If you were to ask me when I was a teenager what I would be doing today, I certainly would not have told you that I would be a registered nurse. It is a career that found me. It is a career that saved me. A high school dropout. An inner-city kid from Dorchester, Massachusetts. Should I work to pay bills for survival or try to get into college for a better life? Perhaps there is a way that I can do both?
I chose to work and go to school essentially for the entirety of my adult life. There were many long nights, social sacrifices, and lost relationships along the way. I did not obtain my bachelor’s degree until I was 33 years old. Against all odds, I took the road less traveled to get to where I am today.
An orthopedic surgeon by the name of Richard de Asla took a chance on me while I was a medical assistant student at Massachusetts General Hospital. While this may sound like a prestigious move, I had nothing to show for this opportunity besides myself. I had yet to gain experience. I hardly even had a résumé.
I come from nothing. A single-parent household that was well below the poverty line. I knew I had to break the cycle. My mother struggled to provide financially for me. I grew up fast at a young age and realized that if I wanted a family of my own someday that this cycle needed to end with me. Dr. de Asla gave me a chance to break the cycle—my path to make something out of nothing started here.
Dr. de Asla hired me well over a decade ago. I began in his practice at Massachusetts General Hospital as a medical assistant, and five years later received my registered orthopedic technician certification. Dr. de Asla allotted time for me to obtain my emergency technician (EMT) certification to broaden my skillset outside of orthopedic surgery. My EMT certification allowed me to work on an ambulance as well as in the emergency department. This progression made me feel like I had the intellect to complete the education but also that my life experiences gave me grit that my peers did not possess. My life up until this point provided me with a unique way to connect with patients on a different level. I knew that as I was exposed to more patient populations, I needed to continue my pursuit of higher education. My evolution continued.
In 2015, Dr. de Asla moved his practice to Naples, Florida., and he offered me a job to follow him. I left everything I ever knew behind and relocated. Shortly after arriving in Florida, I decided to go to nursing school. I was working full-time and going to an accelerated nursing program full-time. It was one of the hardest schedules I have ever juggled. In the end, it allowed me to work in the operating room alongside Dr. de Asla in surgery. I look forward to going to the OR because it elevates my critical thinking; every case has its own challenge.
It has been nearly 15 years since I began this journey. I am now pursuing my nurse practitioner education at the University of Miami in Florida. Looking back on my journey is humbling. There were so many times that self-doubt beat me down. It took perseverance, courage, and persistence to overcome the obstacles. Nonetheless, my effort finally brought me here to this crossroads that will elevate my life to break the cycle in which I came from.
What I had always thought to be my weaknesses turned out to be the fibers of what became an immensely strong foundation. The single-parent household, the poverty, the late nights, and the schedule that did not allow for any breaks all surmount to obstacles that I overcame. When I speak with local high school students who are curious about careers in healthcare, I share my journey. Students can learn that no matter how big of a challenge you’re faced with, succeeding is always an option!
Kristina Chao, a dear friend and colleague of mine, is an athletic trainer who turned her clinical practice into an educational career at Lely High School in Naples, Florida. She invited me to speak about my life and my career in healthcare to the students who attend the medical academy. I put together a presentation that included photos and videos of my day-to-day duties as a registered nurse who scrubs surgery, takes care of ambulatory patients, teaches as a clinical adjunct, and provides at-home care as an infusion nurse. I answered questions about my career, but more importantly, I helped guide the students by answering questions about what their matriculation to a career in healthcare may look like. Since I had the opportunity to speak to Ms. Chao’s classes, I was offered more opportunities to speak to students at other schools in Collier County.
Mentoring the future of tomorrow is a daunting but fulfilling task. I know what it feels like to be no one. I know what it feels like to be told no. I know what it feels like to dream about better tomorrows. Above all, I know what it feels like to use those feelings as fuel to make something out of nothing. Nursing ignited a passion within me, and it saved my life.
As a clinical adjunct instructor, I often discuss my life experiences as a nurse with my students. I firmly believe it to be essential to give back to not only the profession but also to the community. Nurses are continually ranked among the highest trusted professionals for a good reason. A specific intelligence may be required to become a registered nurse; however, it requires a degree of authenticity simply because we are human first. I teach my students that patient care within the nursing process must first come from being purely and truly you. I strive to preach what I practice.
When I mentor, teach, and deliver patient care, I make it a point to be 100% me. My truest self means honoring my past, no matter how difficult it was to get here.
Student-centered, patient-centered, and nurse-centered are the cardinal central pillars of my nursing career. I plan to continue this trajectory to make my mark as a nurse and contribute to humanity itself. Nursing requires us to be the ultimate advocate through the care that we render to our patients, but how does advocacy extend beyond the care delivery system? My advocacy extends well beyond the bedside into the realms of nursing education to ensure that we remember the humanity of patients, students, and colleagues alike. We are, after all, human first.
Anthony Silva, MSN, RN, ROT, is a surgical assistant at Naples Community Hospital, an infusion nurse with The Wellness Lab, and an adjunct faculty member at Rasmussen University. He is a member of Sigma’s Phi Gamma Chapter.