When 2016 Miss America pageant contestant, Kelley Johnson, took the stage for the talent portion of the contest, she didn’t walk out in an evening gown or a leotard. Instead, she walked out in a simple pair of nurse’s scrubs. Johnson, who was chosen as Miss Colorado of 2015, didn’t do one of the cliché acts like singing, dancing or playing an instrument.
She chose to deliver a unique, eloquent dialogue of her experience as a nurse and her relationship with an elderly patient. The result of her performance stole the show, as audience members and judges alike were unexpectedly touched. A 2015 graduate from Grand View University in nursing, Johnson chose “The Health Initiative PLUS: Prevent, Live, Uncover, Study” as her platform.
The patient that she spoke of in her speech, Joe, helped to remind Johnson of why she became a nurse. She met him while he was in the beginning stages of Alzheimer’s disease. As a side-effect of his illness, Joe experienced night terrors, which would cause him to startle awake in the middle pof the night, confused, disoriented, and panicked. Johnson held his hand each night, helped him to calm down and then talked with him. He made her laugh every day, but what defined their relationship was the night she found him crying. She comforted him and told him that he was not his disease – in turn, he told her that she was not just a nurse.
The simple conversation reminded Johnson that she and the thousands of other nurses in this country are heroes walking amongst us. What began as a talent show, turned into something to remind viewers everywhere of the important role nurses play.