By JANAE HACKWORT
When Catherine Coverston was in high school, her brother got sick. After he was moved out of ICU, she was able to go visit him at the hospital. As she walked down a deserted hospital hallway, she knew she should become a nurse.
Coverston has been a nursing instructor at BYU since 1989.
For Coverston, a profession in the nursing field has been the most fulfilling career choice she could have made.
“To know you made a difference for someone is the ultimate experience,” Coverston said. “By helping just one person, you don’t know how many other people you have impacted. It causes a ripple effect.”
“Nursing is the ultimate form of service. It is all in your attitude. It’s the attitude that makes the difference,” she said.
“Even in bad situations, you still go home feeling more fulfilled,” she said. “I feel privileged to have the opportunity to be Christ-like everyday in my profession.”
Coverston said she has wanted to teach all her life.
“I love to teach. It is an opportunity to share what you have learned and also learn from others,” she said. “A lot of teaching is learning.”
By teaching at BYU, Coverston has accomplished both facets — nursing and teaching.
Coverston spends 12 to 14 hours every week supervising eight to 12 students in clinical work at a hospital.
“I am continually amazed how good our students are and how they care,” she said.
“If you want someone to take care of you, you want a student,” she said. “They aren’t burned out or just there for the next paycheck. They are fresh and they care about their patients.”
“I was talking to a nurse who has been at a hospital for a long time. This nurse made the comment that BYU students really care about their patients. There could be no better praise than this,” Coverston said.
Coverston was born in Thatcher, Ariz., and grew up in Phoenix. She then attended BYU and received her associates degree in nursing.
“I met my husband while I was a student at BYU. He was a student at the U, but he graduated from BYU,” said Coverston, who seemed proud of the fact that her husband switched to BYU.
Her husband was affiliated with the military for the next 13 years. During that time, she received her bachelor’s degree at the University of the State of New York and a master’s degree from the Medical College of Georgia in parent child nursing.
When Coverston moved to Utah, she applied to BYU, the U of U, and hospitals. “I almost took a job at a hospital as a clinical specialist when BYU’s dean called about a job. This is what I always wanted to do,” she said. So she accepted a teaching position at BYU.
She is currently working on her doctorate from the University of Utah.
