Alumni Tell It Like It Is
After Giving Birth at Mount Sinai West, Actor Was Inspired to Attend Phillips School of Nursing and is Now in Her Dream Job: Labor and Delivery at Mount Sinai South Nassau
Blair Paltrowitz, BSN, RN, , was inspired to become a nurse, thanks to the care she received during her own labor and delivery at Mount Sinai West. She quickly applied to the Phillips School of Nursing at Mount Sinai, and a new life chapter began.
The valedictorian of the class that graduated in August 2022, Blair loved her Phillips School of Nursing journey. 鈥淚t was an accelerated program, 15 months, which is exactly what I wanted and suited my needs, being the mother of two young children.鈥 she says. 鈥淭he clinical rotations were outstanding; I was able to work in almost every hospital in the Health System. And I knew everyone in my class. The size of the cohorts facilitates camaraderie and, of course, we were all working toward the same goal.鈥
Blair was set on working at Mount Sinai. 鈥淚t was extremely important to me to start my career as a Mount Sinai nurse,鈥 she says. 鈥淚 knew I would be embraced there as a new nurse, and learn from some of the most brilliant minds in the field. I also knew from my clinical experience how the nurses all work as a team at Mount Sinai, and I was eager to be a part of that culture.鈥
Her dream job working as a maternity nurse near home became a reality. 鈥淢y new position as a labor and delivery nurse at Mount Sinai South Nassau has been incredibly rewarding and challenging in the best way possible,鈥 she says. 鈥淣ursing has a lot in common with acting. Communication and tapping into emotional reserves are key. I need to read the room and decide who needs what specific kind of support.
Blair is continuing to advance. She recently obtained her certification in Electronic Fetal Monitoring and says that leadership is supportive and encouraging of nurses on the team earning advanced credentials. She continues to act when opportunities are available and even gets to use her theater skills at work. She recently won her floor鈥檚 entry in the Mount Sinai South Nassau talent show and is often asked to sing at hospital events.
Blair has heartfelt words of encouragement for aspiring nurses or anyone contemplating a career change. 鈥淚 graduated nursing school with a 4.0 GPA; I am proud. I was still acting during my studies, but I took exams on lunch breaks and spent all my time off at the hospital and stayed up countless hours in the books,鈥 she says. 鈥淚f I can inspire one person to believe in themselves and follow a new dream, then I鈥檒l be so glad. You don鈥檛 have to give anything up to achieve a dream, you just need to get creative, because there are limitless possibilities and zero boundaries to what you can attain with hard work, no matter what stage of life you鈥檙e in. And. importantly, you can love more than one thing in life.鈥
Simeon Gayle, RN, Class of 2018
Talk to any nursing student and they will tell you how academically challenging a nursing program can be. During their nursing school years, most students will tell you that they did not see their friends or family very much.
Simeon Gayle was working full-time at Mount Sinai Beth Israel, attending school, and raising two younger brothers. He was managing household logistics, and overseeing his siblings鈥 schooling, along with his own, and holding down his full-time job.
At the time, he was working as a Patient Care Assistant at Mount Sinai Beth Israel, which is where he first heard about the Phillip School of Nursing. He had wanted to become a nurse for some time, but he needed to work. He completed the nursing program鈥檚 pre-requisite courses on a part-time basis in the evenings at a local community college. He applied to three nursing programs and was accepted to all three, 鈥淏ut the Phillips School of Nursing was my first choice because it felt personal,鈥 he said. 鈥淚 came to an Information Session and I knew this was the only place I wanted to be.鈥
Mr. Gayle joined the associate degree program in the Fall of 2017. He continued to work full-time throughout the program. He became part of the first cohort of students accepted into a new, federally-funded program at the school鈥攖he Workforce Inclusion in Nursing (WIN) program. The program鈥檚 major goal is to enhance the recruitment and retention of underrepresented ethnic groups in nursing. As part of that program, he received a partial scholarship and a monthly stipend. 鈥淭hat financial assistance was a godsend,鈥 he said.
The next 15-months flew by. Mr. Gayle graduated in December 2018 with the highest honors and served as class valedictorian. His family, friends, and past and future supervisors were there to share the moment. 鈥淣ever allow unforeseen obstacles or anyone to hinder your success鈥攊nstead use whatever difficulties may arise as a catalyst to move forward in life,鈥 he said during his valedictorian speech. His two brothers have also grown up hearing those words, and are doing well. Both brothers are teachers and continuing a family tradition of pursuing advanced education. One brother is working on his second master鈥檚 degree and the other brother is working on his doctorate.
Today, Simeon Gayle is working as a registered nurse in the Medical Intensive Care Unit at Mount Sinai Beth Israel. With all that he has accomplished in just two short years you might think that he would be ready for some well-deserved 鈥渕e-time.鈥 Instead, after graduation he immediately enrolled in the school鈥檚 RN to BSN program. 鈥淎nd I haven鈥檛 stopped yet,鈥 he said. 鈥淚鈥檓 currently on the waiting list to join a Nurse Anesthetist program.鈥
Patricia Rojas, Associate of Applied Science in Nursing, Class of 2017
The importance of education was instilled in Patricia (Patty) Rojas from an early age. Her mother moved to the United States from the Dominican Republic to provide her children with the best opportunity for success. In high school, Ms. Rojas was a member of the National Honor Society, and by the time she joined Mount Sinai Phillips School of Nursing, she had already earned a Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Biology from Columbia University.
After graduation, she worked in the non-profit sector where she trained college students to become advocates for education reform and created communications plans centered on social media.
Ms. Rojas loved the work she was doing, but it was her mother鈥檚 open-heart surgery that confirmed her calling to become a nurse. When her mother became ill, Ms. Rojas experienced first-hand how frightening and difficult it is to be in the emergency room鈥攁nd not speak the language.
She stood by her mother鈥檚 side and translated back and forth. She said her mother鈥檚 surgery was truly a life-altering experience and entered Phillips in the fall of 2015.
To help pay for school, Ms. Rojas works two days a week as a Nurse Assistant at a local hospital in the Bronx. One day while on duty, Ms. Rojas was with a patient during her last few minutes of life. She credits the education she received at Phillips with helping her to communicate appropriately with the bereaved family. 鈥淚t was left to me,鈥 Ms. Rojas said, 鈥渢o break the news to the family and to share with them their loved one's last moments. It was very difficult, but knowing that I was handling it properly, helped me to feel good about what I was doing.鈥
Since graduating Phillips in June 2017, Ms. Rojas has served on several national nursing organization committees, has mentored nursing students, and has co-authored pieces published in two nursing journals. Ms. Rojas is a full-time Ambulatory Care Nurse in Washington Heights and is currently enrolled in a nursing PhD program. We have a feeling she may rejoin Phillips again someday soon as an instructor!