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.