The fall season brings many things to BYU: Fallen leaves, a new football season, homecoming week, and of course, a brand-new group of nursing students. Sixty-six strong, the College of Nursing’s 2024 cohort includes students from all across the US, as well as Germany, Brazil, and Mongolia! As they began their quest to learn the Healer’s Art, these newcomers attended an orientation session where, among other events, they got to meet and hear from the College of Nursing’s leadership.
BYU College of Nursing reflects the prestige of the university as a respected and top-quality program. As such, enrollment is limited, and acceptance is competitive. Eligible students must meet several requirements, including a GPA standard, previous healthcare experience, prerequisite courses, and much more. Furthermore, accepted students are required to attend all orientations and complete countless hours of service during their time in the program. In other words, the program isn’t a walk in the park, and BYU is looking for the most committed of students. Everyone admitted has worked hard to achieve entrance, and they’re ready for a nursing education that is as uplifting and edifying as it is challenging.
While the program is strenuous, the faculty and leadership are completely dedicated to helping students grow and succeed. As part of their introductory orientation, Jane Lassetter, Dean of the College of Nursing, shared a powerful message with the students in which she talked about each student’s chair, or place in the program. As newly accepted nursing students, they’d each earned a chair, and a very sought-after chair at that! With the value of their new position in mind, Dean Lassetter encouraged the new recruits to make their seat a “super chair!” That is, to make the most of the privilege to study nursing. In giving the students advice about making their chair “super,” she echoed the counsel of President Russell M. Nelson to remember our most important identities: “Child of God, Child of the Covenant, and Disciple of Jesus Christ.” She encouraged the class not to let their identity as nursing students, important and valuable as it is, take priority over the enduring identities highlighted by the prophet.
“If you appropriately prioritize those primary identities, choosing the right won’t be as difficult for you when the pressure’s on,” she promised.
Blaine Winters, the Associate Dean of Undergraduate Studies, also addressed the cohort. He asked students what they thought the Healer’s Art was. He expressed the powerful meaning behind it, saying that “one of the great things about the Healer’s Art is that we can love our patients as the Savior would love them, and we also have the skills to take care of them.” He then explained the college’s values, such as Faith in Christ and Belonging, and how students will learn them through their studies. He encouraged the new class to seek opportunities to serve in Christlike ways as they make their way through the program.
While the road ahead is surely a long and strenuous one, the new students are enthusiastic. One new student, Isaac “Ike” Pimentel, is particularly optimistic. He acknowledged the program’s rigor, saying that on the very first day of school, he found himself in a Health Assessment Promotion class at eight o’clock in the morning. The momentum has only increased, but he’s grateful to finally be in the program he’s looked forward to entering for so long. Ike is most excited about the unity and team spirit that BYU can bring to nursing; he asserted that “It doesn’t need to be a battle, it’s collaborative and it’s wonderful.” He hopes he can integrate himself into this great community, and with countless clubs and events within the College of Nursing, he won’t have much trouble.
BYU’s new cohort of nursing students is in for an amazing three years of instruction from top-tier professors, quality on-the-job experience, and most importantly, chances to emulate the Savior as they learn the Healer’s Art.