Admission Essay to CRNA program

My desire to pursue a career in health care is greatly influenced by its unlimited opportunities for career development and the desire to impact another person’s life positively. As a kid, I always had a burning desire to become a nurse or a medical doctor but my parents’ influence and their perception of the engineering profession while in Nigeria lured me away. I trained and practiced as a Materials Engineer back in Nigeria, where I worked as a research and development officer for five years. However, coming to the United States created the turning point in my life. I searched for engineering jobs unsuccessfully for many months, and none was forthcoming despite availability of many job openings in nursing and healthcare related fields. In order to confirm my readiness to pursue nursing as a career, I entered a Practical Nursing program at the Wilbur Wright College in Chicago. At this time, I was still driving cab to support myself, while I dropped it completely upon graduation and passing LPN board examination.
A couple of years after becoming a LPN, I applied to DePaul University’s Master entry program to further my education, and thereby became a full-fledged RN. My dogged persistence paid off. In one way it deterred me from getting stuck to cab driving, despite a very good tax free – income. On the other, it allows me to envision my future as a great nurse.
My insatiable appetite for knowledge coupled with compassion and commitment to nursing shape my desire to pursue a DNP in nurse anesthesia. Clinical rotations in OR as a close observer during an open Heart Surgery at the IMMC, while a student at the DePaul University also afforded me opportunity to see administration anesthetic drugs by a CRNA. In concretizing my interest to purse a DNP in Nurse Anesthesia, nothing can be more absolute than witnessing the births of our three children and the joy that they have brought in to my life. I saw firsthand as the nurse anesthetist administered the epidural anesthesia to assuage my wife’s labor pains. I am interested in becoming a nurse anesthetist because of the fervor that I have for it as a profession, the potential that I posses and the life experiences that have made me the person that I am today. These experiences have strengthened my resolve not only to do the utmost that I can by practicing the profession of nursing but also to help in improving the delivery of quality nursing care and overall image of nursing in general.
The values and goals presented in the School Mission are a perfect fit for my ultimate career goals. The entirety of my life has been a challenge and the fact that I am applying to a great school such as the NorthShore School of Nurse Anesthesia is a further proof beyond doubt that coming from the humble roots that I was born in to, I can only be on the path to great success at this juncture. I have been engaged in nursing care of critically ill patients for 7years and I have consistently received outstanding evaluations these past years. With strong backgrounds in sciences, mathematics, computers coupled with good communication and interpersonal skills gained from work experience and college involvement, I believe I have all it takes to be successful in this profession. I have also learnt that patience, perceptiveness, honesty, trustworthiness and ability to work as a team member are essential in fostering effective working relationship. I work well as a team-member as well as independently on my own initiatives, using good judgment and overlook personal preferences where the good of all is concerned.
At the present time, I am a member of the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) and I also participate in various continue education activities that seek to increase my knowledge and overall clinical skills. My short-term professional goals include passing successfully certification examination for Adult Critical care, also known as the CCRN certification by October this year. I hope to set enough fund aside to augment my tuition for the School of Nurse Anesthesia. I also plan to attend a Medical Spanish class, in order to hone my Spanish language proficiency. It is also in my plan to work part time upon the start of the program in order to keep my clinical skills up-to-date. My long term goal is to successfully graduate from the NorthShore School of Nurse Anesthesia and pass the Nurse Anesthesia Board Examination. After passing the exam, I hope to join the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists (AANA) and other relevant professional associations for networking opportunities, mentoring and support systems. All the goals enumerated above are designed to help crystallize my future plans. I intend to be a successful nurse anesthetist and a well rounded professional. There is too much at stake to fail and to whom much is given, much is expected. I intend to be a shining example to my children and to my community. My DNP project would focus on the effect of anesthetic agents on the intra-operative respiratory Care of obese and COPD patients.
Besides finding this profession endlessly interesting and rewarding, I cherish the opportunity to make a positive difference in my patients' day-to-day lives. My experience has a nurse has taught me that helping someone attain their utmost in good health transcends the patients’ ethnic background or what social class they belong to. It is amazing how irrelevant the sex or race of an individual is when they come in to the emergency room with a broken arm or had been in a vehicle accident. I am thrilled at the possibilities of learning and practicing that lay ahead of me as a professional in one of the greatest and most noble profession known to man. I intend to take up the challenge and use my expertise to help as many people as possible irrespective of their age, class, race or religious belief. I look forward to the opportunity to start the Nurse Anesthetist’s program at the NorthShore School of Nurse Anesthesia, and I accept the challenge, knowing fully well that it is a nail that would help in holding my future together.