My name is Brittany Fields, I am 33 years old. I have been a CNA for the last 16 years of my life. I have given all that I am to healthcare. I have spent Christmases and Thanksgiving with patients who didn’t even know who I was. I have three children that I have raised alone since my divorce. They have spent their childhoods in healthcare. Of that time it was mostly spent in longterm care. I spent 13 years being family to people who had no blood ties to myself. My children spent Christmas with my residents when I worked. I have cherished every bit of it, no matter how difficult the job can be. I am starting over now going back to school to try and further myself for my kids. Healthcare has always been my home. I have left many times, but I always come back. Healthcare provides that wholeness that you can only find in serving others. I want to continue down that path with my degree. I am currently working toward a degree in psychology. What I have seen and felt in my 16 years as an aide have blazed a path in my heart to help people on a deeper level. I have seen firsthand the burn out, the dissatisfaction and the guilt many caretakers face. I have also been privy to the emotions my patients and residents have gone through. I want to help people heal from the inside out. We can’t get better physically if our mental health is neglected. I want to help other professionals along with patients strive for a better understanding of themselves. I want to bridge the gap between mental health and physical health. I currently work in a rehabilitation hospital. We see patients everyday with their lives changed in the blink of an eye. I work on the brain injury unit; I see the repercussions of these major life events. How it seems to leave people reeling in the wake of things like motor vehicle accidents, strokes, heart attacks. People need guidance in times like these. I want to be the person who can help them cope and find solace in the things we can’t change. I want to help nurses and aides alike understand that their work is important. That we may feel taken for granted most days, but that patient is forever impacted by our care. In ways we may not, and they may not even realize. I want to help move people through tough choices and give them the skills to work through it later their own. I believe I can make a difference in the lives of people around me. I have also become extremely interested in how the brain works. I want to know if we can change the therapy brain injury patients are getting to better fit them. Can a certain music help trigger a neural pathway to help an aphasic patient speak? I want to learn what is going to help the people I encounter the most. I want to get my doctorate; I want to change the world. I want my research to help people. I think I can do that, given the chance and the resources. I am taking small steps, but even small steps are steps toward something. I want that something to be my future in medicine. I want it to be toward change. Thank you so much for taking the time out to read my letter. I hope it answered any questions you may have, in understanding who I am and what my goals are.