It’s not about demanding perfection of myself, it’s about seeing others the way God sees them and extending His compassion and care.
In BYU College of Nursing, students become intimately familiar with the phrase “the Healer’s art;” it’s imprinted in their minds as a gold standard to strive for in every setting of their nursing careers.
Though meant to inspire and uplift nursing students, recent graduate Pyper Schmutz admits that she struggled under the weight of this grand expectation at first. However, as she worked hard in the program and gained experience, she achieved a better understanding of what it means to represent the Savior Jesus Christ as a nurse and how she can do it with grace.
A St. George native, Pyper grew up performing in sports and in music. Despite her love for these activities, she claims she was very introverted! As such, she didn’t want a job working with people and even told herself that “healthcare was the last thing she wanted to do.”
Pyper began having different feelings during her mission to Cambodia. Observing how many people struggled with medical issues and minimal access to care, she began to see the value of good medical attention and knowledge of the human body. Back at BYU, she became an EMT and was persuaded to try nursing by several colleagues.
With her sights set on becoming a Nurse Practitioner (NP), Pyper moved forward in the program. She faced difficult tasks and rigorous courses, but one of her greatest challenges came from within. “I was very passionate about things being done the right way,” she explained, admitting that “it was challenging to overcome that part of myself that was always trying to demand perfection.”
Doing things “the right way” was certainly necessary, especially when it came to the copious research projects she was a part of. Pyper helped out with Mass Casualty projects, did work writing research manuscripts for professors, and has presented at conferences spanning from St. George to Singapore!
Pyper executed her work with excellence, but there was always a disconnect between the perfection she thought was inherent to nursing and reality.
Through perseverance in the program and caring for patients one by one, Pyper’s understanding of what it means to employ the Healer’s art began to change dramatically:
“It’s not about demanding perfection of myself, it’s about seeing others the way God sees them and extending His compassion and care. [It’s asking] ‘What does my patient need from me, what does God need me to do for them?’”
She’ll navigate her career path, wherever it takes her, with that sentiment in mind. She still hopes to become a Nurse Practitioner, but wants to do several years of ER/ICU work beforehand. She’s also interested in becoming an educator, and may someday find herself teaching younger nursing students about the Healer’s art she’s worked so hard to learn.
Good luck, Pyper!