A Journey Through the DNAP Program: One International Student's Story

Dr. Meena Verma did not arrive in the United States from India with a background in medical education. However, equipped with the inspiration of her grandfather and a calling to improve the lives of others she took on the challenges that lead to becoming a nurse anesthetist and proud alumna of the VCU Nurse Anesthesia department. In this episode, she shares her story as a learner and how mentorship of new students plays an important role in her professional practice.

Featured Guests:
Meena Verma - DNAP, CRNA

Transcript

Welcome to CHB Conversations, a podcast series produced by the VCU College of Health Professions. This series includes conversations with faculty, students, and alumni who exemplify our mission to create influential leaders in health care. Welcome to CHP conversations. I'm Malorie Burkett of the College of Health Professions Dean's Office. Today I have the pleasure of talking to Dr. Meena Verma. Dr. Verma graduated with honors from the College of Health Professions in 2017 as a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist CRNA. In 2022, she was the inaugural winner of the college's Dean's Outstanding Service Award. Today she is practicing as a CRNA in the Richmond area. Welcome Dr. Verma. It is nice to have you with us. Thank you so much, Malory, for having me here today for this wonderful podcast. First off, tell us a little bit about yourself. Where are you from and where did you grow up? I'm originally from India. I was born and brought up there. In 2001, I got married to a wonderful man and came to the United States in the same year. I have been here ever since. Wonderful. Tell us some moments from your childhood. Maybe that served as an introduction to nurse anesthesia. My grandfather was a homeopathy doctor growing up. I have always seen him making a difference in people's lives by providing them free medicine, free treatments. He used to do a lot of missionary trips, and I used to accompany him sometimes and help him throughout this process. I always used to wonder like how one man can have such a powerful impact on the community. That was a moment when I decided that I'm going to choose a career where I can make a difference in people's lives and nursing sounded like perfect profession for me, where I could come learn the profession and help people. It sounds like you had quite a role model in him then. Yes, he was actually a versatile person. He served in the military. He was a homeopathy Doctor. He was also an astrologer and a businessman. He was my role model with that. I'm guessing that's what led you to choose a career path in Nurse Anesthesia. From seeing that, seeing his impact on folks in the community, his service. Yes. His impact on me was going into the career where I could help people. I chose nursing. When I was practicing as a nurse, I observed the vulnerability among all my patients and I really wanted to help them in a different way. With being a nurse, the scope of practice was limited. I wanted to go for further advanced my education also. Nurse anesthesia seemed like a perfect profession for me where I could go for the studies, advance my education, and help my patient on a bigger platform. That's why I chose Nurse Anesthesia Program. Now you have a path that you wanted to choose. Tell us how you first learned about VCU and the Nurse Anesthesia Program. When did you decide to apply? After I finished my associate degree in nursing, I was looking for a school where I could start my education course, Nurse Anesthesia Program. I always heard great things about VCU from my friends, from my colleagues. But I personally did my own research and visited the school. I found that VCU is a premier urban public research university with many nationally ranked academic programs. In fact, VCU ranked number one for over a decade for nurse anesthesia programs. I met faculty and discussed my personal and professional goals. During that meeting, I gain a lot of clarity about my choices and my decision to apply at VCU was validated. That's wonderful. Thank you for sharing that. Absolutely, you apply for the program you're in. Looking back on your personal experience as a student, English wasn't your first language, was it? No, it wasn't. You were just starting to plan your path in health professions. What tell us about some of the barriers or obstacles you had to overcome in your student and professional career. How did you address them? In my opinion, barriers to learning comes from one individual self. They're more internal than external. The only way to get rid of them is having a growth mindset. My first barrier was fear of making mistakes. I think every student has that fear, but slowly and gradually I learn. It's okay to make mistakes. It's okay to fail. What's important is that you learn from your mistakes and come out stronger next time and continue this cycle. This is all part of learning. Another barrier could be a fear of speaking up, as all these international students coming from different cultural background, they may not have a voice. May not have a right to opinion, especially women. This aspect has caused many women to feel lesser of themselves than their own peers over a period of time. This actually become part of their identity. Remember, no question is a bad question and your opinion matters. Believe in yourself and challenge the status quo. Dr. Verma, that's really great advice. I think that applies to any discipline, True. Whether it's nurse anesthesia, whether it's outside of the health sciences. I think those are really impactful words that anyone could take with them. I believe so. Thank you. I have seen a lot of female friends in the school who have been through that, including me. I am from a different culture, so I felt that right. My opinion probably didn't matter where I came from, but here I had a choice. I had a choice to make, and I made a choice. I went with that. And I'm successful because I did not stop myself speaking up at all. I go for questions. If I have a concern, I will find the right person to address it to. And that really opened up various paths for me and it connected me to the right people who encouraged me to keep going like this and you're on the right path, don't be afraid of doing that. It really made a big difference in my success. I think that's important for listeners to know and hear this from a person like you. To say these were what your fears are because they likely, a lot of the same fears are barriers that others might be experiencing too. To hear that coming from you and seeing success, obviously with hard work and efforts over the years, that these are completely normal things, but to not be afraid, and I think that's really important. Absolutely. Thank you for sharing that for us. Thank you. The college has made it a priority to ensure each student has an exceptional experience here. How do you feel CHP supported you throughout your educational journey? What I love most about CHP is that they always have an open door policy. They were always friendly and resourceful. Being an international student and as a part of minority group, I always felt welcome, encouraged, and supported their inclusive environment towards everyone regardless of their race. Their background or cultural differences gave me a sense of confidence to approach them without any hesitation. I'm truly grateful to their guidance and support throughout my educational journey. And what a difference that makes it made a huge difference in me because like I mentioned before, I'm coming from the culture where there was a lack of support from various aspects. I didn't have my voice, I didn't have a right to opinion coming here, looking at all the supportive environment, it was hard to believe at the beginning. But they were right there at every step in me. That was not the end, Even though after our initial meeting, they make sure they came to me, they check on me if everything is okay or you need any other support from us. It was like a continuous support. Not just one time, that made a huge difference for me. I knew I had somebody I can go to if I have anything come up or I need to address something that gave me a peace of mind. I could face challenges easily after that. You're 11 years out now from having graduated from here, and clearly you're still connected to the folks here. I have seen that a lot in the faculty and staff, how much of a connection they have with the students. Because at the end of the day, folks like me, myself as a staff member and then faculty, we know it's because of the students that were here, right, to have that connection with them and ensuring that we're supportive and making them feel welcome, warm and knowing that they're getting that experience is so important. So I think that's remarkable to hear you say that. And that has been what your experience was here. Absolutely. I remember there were times when I didn't have to say anything. It was just they knew as a student what I might be going through. All they had to go and sit with me and talk to me and that took away all my worries. Like they just knew what I was going through. It was sometimes I didn't have to speak up. It's not only for me, it was for a lot of students they have that connection with student because they knew how challenging is the program, how personally drained you can be with that. They knew everything they tried to support in each and every way. So nobody would even think about giving up, right? That was the environment I had at VCU. I truly appreciate that. I cannot thank enough for that. What a difference it makes to have a push, some positive reinforcement here and there when you might feel you�re at the bottom or you want to give up, but it might just take some kind words or just a person who is there to show their support. That makes all the difference. Exactly, it did, there were times did I make a right choice or what I'm not doing? Right. Like you question, you start to question yourself. Right, right. But they were there. They brought out the positive within me. They showed me what is the right things I'm doing and not that there's something wrong. They were just like It's a part of learning. It's part of learning. You are a student. Yes. You want to excel in every field. But it's but it's going to take time. It's going to take effort. It's going to take your hard work and that's all it took. But their support made a huge difference. Like, I don't think so. It would have been successful without their presence. It wouldn't be, yes. Well, you talk about your success and a lot of what you just mentioned you can probably attribute to that. But let's talk a little bit more about the factors that you feel attribute to your career success. You talked about the support, but what are some of the things that you feel have helped you along the way, and particularly in the field of nurse anesthesia. When I first started school back in 2005, I was coming from a different culture. I was coming from India. My accent was completely different, My pronunciation was completely different because we learned British English in India, not American English. For example, the word biology, I used to pronounce it as biology. Everybody was looking at me like, what are you saying? I sat down and I listened, and I observed, and I practiced, how can I say what's right, people, nobody has a problem understanding me. It was like a daily struggle for me. Also, Indian education system was completely different at that time. Learning new ways of online teaching and everything was also one of the bigger factors for me at that time. Even though I have all these obstacles, I did not get distracted, I stayed focused. And that was the difficult part. I think that was the key which took me from where I was and where I am today. Stay focused. That is the key. Another factor was my pillar of strength. My family, my friends. They were always there for me. No matter how far I went, no matter how slow I was, they were there for me. Without their support, success wasn't possible. I always kept the attitude of learning something new every day. I still do, so beautiful. It keeps my day so active. Even though today, whenever I walk in the hospital, I have this attitude, okay? Somebody is going to teach me something new or I just keep my eyes open. I keep my ears open. Just listen, something. Maybe you'll find things doing different ways, maybe easier, maybe more productive. You never know, right? That attitude is very important for anybody's success, I believe. And stay productive. Stay productive as much as you can. I know life happens, things happen. Staying proactive is another key. But most importantly is be comfortable. Being uncomfortable. Staying in your comfort zone is very attractive, but you will never grow or you will never find your own potential until you push yourself towards more challenging situations. Your personal, your professional growth is all depends on how you pull yourself from your comfort zone. Be uncomfortable. Being uncomfortable is very important. How important is that? Again, not just in nurse anesthesia but just in life in general. Because so often I can look back at times where, oh, I don't want to do that, I can't do that because I'm okay. But then I also examine myself and think, but am I really fulfilling exactly to hear that from someone to just reiterate why that's important is also very meaningful. Yes, I think that will resonate a lot with listeners hearing that message right now. Right, Thank you. Yes, definitely mentorship. Let's talk about that and the importance to you. How has mentorship contributed to your success? My mentors were ones who provided a lot of support and motivation to me. Like I just mentioned, how their support mattered so much for me. They listened to me actively. They understood my background. My future goals as well. They provided a customized guidance based on my own needs. It was not like a set rules or regulations or something they could do for each student. It was customized to me. I was from a different background and I was speaking a different language. They understood all of that, and they tried to customize their approach to me. It was very calm, it was very supportive. They understood me as an individual because they had no biased view and had a genuine concern for my growth. It was like a safe space for me to go to them and open up. Say them everything hide anything. And I knew I could ask them anything without being judged. I believe my mentors played a huge role for not only my professional development, but for my personal development as an international student, I would say yes. They were like a backbone of my success, right? Absolutely. All these different levels of support you talk about from family and friends, your mentors, the faculty staff, just surrounding yourself with the positivity and those pillars of strength that can continue to help you through. I guess going forward, is this something that you are focusing on, the mentorship piece? Are you finding yourself in a position of being a mentor to others as well? Yes, I am and I am very happy about it. When we go to the hospital, we are the preceptors for the anesthesia students. Whenever I see them and they come to me with questions and everything. My days as me being a student just flash in front of me and what I appreciated the most being a student. I provide them the environment of calmness, the openness of them. Come to me, ask me any question you have. Sit with me. If you want to discuss something, discuss it with me. Take your time. Do you need to read about this? Read, Take your time. There's no rush. You're learning, right? Don't be afraid of asking any questions. That kind of like a conversation at the beginning of the day made a huge difference for these students at the end of the day and they verbalize their comfort with me working. You know, I could come and ask you any question and I was not hesitant. I didn't feel I'm going to be judged from you all. That makes such a big difference when they come back and tell you, you did make an impact on me today. That's how I'm trying to give back to my community as much as I can. Like a full circle? It is a full circle, yeah. Yes. I think people can appreciate what you experienced from your time as a student and any challenges or struggles that you might have gone through. You can anticipate and recognize I've been there. Absolutely, yes, I can. I see that. I understand completely like because I was a student at one time. It's there, it's engraved in me. I know exactly what they're feeling, at what point. It's comforting to them. Like if you just have a few minutes of that conversation in the morning before you start your day with them, I think it makes a big difference. Absolutely. Yes, Can see that. Can see that. Dr. Verma, you recently were awarded the Dean's Outstanding Service Award in the VCU College of Health Professions. You were the inaugural winner in May 2022. And by the way, congratulations, that's a really significant achievement. Thank you so much. Share with us what that means to you. You talked about the mentorship, but it's basically about your service to others. What does it mean to you that you've been recognized for that? But you know, you're doing a job that is so meaningful to you.  Thank you for this question. As I mentioned before about my upbringing, my grandfather was my idol. I have seen him serving throughout his life. I just wanted to continue that legacy of serving others. Looking at him helping people in need, I really wanted to continue that legacy of serving others because it provided a sense of purpose in life. There was actually a time in my life where we lost pretty much everything I could use, any and all help from anybody. I think that�s probably one of the big reason that I feel very connected for all these people in need. Nothing gives me more joy than the happiness I see on their faces when they know they have been hurt. They know somebody took care of them. They know somebody was there. Somebody met their needs. That feeling of joy, which I could clearly see that on their face, just makes my day just makes my day. As I said, I was there one day in my life, I was on the other side, so I can sense that too, how safe might be they're feeling at that time because like for the homeless people did made small kids for their hygiene and everything. This is very important. Very simple need but very important. But they cannot have it now. They have that. They know they have been taken care of. Somebody listened to them. Somebody provided them the stuff they need. It just makes me, I feel very fulfilled while serving to the community. That's a one big reason I love to serve people. I really encourage anyone listening to this. Go and talk to somebody, give them a compliment, see if you can bring a smile on their face. Maybe that person needed to listen. That day you made that person's whole day, nothing was taken away from you. Just one act of kindness and the other person had a beautiful day. Just because you made one compliment to them. Yeah. It's small. Things make a big impact as you say. One small act, no matter how small. That can go very long way. It definitely can. Absolutely, yes, indeed. Dr. Verma, is there anything else that you would like to share with our listeners today? Anything about your experience, just service in general. Anything that you'd like to talk about that you feel we didn't touch on here in these last few minutes? Yes. I really want to convey this to all our listeners today that never think you're too old to do anything. Age is truly just a number. How normal people live, is that they get education, they get married, they have children. Mine was completely different. I got married, I came to the different country with a very minimal education. Then I had kids and then I went back to school with my kids. Basically, I started my career from the scratch. I didn't know anything about science. I used to be actually commerce major in India, where accounting and economic was a part of that program. But as soon as I step into the hospital, my perspective changed completely and I found my home. It was just like that. I wanted to be there, I wanted to take care of these people. Yes, it wasn't an easy journey, but it was so worth it. Dream, have conviction, and define your own path. That's what I want to say to all the listeners today. Beautifully said. And you say wasn't an easy journey and you're not done yet. You have much more to do and so many more lives to impact. Absolutely wonderful what you're doing. Dr. Meena Verma, thank you so much for talking with us today. Very powerful, inspirational words. And we thank you for sharing your story with us here on CHP conversations. Thank you so much, Malorie, for having me today here. I'm very glad we could do this. Thank you so much for putting my story out. I hope it helps for all the students who need to listen to this. Because I needed to listen something like that. As an international student, I wish them good luck. Best wishes. Thank you so much. Thank you.