Ricardo Gray

Ricardo Gray is a junior student in the Nurse Anesthesia Program at Columbia University and has won the Columbia University-Presbyterian Hospital School of Nursing Alumni Association, Inc./J. Margaret Ada Mutch Award. Ricardo obtained his Bachelor of Science degree with a major in nursing and a minor in biomedical research from University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and subsequently completed his new grad nursing residency in the Cardiothoracic Intensive Care Unit at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center where he developed his skills for managing hemodynamic alterations and obtaining advanced physiopharmacologic knowledge. What attracted Ricardo to the nursing profession was being able to help those in need, the most contributing factor being when he worked with autistic children, helping them develop better cognitive and functional abilities. While working with critically ill patients at UCLA—employing his critical thinking skills and embodying professional autonomy—this, and a combination of other factors led him down the path to earn an advanced practice degree specializing in anesthesia.

Ricardo enjoys helping the community in his free time and has spent considerable amount of time volunteering at summer camps for children with congenital diseases and other community service related activities. Ricardo hopes to further this education with a doctorate in nursing with the hope of spearheading innovative research, helping educate future nurses, and ultimately elevating the profession as a whole by incorporating knowledge from biomedical research and nursing to improve the prognosis for some of the worlds most debilitating diseases.