Since I finished high school in the UAE in computer programming and IT, my goal has been to become a nurse and then a DNP CRNA. Shortly after graduation, I immigrated to the US in January 2003. When I came here, I only knew my grandmother and uncle living in Fresno, CA, where I began my new life. I graduated from XXU as a nurse and now have roots and a network of friends and colleagues. This is why XXXX University, the best CRNA program in my area, is my first choice.
Shortly after I arrived in the USA, my grandmother became critically ill. While she survived, I almost lost her then. I spent most of my time at the local community hospital for several months, and I remember well how I thought this might be the end every time I took her to the hospital. She required many surgeries, and throughout her extended hospital stay, I had the opportunity to speak at length with several nurses, including CRNAs. Their emotional and moral support was of critical importance to me and my grandmother. I got to know people of extremely high quality who I quickly came to see as my heroes, and this is why I became a nurse, inspired by their example.
To become a registered nurse, I had to overcome many challenges, such as perfecting my English, paying for my tuition on top of living expenses, and managing my grandmother’s finances and medical bills. After finishing my nursing prerequisite classes with a 4.0 GPA, I was accepted to XXU Fresno’s nursing program. My grandmother was pleased that I was about to become a nurse, and she always joked that I would be her very own private RN and I could go with her wherever she wanted to go; but, unfortunately, during my 1st semester of the program, she had a heart attack and passed away within a few days. When she said her last words, she asked me to promise her not to settle with becoming an RN and pursue my dream of becoming a CRNA. She also asked me to promise to care for every patient just like the community regional medical center nurses and anesthesia staff took care of her.
Because of that promise, I was awarded the 2013 Nurse Hero of the Year in Central California for helping an undocumented farmworker pay for the spinal surgery that saved him from becoming paralyzed. My goal is to continue supporting the poor once I become a CRNA. Besides speaking Farsi and Arabic, I have been working extremely hard on my Spanish for several years now because I see this as the language of the underserved in my area.
I want to continue doing this for the rest of my life, here in America, and going on medical missions in support of surgeons abroad for as long as I can: giving my all to my patients to save their lives and make them as comfortable as possible. I like to think of myself as a ‘global’ nurse. I love to travel and dream of serving on medical missions worldwide as a CRNA in support of surgeons wherever they are most needed due to wars, tsunamis, earthquakes, etc. So far, I have been on many medical missions serving in countries such as Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and more recently, Costa Rica and Nicaragua, serving the poor and working on my Spanish, and learning as much as I can about public health structures in each country that I visit.
I have extensive experience working in Level I Trauma Emergency and Trauma ICU settings, making me a well-rounded nurse. Since the hospital I work at is one of the largest trauma centers in California, I have had extensive exposure to a wide variety of very sick people, which helped me gain valuable experience in Trauma/Cardiac resuscitations, invasive hemodynamic monitoring, and management of unstable patients; fluid resuscitation; massive blood products transfusions; vasoactive drug preparation and administration; mechanical ventilation; neurological trauma requiring vasoactive drips, osmotherapy, and ICP monitoring; setup and managing chest tubes; wound care, and experience performing over 100 conscious sedation procedures on Trauma patients. Working in emergency and ICU settings, I have learned to function independently with high competence. I have developed the ability to work under pressure with great focus and attention to detail, participate in dynamic interventions when patients decompensate acutely and actively provide excellent, safe patient care using a multidisciplinary care team model. I strive to anticipate what will happen, not merely react to what is currently happening, hence staying ahead of events that may put my patient at peril. I passionately believe that my experience in my hospital will enable me to excel in your program.
Fresno has always been great to me, and I have a special love for Central Valley; I plan to stay local and serve as many people as possible here in my community. My goal is to get my doctoral degree, become an advanced practice nurse professor/instructor, and teach Nurse Anesthesia at a university in California.
Throughout my nursing career, I have worked at the same hospital that took care of my grandmother, and last year I was promoted to nurse management and education. Besides my experience working in the Trauma ED and TICU, I am currently working on obtaining my CCRN license and preparing to enroll in a biochemistry class, which I see as especially critical preparation for what lies ahead.
Thank you for considering my application to your program in Nurse Anesthesia.