NYSUT Communications |
Saturday May 04 2024 8:22 PM

Maria Scudiero, Health Care Professionals Member of the Year


Maria Scudiero says nursing has always come easily to her.

“I don’t know if I chose nursing or nursing chose me. I don’t remember ever wanting to be anything else,” she said. After graduating from high school, Scudiero got married and had two children. She completed nursing school and her postgraduate requirements, all while balancing motherhood and the birth of two more children. “I think if you’re just focused on your goal and don’t focus on the obstacles, you get there.”

Scudiero has been a registered nurse for 22 years. She is the assistant nursing care coordinator at NYU Langone Hospital – Brooklyn, supervising patient care. She has been an active member of the Federation of Nurses/UFT since her hiring and has served as a negotiator and grievance rep. Proper staffing ratios are critical to patient safety and, as such, they have been incorporated into the nursing contract. To enforce new staffing ratios and prioritize patient care, Scudiero and her team have filed 2,000 grievances.

“Patients don’t even know the danger they’re in, so that’s why we have to fight for them,” said Scudiero. Last year, Scudiero established a weekly Sunday meet-up for new nurses to help provide them with the mentorship and support so essential at the beginning of this demanding career.