“Mini Stroke” Led Student to Nursing
College of Nursing graduate Megan Parr was born with a hole between the top two chambers of her heart, disrupting the flow of blood to her body. This difficulty led her to a career in nursing.
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January 2022
Nursing student Sarah Allsup is fascinated with the power of music in the care of terminally ill patients.
As a child, Allsup remembers visiting a critically ill family friend. “A hospice worker came with a harp and played soothing music while my dear friend lay in bed dying. The feeling in the room was enchanting; after all that pharmacology could do, this music was the medicine that eased her pain.”
Years later, still enthralled by the concept of music therapy, Allsup became a volunteer for hospice, where she helps patients through their last difficult days. Allsup and her husband sometimes share music with the patients where she volunteers. She plays the flute, and he plays the guitar. “It is always spiritual and memorable,” she says.
Allsup was a 2020 Wheatley Student Scholar and is in her final year as a nursing student. “Being a BYU student is a dream come true,” she says. She continues to gather research on the effects of music therapy and is eager to become a nurse. Allsup aspires one day to be a woman’s health nurse practitioner who eases suffering with music.
College of Nursing graduate Megan Parr was born with a hole between the top two chambers of her heart, disrupting the flow of blood to her body. This difficulty led her to a career in nursing.
Recent nursing graduate Shawen Bueckers registered to be a bone marrow donor. Two years later she got an unexpected call that she was a match for a one-year-old.
Recent graduate Megan Parrr works as a nurse in the emergency room at Utah Valley Hospital. She had opportunities to conduct research as a nursing student. “Being involved in research really enhanced the broad spectrum of my education and helped me realize the importance of an evidence-based practice and how it helps create safety,” she says.