Dr. Ady Bermudez

The FIU Nursing Program was diverse. It was an international university with different ethnicities and cultures. I met someone who was Pakistani when I didn't know much about Middle Eastern culture, so I learned about foods and dressing. I wanted to be a doctor, but I thought, 'What better way to accomplish that goal than to do what's most important for patients, which is nursing care.' Becoming a nurse made me understand what patients needed and how important it was to have that bedside manner. I started my clinical at 19, so I was pretty young. I learned how to make beds, use bedpans, and bathe patients. I learned so many things about taking care of someone else. My clinicals were hard sometimes because there were things I didn't know, but I learned so much. Psychiatry was very impressive because I had patients with psychological diseases and psychiatric illnesses. As a 19-year-old, I felt that was very difficult to deal with, but it taught me a lot. I had a good support system at home. At the time, I lived very close to FIU with my parents. I also had friends I made at FIU Nursing. Two of them are still very good friends of mine, and we did it together. We've gone to each other's weddings and children's baptisms - we've been in each other's lives since then. We would study at one of our houses and would do flashcards to study together.