ELIZABETH GONSALES
IN a rapidly changing world, one Trini-born nurse living in the US is on a mission to inspire the next generation of nursing professionals to be more purpose-driven..
Dr Cynthia Sterling-Fox, assistant professor in the Department of Nursing at Medgar Evers College (MEC), Brooklyn, New York, is committed to creating dynamic professionals and scholars.
She told Newsday in a phone interview on Tuesday that she strives to empower students to make deliberate decisions based on critical thinking skills, while ensuring optimal healthcare for their future patients.
Sterling-Fox, with 27 years in the field, said her dedication to the mission has inspired various initiatives aimed at globalising the curriculum by incorporating study-abroad programmes, conducting research with faculty and students at MEC and other City University of New York (CUNY) colleges, publishing research findings, engaging in public and community activities, and mentoring both faculty and students.
“I’ll be done when I can’t breathe. But as long as I have life I’m going to continue on this journey. I don’t know where I’m going to end up yet but I do have plans.”
[caption id="attachment_1025138" align="alignnone" width="683"] Dr Cynthia Sterling-Fox advises young nurses and those considering a career in the field to know this is the best time to become a nurse. -[/caption]
The opportunity to work with the next generation of healthcare professionals is a responsibility she takes seriously, knowing that their success will directly impact the future of healthcare.
“Through teaching I think that's one of the best ways to give back in my career, I am a professor of nursing at City University of New York and I love that because it keeps me young and not just in spirit but in mind and body and everything working with young people.
“I think it is important for us to prepare young people for the future because their future is also our future. So I really love what I do as a professor and I plan to stay doing that for some time. And that's professionally. I want to publish more because I feel I have a lot to talk about and I want to continue doing research and develop my research portfolio.”
But her humble journey to becoming an influential nursing professor, mentor, researcher and leader began long before she joined the faculty at MEC.
Born in Laventille Road, Febeau Village, San Juan, she grew up with five brothers and learned the importance of perseverance and hard work from her father who she cared for –from when she was 12 years old – during his battle with diabetes.
[caption id="attachment_1025135" align="alignnone" width="960"] Dr Cynthia Sterling-Fox was one of the first women in the TT Army in 1980. -[/caption]
He instilled in her the belief that education was mandatory and the key to success. Inspired by her French teacher, Dr Jean Campbell, and fuelled by the drive to get out of poverty, she pursued her passion for nursing and eventually migrated to the US with her childhood sweetheart, Dennis Fox, and the
