The BYU College of Nursing and The DAISY Foundation present awards to students and faculty every year honoring exceptional compassion in nursing. Recipients are nominated because of the difference they’ve made in the lives of those they teach or provide care for. This year, Professor Cynthia Johnson and nursing student Otavio Tobias (BS ’24) were honored with DAISY awards.
Cynthia Johnson: Extraordinary Nurse Educator Award
After graduating from BYU College of Nursing as an undergraduate, Professor Johnson never thought she would become a teacher. However, her plans changed after spending time in pediatric nursing. She followed the prompting to get her master's degree, became a nurse practitioner, and she applied to be an adjunct clinical instructor at BYU.
The position was a blessing, offering the flexibility that she wanted for her family and reinvigorating her passion for nursing, all while still working at the hospital. When a full-time faculty position opened, she wrestled with leaving the clinical practice.
Ultimately, she decided to apply. "I felt like my impact to educate future nurses could potentially help many more patients than I could if I stayed in clinical healthcare,” said Professor Johnson. She got the position.
Her time at BYU has taught her a lot about herself and how to become a better teacher. On Global & Population Health Nursing trips to Finland, Poland, and Ghana, Professor Johnson bonded with students as she navigated unfamiliar environments with them. She also loves it when students come for advice or help in or out of the classroom.
Professor Johnson looks forward to continuing to grow in her position. She knows she still has a long way to go to becoming a perfect teacher, but she loves getting to share her nursing experiences and wisdom with her students.
“I teach pediatrics, but I don’t expect them to all become pediatric nurses or remember what they’ve memorized in my course,” she reflected. “I hope instead that they will remember the kind of nurse that I hopefully inspired them to be.”
Otavio Tobias: Extraordinary Nursing Student Award
Settling on nursing as his field of study was a windy road for Otavio. Though he initially majored in neuroscience hoping to study pre-med, he felt that something was off.
Pondering this dilemma led him to talking with a nurse practitioner he met while shadowing a doctor. He realized the way she interacted with patients and her career path were more appealing to him, so he made the switch to nursing.
“It felt right to stay in nursing school,” said Otavio. “I just fell in love with it completely. It felt like a super unique way that aligned with my values to approach healthcare.”
What piqued his interest the most was seeing nursing as a caring science that goes deeper than surface-level healing. “Someone can experience healing without experiencing a cure,” he shared. “When I think of the Healer's Art, curing is part of it, but not the focus. The Savior cures, and He has the ability to make miracles happen, but that's independent from healing... I can still practice healing even if I know the patient is only going to get worse.”
Otavio learned these principles during trips to Paraguay alongside Dr. Sondra Heaston and Dr. Shelly Reed where they taught about reproductive health education. These opportunities are his fondest memories in the college, and he is grateful the trip was generously funded by donors.
He also acknowledged the spiritual focus that made his BYU experience so meaningful. “I've always felt like I need to rely on the Savior to do the best job I can do,” Otavio reflected. “He will support me because He's as interested as I am, if not more, in the well-being and the health of His children.”
As Otavio graduates from the College of Nursing this month and prepares for graduate school in the near future, he is grateful for the numerous opportunities BYU has afforded him. He is honored to be chosen as a DAISY award recipient and looks forward to growing as a nurse practitioner.
About the Daisy Award
BYU College of Nursing maintains an ongoing collaboration with The DAISY Foundation in acknowledging nursing educators and students who demonstrate exceptional compassion. The DAISY Foundation originated from the Barnes family's desire to commemorate the life of Patrick Barnes, who tragically passed away at just 33 years of age from complications of an autoimmune disease. To honor him, their family established DAISY, an acronym representing "Diseases Attacking the Immune System," as a means to express their gratitude to the nurses who provided care to Patrick and to honor outstanding nurses worldwide.