Trini-born professor Cynthia Sterling-Fox on a mission to create nursing scholars

ELIZABETH GONSALES

IN a rapidly changing world, one Trini-born nurse living in the US is on a mission to inspire the next generation of nursing professionals to be more purpose-driven..

Dr Cynthia Sterling-Fox, assistant professor in the Department of Nursing at Medgar Evers College (MEC), Brooklyn, New York, is committed to creating dynamic professionals and scholars.

She told Newsday in a phone interview on Tuesday that she strives to empower students to make deliberate decisions based on critical thinking skills, while ensuring optimal healthcare for their future patients.

Sterling-Fox, with 27 years in the field, said her dedication to the mission has inspired various initiatives aimed at globalising the curriculum by incorporating study-abroad programmes, conducting research with faculty and students at MEC and other City University of New York (CUNY) colleges, publishing research findings, engaging in public and community activities, and mentoring both faculty and students.

“I’ll be done when I can’t breathe. But as long as I have life I’m going to continue on this journey. I don’t know where I’m going to end up yet but I do have plans.”

The opportunity to work with the next generation of healthcare professionals is a responsibility she takes seriously, knowing that their success will directly impact the future of healthcare.

“Through teaching I think that's one of the best ways to give back in my career, I am a professor of nursing at City University of New York and I love that because it keeps me young and not just in spirit but in mind and body and everything working with young people.

“I think it is important for us to prepare young people for the future because their future is also our future. So I really love what I do as a professor and I plan to stay doing that for some time. And that's professionally. I want to publish more because I feel I have a lot to talk about and I want to continue doing research and develop my research portfolio.”

But her humble journey to becoming an influential nursing professor, mentor, researcher and leader began long before she joined the faculty at MEC.

Born in Laventille Road, Febeau Village, San Juan, she grew up with five brothers and learned the importance of perseverance and hard work from her father who she cared for –from when she was 12 years old – during his battle with diabetes.

He instilled in her the belief that education was mandatory and the key to success. Inspired by her French teacher, Dr Jean Campbell, and fuelled by the drive to get out of poverty, she pursued her passion for nursing and eventually migrated to the US with her childhood sweetheart, Dennis Fox, and their two children.

“I knew I wanted better. I wanted to be like my French teacher –a black woman –a role model at St George’s College, (Barataria) who was a successful teacher that came from a ‘good’ family. I wanted to have that one day. That was my motivation, to get out of poverty and do well.”

She spoke of one time she reconsidered a career in nursing to work in the public sector as a clerk because she liked to “dress up.”

“I was supposed to be a nurse once I graduated from college. I applied to become a nurse again, because of my history of giving my father's injections... that was that as a diabetic, and then I got accepted into the nursing programme at Port of Spain General Hospital and then I decided not to go after my father bought all the white material and fabric to make the clothes and everything and to buy the books, I decided not to go because I wanted to dress up. Service Commission called me the same time that I got accepted into the nursing programme and I accepted Service Commission's instead, again because I wanted to dress up.

During her time working as a clerk in the Red House, she, along with a group of co-workers applied to the regiment which was a move meant to be a joke.

“I was the only of the seven in the group that was accepted. I was one of the first women in the Trinidad and Tobago Army in 1980. I ended up leaving sooner, and later, after I got married and had a baby, then migrated. But lo and behold, how many years later I ended up in the same exact career – nursing.”

“Not that anything was wrong with growing up in that environment because that is what motivated me to become who I am and who I will become one day.”

Driven by her thirst for knowledge and new opportunities, she went on to pursue her academic journey at MEC, where she graduated with an associate degree in computer applications.

She later went on to earn a bachelor of science degree in Nursing from SUNY Health Science Center, Brooklyn, and a master of science degree in nursing from Columbia University School of Nursing.

In 2021, she achieved her ultimate goal of a doctoral degree – a PhD in Nursing Science from The CUNY Graduate Center.

Throughout her nursing career, Sterling-Fox gained valuable experience in various healthcare settings, including medical and surgical nursing, emergency rooms, and family practice. Her expertise included specialisations in heart and liver transplantation, allowing her to make a significant impact on patient care.

However, there was a strong desire that turned into a calling to give back to students pursuing their dreams of becoming nurses. She joined MEC as an adjunct professor and later transitioned to a full-time faculty role. Despite a pay cut during her time there, her dedication to mentoring and shaping young minds outweighed any financial concerns, a release said.

At MEC, Sterling-Fox continued to excel in teaching medical-surgical nursing, but she also embraced the opportunity to expand her teaching portfolio to include courses in health sciences.

She emphasises the importance of globalising the curriculum and has spearheaded a study-abroad programme in Grenada, where students from MEC collaborated with faculty and students from Thomas A Marryshow Community College. This experimental learning opportunity fostered a long-term academic relationship among the participants.

She is described as an influential figure in the nursing community, she actively engages in research, scholarship, and grants. She has collaborated with nursing and public health leaders at CUNY and,
as a Co-PI (co-principal investigator) on two research studies, focused on the health and healthcare needs of first responders caring for elderly and vulnerable populations. Her research findings have been presented at numerous conferences and published in esteemed journals, including SAGE Open Nursing.

Aside from her academic and research contributions, she also dedicates time to public and community activities. She has served on the Nursing Advisory Board of SUNY Downstate Medical Center, has been involved with the Trinbago Progressive Association of the USA and actively participates in accreditation committees and case study reviews.

Sterling-Fox's unwavering commitment to nursing education, leadership, and service has not gone unnoticed. She has received numerous accolades, including recognition for exemplary leadership, outstanding contributions to the community, and excellence in teaching and leadership.

With her drive to cultivate dynamic nursing professionals and future nurse leaders, Sterling-Fox has big plans to transform lives and prepare students to make a significant impact in their communities and the world.

She advises young nurses and those considering a career in the field to know this is the best time to become a nurse.

“This is the best time in my opinion to become a nurse because I think people now, especially after the pandemic really value what nurses do. They really appreciate what nurses do because we were the lifeline during the pandemic and still we are the lifeline healthcare.”