Kayla (Baker) Johnson is coming full circle. A 2012 graduate of Union’s Nursing Program, she returned to her alma mater this summer as a nursing instructor. Passionate about both education and her faith, Johnson is eager to pour into students the same way she was mentored.
“I’ve always loved teaching,” says Johnson. She recalls when she and her friends played school as children, she was always the teacher. During her years in a variety of nursing specialties, she utilized her talent and passion for teaching. “Nursing and teaching go hand in hand. You’re teaching when you show the patient lifestyle modifications, or when you educate them about their medications.”
Johnson’s love for teaching not only helped her patients, but new nurses who worked alongside her. Throughout her career, she has been selected to orient new recruits. “Creating nurses who are competent and prepared to be a nurse is very humbling and exciting,” she says.
When asked what inspired her to pursue nursing, Johnson points to personal experiences. “Watching sick family members in the hospital being cared for by nurses inspired me,” she says. Those memories followed her as she became the one providing care, and this philosophy of treating patients as people rather than checklists impacts her teaching style as well.
“I always want to be approachable and help the content be understandable,” she says. Johnson has been in the students’ shoes and understands the importance of a strong mentor to lean on.
“My goal is for the students to leave my class having a better understanding of what it takes to be a nurse and realize they can take Jesus with them. Even if they’re not specifically praying with a patient, they’re embodying Christ in how they reach their patients through daily interactions,” she says.
Johnson’s advice to those who are just starting their nursing journeys is this: “Even if you don’t feel like it, smile and take Jesus with you, pray your way through the day. Ask lots of questions, there’s no dumb question … Find somebody who can mentor you and who knows what you’re going through.”
by Seth Coe, a sophomore writing studies major from Colorado