Med-Murrielle Pierre, BSN, CCRN, Schomburg Scholar

• Hometown: Leogane, Haiti
  
• Favorite Self-Care Activities: Exploring new places
  
• Undergraduate Education: Bachelor of Science, Nursing, The City University of New York: York College
  
• Current Program: Doctor of Nursing Practice (Nurse Anesthesia)

I knew that I wanted to attend graduate school in New York because of in-state tuition, and I also needed to find a school that fit my future goals and vision. Through researching UB School of Nursing, I found that one of their visions is to provide an academic culture that can impact global and local needs for research, scholarship and educational excellence. I chose UB SON because this vision aligns with my professional goal to remain at the forefront of evidenced-based knowledge to help guide my practice, and also my goal of providing safe anesthesia care to underserved communities. I believed that UB SON will provide me with the advanced knowledge that I need to fulfill my goal as a lifelong learner and become a leader in nursing anesthesia practice and research.

Anesthesia is an essential component of health care, but safe anesthesia care is in crisis in many parts of the world due to inadequate services and scarcity of resources. I am interested in the delivery of safe anesthesia care in developing countries, and efforts to promote safety and prevent avoidable complications.

Growing up in Haiti, I have witnessed firsthand my country’s battle with the shortage of adequate health care and medical resources. Haiti and many other third world countries struggle daily with the ability to perform life-saving surgeries due to lack of resources. Just last month, my grand-father broke his hip and was unable to have surgery because the hospital did not have anesthesia and there was a blood shortage.

I have volunteered my services and participated in missionary work in Haiti. I also plan to broaden my services to other developing countries. My DNP project will help me obtain a better understanding of my interest, because it will explore global health efforts to improve access to safe anesthesia care in developing countries.

My professional goal is to grow as a researcher, leader and clinician within my specialty. I want to obtain my doctoral degree and use my expertise to contribute to the advancement and improvement of anesthesia care delivery. I also want to give back to society by volunteering my anesthesia skills where they are needed, and provide education to anesthesia providers in developing countries.

My pursuits will help contribute to the delivery of safe anesthesia care in underserved communities. I will engage in research to obtain new care delivery methods that will help improve patient outcomes. My graduate education will allow me to accomplish my main goal of developing a non-profit organization that will provide funding to help improve medical resources, anesthesia services, and provide education to anesthesia providers in developing countries. I want to be able to set up seminars for anesthesia providers in underserved communities to discuss evidence-based practice that can help implement safe anesthesia care.

This scholarship award will help decrease my financial burden and allow me to focus on my studies. Pursuing higher education is expensive and time-consuming; this award will lessen my financial burden and allow me to focus on maximizing my graduate school experience so that I can be prepared to reach my professional goals upon graduation.