Serge-Alain Benoit ’19
Aiming to serve underrepresented communities through nursing anesthesia
“I hope to bridge the gap in communities with limited access to care.” – Serge-Alain Benoit, R.N. ‘19
The opioid crisis has Serge-Alain Benoit, R.N. ’19 greatly concerned—so much so that he wants to help patients in chronic pain in underrepresented rural communities and provide them with holistic alternatives. “I hope to bridge the gap in communities with limited access to care,” said Benoit, a registered nurse and alumnus of Caldwell’s Bachelor of Science in Nursing program.
Benoit has spent the three years since his graduation from Caldwell working as a nurse in the medical, surgical and transplant ICUs at hospitals including Bronx Care, Mt. Sinai, Morristown Medical Center and Elmhurst in Queens. He knows what his next goals are: attending graduate school, starting in the fall at Cedar Crest College in Allentown, Pennsylvania, to become a certified registered nurse anesthetist (CRNA); striving to obtain a fellowship in pain management to provide care and comfort to people who suffer from chronic and debilitating pain, and opening his own chronic pain management clinic to help people get through pain without becoming addicted to prescription or nonprescription drugs. “I want to provide an alternative solution to opioids, such as nerve blocks and steroid injections,” he said.
Benoit is looking forward to the doctoral program at Cedar Crest, pointing out that few people know about the CRNA field, and yet many times a nurse anesthesiologist will be the professional administering the anesthetics in the operating room.
The inspiration to become a nurse came from his family’s influence. His father’s guidance shaped him into the man he is today; his mom was a nursing assistant who taught him the values of care and compassion, and his aunt and two cousins became registered nurses. “I see the happiness and validation they get every time they come home from a long shift.”
What makes nursing rewarding, Benoit said, is knowing he is solely responsible for helping his patients get better. Most of the time the patients he is treating are intubated, so they can not speak. He is at the bedside talking to the doctors to let them know what the patient needs. “It really is your job to advocate for them … I love taking care of my patients. I love speaking with the family.”
Benoit transferred into Caldwell’s nursing program for his junior year of college. The academics were rigorous, and “from day one” the Caldwell professors started preparing students for the NCLEX nationwide licensing exam through studies and the HESI knowledge retention program. The faculty members were very supportive—like Dr. Nimoh and Dr. Kelley “who always made lectures fun” and Kelley always had “a joke connected to a specific disease process,” said Benoit. While in nursing school, he worked as a phlebotomist, drawing blood from patients in the inpatient setting; that was where he first learned that nurses can provide anesthesia, and he shadowed a CRNA. “That pretty much solidified my decision to go into anesthesia.”
Benoit said he is happy he decided to pursue nursing for personal fulfillment and for a better life. After graduating, he had to “pick up slack” for his family since his mother was working two jobs. He became the sole provider, was able to move into a new apartment and start a new life for his family. “I could not have done that without nursing … nursing has really changed my life.”