As a future DNP Nurse Anesthetist, I will work to encourage a positive view of the profession by doing my part in increasing public awareness that CRNAs are anesthesia experts who are highly educated and skilled in providing anesthesia safely to all patients, in every setting and for all types of procedures. I see the program as providing an avenue to enable me to maximize my utility as a nurse and fulfill my personal, academic, and professional potential. I seek to apply my significant and relevant experience and training to date in the most challenging and satisfying way. I am particularly interested in assisting patients who are fearful or have difficulties understanding because of low educational levels or language barriers, what the procedures involve, and why they are necessary.
I was raised in Nepal within a culture and family in which an expectation of hard work, cheerfulness, and kindness to others was instilled in us from our earliest years. I wanted to make a difference rather than make a living from an early age, and nursing always appealed to me as a career; it is a choice I have never regretted. My nursing career began as a supervising CNA with geriatric patients in a care facility. My culture accords the elderly with respect and gentleness, which enabled me to create a special rapport with elderly patients. I regarded it as a privilege to care for them.
I began work at Jamaica Hospital, NY, 2011 on the Medical-Surgical floor. The hospital serves the disadvantaged and uninsured, often with minimal English language skills. My experience there has provided me with an exceptional degree of cultural awareness and sensitivity and the ability to reassure and soothe patients who are not only distressed because of illness or injury but also often very fearful at the prospect of treatment and unfamiliar situations and surroundings. From my first day, I loved the work and sought to acquire as much knowledge and variety of experience as possible. This challenging professional environment and positive attitude provided an excellent foundation for my professional progress.
I was awarded my BSN in 2014, Summa Cum Laude, with a GPA of 3.9. In April 2015, I transferred to MICU/CCU, reflecting my employer’s confidence in my ability and professional potential. The Hospital is a Level 1 Trauma Center and a designated hypothermia/cardiac/stroke facility. Many of our patients present with life-threatening illnesses or trauma requiring major surgery and often come with co-existing conditions making them especially vulnerable. Consequently, our staff is highly trained and experienced in treating high-risk patients.
I have acquired many skills from my work in the unit. I am proficient in stabilizing and hemodynamically monitoring patients with critical illnesses who require constant observation, such as those on mechanical ventilation, vasopressors, cardiovascular medication, sedation, analgesics, and other necessary medications. I also assess patients to establish whether they meet the criteria for ‘weaning off’ mechanical ventilation and assist in the ‘weaning’ process. I am also experienced in dealing with the predictable complications arising from ‘weaning’ and applying prompt intervention when appropriate. Among other skills, I have managed patients with intra-aortic balloon pumps in cardiogenic shock, set up a-lines, and assisted physicians when patients get ventriculostomy at the bedside.
My work has involved frequent contact with CRNAs, and as I became increasingly aware of their vital role and the high degree of expertise that their role demands, my ambition to emulate them also increased. To prepare to make this application, I have spent considerable time with CRNAs to discover as much about their role as possible. I spent 36 hours shadowing two CRNA, observing them, assessing patient histories, checking labs., setting up the room, developing plans, and preparing medications. I also learned how to hold the laryngoscope and what to look for when intubating. I observed the induction of patients presenting with various co-morbidities using diverse types of anesthesia. I also attended a program hosted at the University of Tennessee in Chattanooga in 2017 in Diversity in Nurse Anesthesia Mentorship. I learned much about the role, scope, and economic and political factors affecting the specialty. I was also able to gain hands-on experience in checking the Anesthesia machine, manipulating the fiber optic scope for intubation purposes, LMA and Endotracheal placement, identifying anatomy via Ultrasound-Guided for Interscalene Brachial Plexus Block, and proper ventilation skills, spinal and epidural placement, adequate usage of Glideslope, and central line placement.
I know that the program will be intellectually demanding, requiring highly developed critical-thinking skills, the confidence to work with significant autonomy and exercise leadership, the ability to work calmly under extreme pressure, and the ability to empathize and communicate highly technical information in ‘lay’ terms to anxious patients and their families. I have carefully considered whether I possess the necessary academic and personal characteristics and have concluded that I do. I have proven academic ability and potential; I have significant and highly relevant nursing experience; I have acquired an excellent understanding of the role's demands and am confident I can meet them. I can assure the reader that, if selected, I shall apply myself with exceptional diligence and enthusiasm.
Thank you for considering my application.
