Md S Islam

I, Md Islam, am from Bangladesh. I have been in the USA for more than three years and recently started the Accelerated Nursing Program at Stony Brook. The general health condition of the poor people in my country has motivated me to be a nurse. As a developing country, Bangladesh has a very poor health system compared to the USA. According to WHO, there were 2.03 physicians for about 10,000 people in 2005 and only 1.4 doctors for 10,000 people in 2004 in Bangladesh. There are only a few government medical hospitals for a population of more than 140 million. The common people, most of whom live below the poverty line, have access only to the public hospitals. These hospitals are mostly supplied with only 250 beds and have a great shortage of physicians.

A few years ago, I had to visit one of the top medical college hospitals in my city to see my uncle who had suffered a heart attack. For about three days, the hospital could not provide him a seat as it was overloaded with patients. My uncle had to stay on the floor with his fully disabled left side. The condition of other departments in the hospital was even worse. There was only one nurse for more than fifty patients and most of the time, the patient’s relatives had to take care of the patient. Being very poor, patients were not able to do many tests and buy necessary medicines, as most hospitals could not afford those facilities.

The miserable condition of the patients I saw helped me decide to become a nurse. At that time, I made up my mind that I would try my best to help these poor people, should I get the opportunity to become a medical professional.

Moreover, I was deeply influenced by the deeds of two noble women, Florence Nightingale and Mother Teresa. Their lives and work changed the philosophy of my life; personal gain is worthless and transient and is not suited for the human heart; rather, the best and the easiest way to reach God is ‘charity,’ such as serving His creation.

After coming to USA, I began taking courses for nursing programs and looked for an accelerated program so that I could start quickly. Fortunately, I received admission into Stony Brook University and was offered the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation NCIN scholarship. The scholarship added fuel to my journey to become a nurse. It relieved me of my financial crisis and has given me courage and strength to strive hard towards my goal. The New Careers in Nursing scholarship has also helped me to get involved with communities that are devoted to helping the poor, helpless and sick and thus glorifying their lives.