Moustafa Al-Makdah

1.

Moved to Lebanon with his family as an early teen and attended high school there.

2.

Always knew he wanted to go into a medical field—describes it as his “calling”.

3.

Moved back to the US—his first job out of high school was working in retail where he says he learned soft skills that prepared him for the medical field, like how to interact with people.

4.

Took his first step towards working in medicine by becoming a certified emergency medical technician (EMT).

5.

While working as an EMT, he attended the University of Houston where he got his bachelor’s degree in biology, a degree that he felt would open him up to a lot of potential medical careers.

6.

Says his interest in nursing was sparked after spending a lot of hours hanging out in hospitals after dropping off patients and seeing the work that they do.

7.

Decided to attend Texas Woman’s University to pursue becoming a registered nurse (RN)—says the skills he learned as an EMT gave him a foundation on which to build as a nurse.

8.

Now works as a nurse clinician and trauma nurse at Harris Health Ben Taub Hospital in Houston, Texas and is pursuing his master’s degree in nursing with the goal of becoming a nurse practitioner.