Which events led you to choose nursing as a career at this stage in your life? Why are you choosing to pursue this degree at NYU? (2500 character maximum)
Personal Statement
Why do I want to become a nurse? Let me try to explain.
As a young girl, I would visit the doctor’s office every year for my regular check-up. The physicians I encountered there seem to be very capable and knowledgeable, but they had difficulty answering the questions of a curious little girl. (“Why do you put that stick on my tongue?” “What do you look for when you draw the blood?” “Why are our veins blue since our blood is red?”)
One day, when I was nine, a young woman who I’d never seen before was sitting in the physician’s chair. She greeted me with a kind smile and said, “You’re so pretty!” My initial anxiety at seeing a stranger in the office was replaced with a sense of security. Before drawing my blood, she explained what she was going to do and why she was going to do it. She was answering my questions before I even asked them! And when I watched her draw my blood, she complimented me: “What a strong little girl!” I smiled with pride and said, “One day I want to be a doctor just like you.” To my surprise, she replied, “I’m a nurse.” I blurted out, “Well, I want to be just like you!” A curious, inquisitive little girl had found a role model…and a vision for her future.
As an immigrant from Colombia who came to the US at the age of 4, I had to overcome the hurdle of the language barrier. Growing up in Queens, the oldest of 3 children and with parents that worked 2 jobs, I had the responsibility to care for my siblings and at the same time excel academically. I wanted to show my siblings that anything is possible with dedication and perseverance.
Since then, the little girl has become an adult. I still have that vision, but I’ve taken several important steps to achieve it. Soon after graduating from high school, I volunteered as an English-Spanish translator for doctors and their patients at Elmhurst Hospital. Then I enrolled in the New York City College of Technology, where I took my prerequisites for the nursing program. After completing my prerequisites, I began work as a medical receptionist in an obstetrics and gynecology office, where I was able to connect with patients and support them in a time of joy and anxiety. However, after four years in this rewarding field, I would begin working in a new specialty.
Around this time, I was offered a receptionist position at the LASIK clinic. My responsibilities there included translating, assisting during surgery and providing patients with postoperative instructions. I was learning a whole new specialty and connecting with patients in new ways.
For example, I discovered the great importance of listening to every patient and letting them know that they were heard. This usually gave them a feeling of relief and (for some of them) helped lessen the anxiety that they were experiencing before and after surgery.
After I had worked at the clinic for several years, Dr. Moadel, my employer, recognized my potential and provided me with in-house training as a LASIK technician. Soon I took and passed the certified LASIK technician test. As a result, I assisted the doctors by operating the apparatus and assisting the physician with surgical instruments.
Even though my specific responsibilities at the LASIK clinic were somewhat different than in the OBGYN clinic, the human dimension was still crucial. I now had to provide emotional support and empathy to patients undergoing surgery. Growing in these interpersonal skills has remained both a job requirement and a source of great satisfaction for me throughout my medical career thus far.
After working in a private clinic for five years, I decided that I wanted to expand my knowledge of ophthalmology and that a hospital setting would help me do this. So, I applied to the ophthalmology clinics of several New York City hospitals, received several offers, and accepted the one from Weill Cornell.
At Weill Cornell I have learned to take patients medical history, assist in various procedures such as blepharoplasty (repair of drooping eyelids) and the removal of lesions on the eyelids. My role includes filling syringes with lidocaine and providing the needed instruments to the surgeon during the procedure. I also interact with patients during the procedure, offering them additional information as needed and helping to allay their anxiety.
In addition, my responsibilities at Weill Cornell include working closely with nurses. Some of them have offered me the opportunity to shadow them as they attend to their patients. This has given me a valuable opportunity to observe first-hand what nurses do and gain more certainty that this is what I wish to do.
Along with career successes and satisfactions, I have faced some challenges too and (I believe) have grown in overcoming them. With it all, my goal remains important and meaningful to me. I think of it now as providing quality patient care with a human face. This is my grown-up understanding of what that kind nurse meant to me as a little girl.
Why NYU? I chose NYU’s nursing program because of its reputation and dedication to helping its students excel academically by offering mentorship, tutoring, state-of-the-art facilities that prepare their students with the necessary skills for the real-world. The opportunity to enter NYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing program now represents the most crucial step for me in achieving my goals of becoming a nurse and serving my community.
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