"My great aunt who was a nurse for 40 years inspired our family to enter the profession of nursing. Included in this legacy are 12 family members including my mother. I have enjoyed a rewarding carrier in nursing for over 15 years. I had been working as a nurse practitioner in the area of gastroenterology and hepatology for the past 8 years when I decided to obtain a doctor of nursing practice degree from Columbia University School of Nursing. There has been a shortage of nursing educators and I hope to help to fill this gap after obtaining a doctorate degree. This degree and its residency program have afforded me the opportunity to advance my carrier in hepatology at Mount Sinai Hospital liver transplant center. As a clinical nursing practice specialist in transplant; I have gained the opportunity to manage patients across the continuum of care from pre-transplant, through surgery, recovery, surgical ICU, transplant step down unit and post-transplant. I will be graduating in May 2010 and will use the NEF scholarship to pay next semesters tuition. This opportunity to advance my nursing skills will enable me to better educate nurses about all the facets of care for a patient with end stage liver disease."