There are very few CRNAs in my country. All the CRNAs working in Saudi Arabia are foreigners. Thus, it has been an uphill battle for me to work towards changing this, especially as a female nurse, since most nurses in Saudi Arabia have historically been men. This is beginning to change, however, and women are making significant advances in our efforts to achieve positions with greater levels of responsibility in our hospitals. In my case, I am pleased to report I have finally convinced the administrators of my hospital, where I work full time as a nurse, to finance my education in the USA to become a CRNA. They have now confirmed that I will have their full support if accepted to your program.
XXXX University is my first choice for graduate study because I appreciate the excellence of your program and its diversity, with a large international student population. I also appreciate the vast resources not only of your university but also of the surrounding area. I see XXXX University as where I could excel, giving my all to my studies to one day be among the finest CRNAs in the Middle East.
A great deal of work remains to be done in introducing the very concept of the CRNA to the Saudi medical system. It will take time and a lot of arduous work from pioneers in this area to bring about progressive change so that the CRNA becomes a recognized and respected part of our medical teams, as it is in the West. This must occur due to a more significant shift of responsibility for direct care from the overburdened doctor to the less than adequately recognized nurse. Nurses need to have a more substantial say in health care in my country, and I like to think that our CRNAs of the future will be on the front lines of this development.
If it were not for receiving the promise of financial aid from my hospital, I would not have been able to attend your program; I faced many obstacles in my path to getting this novel commitment on the part of my hospital to fund my CRNA education. At least in my hospital, my request for funding to study to become a CRNA is the first such request approved. It has been an uphill battle for several reasons, prominent among which was the necessity of rapidly improving my English to excel professionally as a student and a nurse in this language. I spent three months in Canada immersed in English, which helped a great deal with my oral fluency.
I now have two years of full-time professional experience as a nurse working primarily with patients recovering from surgery and in the ICU. I have also continued to complete coursework in this area. Since working at King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Center, I have worked alongside medical professionals from sixty-two countries. I have come to love and celebrate diversity and teamwork with multinational teams.
I thank you for considering my application to your program.