Posts by Haley Boeschen

There was a long pause on the phone as I was trying to process this life-changing matter. So, I told him this almost verbatim. First, I asked if he invited his mother who had to travel extensively to the graduation? This student on the cusp of quitting the program told me he in fact invited his mother and had reservations to a restaurant afterwards of which he was prepared to cancel because of this devastating news.

Then, I told him, “Well, this graduation is not for you any way. It’s for your momma so she can go back to tell her neighbors and church members how proud she is of her son graduating from a nurse anesthesia program”. And, it included him making sure I sit next to his mother at the graduation ceremony to encourage him quietly and privately. I proceeded to tell him that I rather him continue to do the extended three months of anesthesia at the clinical site than start over in a new program with increased and mounting debt. Trust me, he was fighting back with me on the phone. But I was serious and finally said, I will come after work when he was done with clinical and sit in the library literally across from him so he can continue with studying CRNA boards.

He agreed, finally. Some of these studying days’ lead to the library on beautiful sun-filled Saturdays in the summer. Sitting across from him, I was working on the paperwork for submitting for non-profit status (501 c – 3 ) status for the Diversity in Nurse Anesthesia Mentorship Program and planning activities for the following year. So, we both had a lot of work ahead of us to do to progress in our future.

This proud Black man finished his obligatory and extended clinical rotation and scheduled his board exam. After passing it on the first attempt he called me first to let me know about the results. A long pause was on the phone. I guess we both knew what that meant, to be honest. So, I want to thank my dear CRNA colleague for making me a better person and to find my true calling. And, exceptionally proud how he managed to get through his darkest moment. Quite often, I share his experience with others as they find their way to the light.

This experience made into a better advocate for nurse anesthesia students who are in some sort of distress. I will never forget how another nurse anesthesia student from the South was not doing well in a pediatric anesthesia rotation. So, I enlisted a CRNA from a Philadelphia Children’s Hospital and another CRNA from California who taught pediatric anesthesia in a program to help this student go from almost failing to passing with no clinical deficiencies and strong academic success.

Thank God …I know what is worth fighting for in my life.

#Blessed

Many of us went from studying the anesthesia machine and the foundations of airway management to be in the dark, making lines to buy a few bottles of waters, and trying to console one another. Our usual academic activities were substituted by a day-to-day survival effort. It was a new reality. A new way to operate.

Once my peers and I were able to go back to the University of Puerto Rico, Medical Sciences Campus, we took our school as a shelter. We did not sleep there but spent most of our days in our studying room. It was a safe place. It was a place of comfort. It was place separated from the desolation that was happening out of campus. Being physically there was the only way to directly communicate with professors and try to do our work. Getting through the semester seemed like mission impossible. Since our campus is part of Puerto Rico’s biggest medical center with about five hospitals in the same area, we took advantage of the frail electricity restored but, many times, we were left in the dark as power continuously went out. Every time that happened, we were evacuated from campus and classes were cancelled. Frustration is too small a word to describe our feelings at the moment. I remember clearly one day when we refused to leave campus and told one of our professors we were there to learn and were going to have class even if it meant to do so under a tree. Our professors were doing everything to make it all work while dealing with their own personal struggles. At the school, we were given snacks and bottles of water to bring back home. We knew we have to get academic work done at school because there was no time for it once we get home. Going back home in the late afternoon hours meant time to help our families to get food, get water, find a place to shower, try to get candles and other important items to get through the dark nights. It was the same exhausting routine day after day.

Many SRNAs usually live on limited budgets during school years. Hurricane María hit us not only physically and emotionally, but also financially. At the moment, our money was not just for school and living related expenses. It also had to be redirected toward getting basic survival items that, in many places, were overpriced. It is unbelievable to go back and remember the struggle to find and being able to buy a bag of ice! Our minds were all over the place. We were trying to do well in a rigorous graduate program while adapting to the disaster that was unfolding. The hurricane was not the tragedy. The tragedy was what it left behind.
Not everything has been bad, however. Since the moment of the disaster, there have been multiple uplifting moments. We have gotten to experience precious moments of human compassion and empathy. Help has come from many, mostly, ordinary citizens. The many thoughts and prayers that have been sent our way have also been felt. The AANA Foundation provided us financial assistance through their Emergency Grant. Dr. Lena Gould, CRNA, FAAN was always on our side to help us during the process. The Illinois State Association of Nurse Anesthetists made a fund raiser and made a donation to SRNAs in our program. Those are some of the many acts of kindness during the past months.

Puerto Rico is still in a recovery process. We cannot forget that, up to this day, there are still people without power. One thing is certain: this beautiful island is blessed in so many aspects. The spirit of my people is so strong not even hurricane winds make it go down. My colleagues in the nurse anesthesia program are some of the strongest people I have ever known. We are here; we continue stronger than ever. We still look back and reflect on the tragedy, but we also look forward with great optimism. Not a day goes by without being thankful for what we have. We will become CRNAs and will serve our communities with commitment, empathy, and passion.

It was there that I also met two University of Maryland SRNAs, Jahnavi Jaladanki and Irene Tavakoli (now CRNAs). They advised me over the last two years on how to make the most of my ICU experience, set myself apart on my application, and how to prepare for my interview. I also met Terry English, CRNA who became a beloved mentor. He gave me the opportunity to shadow multiple times over the last few years and even wrote me a recommendation letter when I applied.

In July of this year, I decided to attend another Diversity CRNA Information & Airway Simulation Lab Workshop at Samuel Merritt University now that I had become an experienced ICU nurse. It was there that I reconnected with Israel Akpadiaha, PhD, CRNA who encouraged me to apply this year and not wait another year. In front of everyone, he told me that he expected my essay in his inbox by that Friday.

I also listened to him and Mohammed Deen, SRNA talk about how we should get involved in our local AANA chapter as advocacy would become an important aspect of our future profession. I then attended the Maryland Association of Nurse Anesthetist Fall Meeting this October and introduced myself to some of the faculty at UMD and John Bing, CRNA who then spent an hour on the phone with me the following week helping me prepare for my interview.

During my interview, the program director Dr. Pellegrini had a slide describing how diverse their program was and how they had held a few Diversity CRNA events. It was then that he asked if I had attended one because he felt like he recognized me, I pointed to his slide and said “I’m in the picture – in the back! You taught me how to use the ultrasound”. Now I’ll have the opportunity to have him and the other faculty teach me so much more.

These are just a few ways the Diversity CRNA Mentorship program has impacted me, but there are countless more. I’ve been working towards this since I was 15 years old and to see it come to fruition is a dream come true. The road would have been 10x harder had the mentorship program not existed. For that reason, I’m so incredibly grateful for Dr. Lena Gould, CRNA, FAAN and all the work she has done. I plan to pay it forward as both an SRNA and CRNA in the future through both mentorship and advocacy for the profession. Thank you, truly…

Words cannot express the amount of inspiration Dr. Gould has given me. Through her words, her very own struggles, her life story. This past year, a lot has happened for me—I started Anesthesia school, I moved to a new state knowing nobody (as I am sure a lot of you can relate), & I learned how to intubate! Reflecting back, not only have I gained a lot of knowledge about giving anesthesia, but I have also grown as a person. So, I would like to express my greatest gratitude to Dr Gould, John Bing, Chris Scott, Dr. Lukeythia Bastardi, Chris Scott, James Lewis, Israel Akpadiaha, Anthony Chikendu and the rest of the team whom I may have failed to mention, for those inspiring words which gave me great strength to pursue this wonderful profession. In two weeks, I will officially be a senior SRNA!!! Cheers everybody!!!