Creative Expressions of the Healer’s art
With so many undergraduate programs on campus—and several that specifically focus on creativity—one might not expect an abundance of inspiring artwork to come from first-semester nursing students. But when they are invited to create an art piece that addresses their perspective of what it means to be a nurse, these students deliver. Through poetry, painting, music, and sculpture, their creations give us a glimpse into the journey of learning the Healer’s art.
It was fall of 2017 when Cara Wiley, supervisor of the College of Nursing Advisement Center, brought an idea to administrators. She observed that many students coming through her office struggled to understand the Healer’s art. She recognized a need for tools to improve each student’s emotional resilience, communication, growth mindset, and critical thinking skills. To better set students up for success in their education and careers, an orientation course was created and has evolved over time. clarify the program expectations, teach key principles of effective communication, foster clinical judgement, reinforce the values of professional nursing, and help students understand the mission and values of BYU College of Nursing.
As a final project, students choose a course outcome and create an art project to represent their individual growth during the semester. Instead of trying to produce museum-worthy masterpieces, the students focus on expressing what they are learning about themselves, the art of nursing, and the Master Healer they are striving to emulate. The results are touching. We have included a sampling of their submissions.
