I am finishing my Master’s in our Nurse Practitioner Program at XXXX University. I have a particular emphasis in my studies on adults, most notably our senior population. My compassion for my patients, and the older they are, the more I love them, is matched only by my attention to detail and enthusiasm for nursing.
I was born and raised in Africa, and my country of origin is Freetown, Sierra Leon. At 46, I am now a non-traditional student who loves and appreciates XXXX University. This is why your program is my first choice for doctoral studies. I have developed valuable professional contacts and a good family and spiritual support base here in Minnesota—all of which will help me give my all to your program with as few distractions as possible. Thus, I am at my optimal moment to pursue my Ph.D. studies, taking advantage of a wealth of practical experience to stimulate my creative juices as I tackle many of the most burning issues in nursing today. Especially over the last decade, I have enjoyed growing responsibility as an RN. I feel strongly that this experience will be helpful for my Ph.D. studies. As an African woman, I have much to contribute to the diversity and inclusiveness of your program because of my professional and life experiences.
I have spent the last decade in the emergency room. ER has become a professional home to me over the years. I work in all ER areas at the University of XXXX Medical Center in XXXX. We have a trauma section, two obstetrics and gynecology rooms, and a state-of-the-art psychiatric emergency department. I work in triage most of the time. I have learned to safely assess and expedite care for the critically ill patients in my charge, safely admitting, transferring, and discharging patients, as necessary. I profoundly love being part of an excellent team that all pulls together around optimal health care for patients and their families. I take joy in having the opportunity to focus on preventative care and public health education, disseminating information to support groups to empower critically ill patients to take advantage of all available resources in the community.
I am a cosmopolitan African woman who now makes North America her home. My travels to Central America to serve in medical missions have been especially important to developing my professional identity thus far. My colleagues and I go on mission trips to Honduras, where we work with the underserved populations in La Ceiba. And I hope to continue to excel in this area as a doctoral student and beyond. Being accepted to your doctoral program will enable me to strive effectively to make society as safe as possible from the threat of premature death. I have focused on treating stage 1 hypertension before the disease progresses to an irreversible stage. I keenly look forward to investigating this issue in your program. I want to become one of the leading experts in hypertension among African Americans.
My dream job would be to work with the WHO and develop programs in preventing or early detection of hypertension and treatment among Africans and African Americans, investigating what we can learn from our differences. I am honored that my hospital serves a vast minority/immigrant population, increasingly urban America. The most pressing health concerns are inadequate education on disease processes and preventative medicine. I am especially concerned with the disparities among the racial groups concerning levels of public health issue awareness. Black people suffer from hypertension more than any other racial group. Unique cultural identity issues come into play with the American black, particularly men, a lack of trust in health care delivery based on past issues such as the Tuskegee experience. There is also the theory of drug resistance in Black people to hypertensives.
My number one goal will be to work towards a transformation in how people view health. Having worked in health care for the past 15 years, I profoundly appreciate how we need to focus on wellness, not disease. Establishing trust among the population will allow me to educate people about how the family must play an integral part in the African American patient’s path to wellness, leading to healthier communities and reducing health disparities along racial lines. My systems change project will be Community Nursing Management of African Americans with Stage 1 hypertension in XXXX Center, MN. The emphasis will be on general wellness, education, and therapy compliance to prevent the disease condition from advancing to the next stage, thereby avoiding subsequent hospitalizations.
I see my established relationship with the African Health Initiative as an excellent resource for doctoral studies. At XXXX University, I have learned that our foremost duty is to uphold principles of social justice and equality, solidarity, and the protection of the life and dignity of every human being. Now, I want to shoulder the battle flag in the struggle to protect the lives and dignity of the world’s poor and vulnerable populations, work with an international health organization, designing community wellness programs and hypertension control initiatives.
Thank you for considering my application to your exceptional doctoral program.
PHD Public Health Nursing African Personal Statement
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