Dr. Cynthia Sterling-Fox cultivates ‘dynamic’ nursing professionals

Trinidadian-born nursing professor, Dr. Cynthia Sterling-Fox says her personal mission is to live each day with gratitude and purpose, as she cultivates “dynamic” nursing professionals and future nurse leaders in this rapidly changing world.

“I will endeavor to achieve my personal mission by mentoring and nurturing all students to develop critical thinking skills that foster lifelong deliberate decision-making and to provide optimal healthcare for the patients in their care,” Dr. Sterling-Fox, an assistant professor in the Department of Nursing at Brooklyn’s Medgar Evers College (MEC), City University of New York (CUNY), told Caribbean Life.

“In keeping with the mission and philosophy of Medgar Evers College, I am committed to creating dynamic professionals and scholars who will one day be change agents in their communities, and in this diverse and rapidly changing world,” she added, stating that her personal commitment to MEC’s mission is exemplified in her efforts to globalize the curriculum through study abroad; conduct research with faculty, staff and students at MEC and in collaboration with faculty at other CUNY colleges; publish her research findings; engage in public and community activities; and mentor faculty and students.

During the last seven years, Dr. Sterling-Fox said she has “diligently and progressively” developed her pedagogy and research portfolio, and has “selflessly provided guidance and mentorship to students and faculty.”

“I willingly served an extended term of five years on the Curriculum Assessment Committee to ensure continuity during the department’s accreditation process and played a key role in its ultimate success,” she said.

“I helped to maintain the academic vitality of the Department of Nursing through the completion of timely peer evaluations of teaching members of the instructional staff,” she added. “I have maintained diligence in teaching across the curriculum and have set goals, which include lifelong professional growth.”

Dr. Sterling-Fox said her career in nursing began with medical and surgical nursing on an HIV unit at NYU Downtown Hospital.

In two years, she said she became the assistant nurse manager but left that position to become an emergency room (ER) nurse, serving as a family nurse practitioner.

Her training included adolescent and women’s health at the Floating Hospital, ER Nurse Practitioner and hospitalist at New York United Hospital in Portchester, NY.

At Columbia University Medical Center/New York Presbyterian Hospital, Dr. Sterling-Fox said she worked as nurse practitioner for the Advanced Cardiac Care (transplantation), Breast Surgery and the Center for Liver Disease and Transplantation.

She also worked in Family Practice in Queens, caring for women, pediatrics, adults and geriatrics.

Dr. Sterling-Fox said she seized the opportunity to give back to students pursuing their dreams of becoming nurses and first accepted a position as adjunct professor at MEC.

“I chose MEC because it was my alma mater, and because the students and I shared a common historical background, and faced similar hardships and life challenges,” she said. “I was passionate about teaching as an adjunct clinical instructor.

“One student, ‘Mamadou D.’, looked me in the eye one day and said, ‘We need full-time professors like you to teach lectures’”, she added.

After four years as an adjunct professor and constant imploring by her students, Dr. Sterling-Fox said she acquiesced.

“I, too, was enjoying my academic position as an adjunct more than my clinical position as a nurse practitioner,” she said. “I accepted a position as full-time faculty. The drastic cut in salary from my clinical job was of little consequence.  My sole purpose was to give back to society, my alma mater and to the students as a mentor. As we say, the rest is history.”

Dr. Sterling-Fox said her clinical experiences prepared her well to assume the course lead role, Medical-Surgical Nursing, in the Department of Nursing.

In this role, she said she could “comfortably articulate and impart” her knowledge to nursing students.

“Clinically, I was a family nurse practitioner with an extensive and diverse clinical career at the best institutions in New York: NYU Downtown Hospital and Columbia University Medical Center/New York Presbyterian Hospital,” she said. “I specialized in heart and liver transplantation.”

At MEC Department of Nursing, Dr. Sterling-Fox said teaching medical/surgical nursing in the AAS program was her “forte.”

However, she said she embraced the opportunity to expand her teaching portfolio to include courses in Health Sciences and the RN-BS program.

She has also taught Health Planning, Policy Issues and Trends in Health Services, Transition to Nursing Practice, Health Assessment of Adults and Nutrition for which she said she has “a special interest.”

Dr. Sterling-Fox said she was born in very humble beginnings in Laventille Road, Febeau Village, San Juan, Trinidad and Tobago.  He mother was from Charlottesville and her father from Roxborough, Tobago.

The only girl, with five brothers, Dr. Sterling-Fox said learned, at an early age, to “fight for what I want.”

“My father taught me that hard work does not kill, and that education was mandatory and the key to success,” she said.

Dr. Sterling-Fox attended St. Georges College in Barataria where, she said, she had “great mentors”, adding that she aspired to be like Dr. Jean Campbell, her French teacher.

On completion of her British Overseas Ordinary Level (O’Level) examinations, Dr. Sterling-Fox was one of the first women to join the Trinidad and Tobago Regiment in 1980.

Although her stay there was short, she said her physical and mental resilience were tested and developed, with the exposure to extreme environment and pressures.

She said she married my childhood sweetheart, Dennis Fox, and had two children, Marvin and Candy.

Seeking education and new opportunities, Dr. Sterling-Fox said they migrated to the United States, where she worked from being a housewife and baby-sitter to assistant professor, Family Nurse Practitioner and self-actualization with a doctorate (Ph. D) degree.

She received a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing from SUNY Health Science Center, Brooklyn (Downstate Medical Center) and was given the honor of speaking at Carnegie Hall as president of the graduating class.

A recipient of the New York State Primary Care Scholarship, Dr. Sterling-Fox said she attended Columbia University School of Nursing and earned a Master of Science degree in Nursing (cum laude), with certification as a Family Nurse Practitioner.

In 2021, she earned her Ph. D in Nursing Science from The CUNY Graduate Center.

“The pursuit of an advanced degree, Ph. D in Nursing Science, put me in the path of world-renowned nursing leaders and leaders in public health, and allowed me to conduct research activities in New York State,” she said.

“The future of nursing has never been this bright,” Dr. Sterling-Fox added. “I am excited about the future of the nursing profession in this rapidly changing world.”

She said the global pandemic has created a new normal for all, noting that the United Nations’ World Health Organization designated 2020 as the Year of the Nurse and Midwife.

“And what a year it was for nurses!” Dr. Sterling-Fox said. “The pandemic has highlighted the importance of the nurse as first responders in healthcare. Future nurse leaders must have the tenacity, intelligence, sound managerial skills, flexibility and the versatility to think out of the box in this changing nursing world.”