A mixture of Chinese, Syrian, and French, and raised in Texas, I am the first generation of my family to be born in America; I am thankful that my mother taught me Chinese alongside English since this enhances my capacity as a nurse, and increases the value of the contribution that I hope to make for the balance of my life as a bilingual English/Mandarin CRNA. I daydream that speaking Mandarin will help me save a life, especially as I hope to work in a hospital in an area with many Chinese speakers. I also hope to use my gift of Mandarin by going on medical missions to support surgeons in areas where this language is spoken.
Texas has always been home, and this is one of the reasons why the University of XXXX at Houston’s Nurse Anesthesia Program is my first choice among Nurse Anesthesia Programs, along with the sheer excellence of your program. My time in Taiwan, Peru, and Indianapolis, Indiana, where I worked as a research assistant, have also been formative experiences. This is especially true of my journey to Taiwan at 16 when I spent the summer with my Taiwanese uncle. He is an anesthesiologist, shadowing, learning from him, and bonding with the Chinese side of my family. I also followed several Taiwanese CRNAs.
At 17, I spent the summer in Indianapolis, Indiana, as a volunteer research assistant, helping to establish a standard protocol to isolate and culture cardiac neurons from neonatal rats, adult rats, and adult mice. I also assisted in developing a prototype of a piezoelectric converter based on cardiomyocyte cultures for a polydimethylsiloxane membrane. At 22, another formative highlight was going to Peru and presenting at the International Nursing Congress of Maternal and Neonatal Care. I have made only modest progress so far in learning Spanish, but it is one of my goals for the long term as a multilingual CRNA professional.
Already an experienced critical-care nurse, I hope to distinguish myself in the future due to my great passion for global health, patient advocacy, and holistic healthcare as a CRNA. I give my all every day to nursing. In addition to outstanding performance at the hospital, I seek constant, ongoing volunteer opportunities and look forward to going on medical missions in support of surgeons, particularly in areas of the world with large numbers of Mandarin speakers, where I can do the greatest good.
My uncle, Dr. XXXX, Chief Anesthesiologist of XXXX Hospital in Taiwan, along with his team of heroic nurse anesthetists, served at the forefront of the battle against a severe outbreak of acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in 2003, where they had no choice but to treat the SARS patients without proper protective suits and equipment. The team bravely advocated for their patients, innovatively creating their protective gear, and risking their lives to fulfill their professional duty. These are my heroes and role models, and I, too, seek to give everything to my patients, even in the most complex and unpredictable scenarios. I would be most honored to be selected to complete the Nurse Anesthesia Program at the University of XXXX, and I thank you for considering my application.