September of 2001, Nicki Broby was in the thick of her missionary service in DC when the terrorist attacks occurred around the country. Within that week, an anthrax attack and other issues further plagued the city. Nicki witnessed crime climb tremendously, and she and her companion were even emergency transferred to a different area in the mission as a result. However, in other areas many people returned to church.
“The contrast I saw between the people who turned to God and the people who lost hope in God was more distinct than I had ever seen before,” said Nicki referring to the reactions of people she was trying to serve. Nicki found hope after reading Ether 12:4. “I realized what I was witnessing was the difference between anchored souls and souls being tossed in the storms.”
Reflecting on the lessons learned during that fateful week, Nicki shared several ways that nursing students could anchor their souls to Christ amidst a turbulent world and stressful career as the keynote speaker for the BYU College of Nursing Scholarship and Professionalism Symposium.
Anchors as Stabilizers
Nicki began by talking about real anchors. She learned about them during her time as a nurse on a Navy hospital ship. “I used to think that anchors were just used to keep ships from floating away,” she started. “Now I know about sea anchors, which look a bit more like an underwater parachute. These are specifically used during storms to keep its bow to the wind, so it doesn't capsize. They stabilize the vessel and keep it from drifting too far.”
In the hectic storms of a nursing career, she has found that Christ is the only anchor one can rely on. “When we are anchored in Jesus Christ, we know we can confidently embark on any path we feel directed to follow,” said Nicki.
Nicki shared the example of occasionally feeling emotionally overwhelmed by the intense trauma she faced at her first job in the pediatric ICU. However, as she turned to God for support, He repeatedly gave her the comfort and courage she needed to go back to work each day.
One night as she turned to God after a particularly difficult shift, she had an experience that taught her more about God’s compassion. She had taken care of a two-year old patient who, along with her three siblings, had gone through a drug-related motor vehicle accident. The mother was given special permission to leave rehab and visit. But upon arriving at the hospital, she only briefly visited her children before leaving. Nicki later watched as her patient’s 5-year-old sister, once recovered enough, came into her patient’s room and comforted her instead of her mom. That night Nicki prayed to God asking how He handles the abundant sorrow in the world. “I felt a very clear message, and it wasn’t one I was expecting,” said Nicki. “It was simply, “It hurts me too.””
This message comforted her. She realized that God is aware of not only her patients, but her own needs as well. “I knew He was aware of all the children I took care of, and I also felt a gentle reminder that some of the way God intended to help them was through me,” reflected Nicki. This reminder changed her internal narrative on nursing. Her practice became more centered on giving her patients the best care she could, trusting that God would, in turn, send her the healing and courage she needed when things felt too difficult.
Ministering as an Anchor
Moving from her experiences in the ICU, Nicki spoke on how she first settled into nursing as a profession. She made the switch from the animal science program to nursing after following a prompting from God. “Having so many choices is amazing, but can also feel daunting,” she said. “God is not going to accidentally waste your desire to do good in this world. He is more aware of you than you may feel and directs you in ways you may not realize right now.”
Nicki elaborated that nurses are really ministering partners with Christ who heal and care for God’s children. This lesson was emphasized in her life as she washed the feet of a homeless man one night as an ER nurse. Despite the bad smell and the grime, Nicki distinctly heard the message “I would be doing the same thing.” “This simple phrase shifted my paradigm and turned my undesirable task into something sacred,” said Nicki.
God is not going to accidentally waste your desire to do good in this world. He is more aware of you than you may feel and directs you in ways you may not realize right now.
Divinely Anchored Judgements
Another principal Nicki focused on was the necessity of making quick judgments as a nurse. During her time in the ER, she needed to assess the urgency of a patient’s situation, so she could determine which individual to treat first. While this kind of judgment is necessary, Nicki warned that other kinds of judgment can affect the care that nurses give. “The trick is avoiding the unnecessary and inappropriate types of judgment, because it's so easy to do, and consciously or unconsciously, it does affect the quality of our care in our lives as well as our careers,” said Nicki.
One of these “unnecessary” judgments is thinking poorly of a patient for their situation or the way that they received their injury. For example, worked in an area where she frequently treated female assault victims. She also treated alcoholic patients dying from liver failure, with several mothers among this group. She realized that she couldn’t judge these women who may be nursing sorrows that she could never see (such as trauma from assault). When nurses are anchored properly in a knowledge of Jesus Christ as the only perfect judge, they avoid these kinds of judgments and can fully tend to their patients.
Be Still and God Will Handle the Rest
To end her address, Nicki related Doctrine & Covenants 101:16, “all flesh is in mine hands; be still and know that I am God”, to coping with anxiety in the nursing environment. Nicki discussed a simple prayer that she says at the start of every shift: “Protect my patients from me and protect me from my patients.” This scripture and prayer remind her to trust that God is watching over both herself, and her patients.
She also shared how relying on God has stabilized her during worldwide trials like rumors of wars, pandemics, recessions, etc., and how many students will face trials as they begin their careers. “Many of you here are anchored safe here at BYU,” Nicki said. “But you are embarking during heavy weather, and it is going to require tricky and sometimes dangerous navigation. It is going to require an anchor you can rely on ... I say this because if you are anchored, then you will not only be safe, but you will also make a bigger difference than you ever could during less turbulent times."
Nicki elucidated the many difficult situations she has found herself in as a nurse: at the Boston Marathon, on an airplane, and even in Sunday School. Through it all, she concluded with a resounding hopeful statement: “I have come to know that I can call upon God anywhere, and no matter how busy He might be, He can still help me.” She promised the students that if God is their anchor, “we can be still and know that He is God, even when the storm is all around us.”