Nurses heal patients, but who heals nurses?
In her address, “Healing in the Savior’s Way,” to the BYU community at the recent nursing symposium, Kris Boyer gave a complex, emotional, and profoundly personal answer to that question. She began by confessing how she’d hesitated about speaking, saying that she’s a “work in progress” who may not have all the answers. Despite the initial hesitation, her insights were inspiring and important for nurses and Christians everywhere.
Not afraid to be vulnerable, Boyer shared several trials from her personal and professional life that taught her about the true nature of healing. She first expounded on the critical role serving others plays in finding personal peace and related it to the story of her first child, a baby boy named Ashton. It was a particularly difficult pregnancy; Boyer found herself in the hospital for an emergency C-section, delivering Ashton three months early. She remarked that it was a strenuous time, but she watched as angel nurses cared for her and her child, bringing them both back to health. "The nurses changed the course of her and her son’s lives," she said reverently.
The good health didn’t last long, and young Ashton passed away just two years later of pneumonia. While heartbroken, Boyer was grateful for the nurses who had served her, and she wanted to make a difference for other families. Though she worked in business at the time, she felt inspired to pivot and attend BYU-Idaho to become a nurse. In her words, “I can think of few career paths that so frequently, intrinsically, and organically, allow one to deliver Christlike service.”
Thus began her journey in the medical field, a time when her faith and hope in Jesus Christ flourished. Boyer explained that while she still felt immense heartache for her son, she found healing in the charitable service she provided to others each and every day. She summed up this lesson with one powerful insight:
There is a direct, linear relationship between my best efforts to serve and the healing power that Christ offers me.
Years after the premature death of her son, Boyer was faced with another unexpected and heart-wrenching tragedy — the suicide of a loved one. Recounting the experience, she described the “excruciating agony” she felt over not being able to help someone so close to her. Over time, this experience has also served to bring her closer to Christ and “find beauty in the brokenness.”
These and other traumatic experiences, though they were too much for her to face on her own, have shaped Boyer’s attitude. Relying on Jesus Christ has also given her a way to cope with the trials of life. “When you can’t find the sunshine, be the sunshine,” enthused Boyer. She charged the BYU nursing community to turn outward in service, even during their own trials. “Let us never fear to go into the complicated spaces,” she said, inviting all to extend pure love and compassion to all.
Boyer’s testimony of the Savior’s Atonement and her dedication to serving others through nursing are exemplary, and they’ve been developed over years of dedication and perseverance. Her success serves as a testament that the only way to truly overcome adversity is to turn to the Master Healer; nurses can help Him heal others’ wounds, and He can heal theirs.