to formally shadowing several of them. I have been in love with the idea of being a nurse who dispenses pain medication for years. Now thirty-one with two years' experience in ICU as a Critical Care RN, member of the Code and Rapid Response Teams: it is my time.
Thank you for considering my application to Nurse Anesthesia at the University of XXXX.
Applicants to CRNA school need one full year of experience in the ICU. There are a few exceptions, but those are special candidates. There is a small number of people selected without a full year of ICU experience. The Admissions Committee thinks that most of those who do not have this critical year of experience should reapply in another year. Furthermore, nurses are also often expected to spend a year as a floor nurse before moving up to the ICU. There is something of a hierarchy of nursing positions starting with the simpler duties and responsibilities and moving up to the much more sophisticated and complex duties of the CRNA. Most CRNAs spend at least one year on the floor, and another full year in the ICU before applying for CRNA programs.
CRNA School Personal Purpose Statement