HealthLinks Upstate Sept/October 2021

64 | www.Ups tatePhys i c i ansSC . com | www.Hea l thL i nksUps tate. com IAN STEWART, RN, BSN, MSN Ian Stewart started his career in nursing straight out of high school as an EMT. Now, 16 years later, he said he has worked in many different roles over the years. He spent a total of eight years as an EMT and at the age of 25 became a paramedic. “Paramedic is as high as you can go in EMS, and I knew I wanted to continue to better myself, so I entered nursing school,” Stewart explained. He said that he studied at the station between ambulance calls and earned his ADN in 2013. His first job was in skilled nursing, but, over the eight years, he has worked in hospice and dialysis as well. Stewart earned his bachelor’s degree in 2018 and then a double master’s in 2019. His goal is to work in administration one day. He is currently working as a travel nurse with the ThedaCare Peabody Manor out of Wisconsin. Another of his goals is to start his own farm one day. His advice to aspiring nurses is: “Don’t be afraid to switch things up. There’s so many different directions you can go in nursing.” JEANINE S. FEARON, LPN Jeanine S. Fearon works for Kudzu Medical Staffing. She said that what she loves most about her current position is the flexibility it affords her with her work/life balance. “I have two children – an 8-year-old and 11-year-old – who both attend school in Green- ville. I spent years as a staff nurse with the psychiatric and geriatric population. I was even a supervisor at different points in my career. It was very stressful. Kudzu has given me the luxury to put my family first.” Fearon moved to South Carolina from New York in 2013. She has worked in health care for 20 years. “I’ve always had a passion for helping and taking care of others. My most vivid memory of wanting to enter health care was when my father was sick with colon cance,r and he ultimately passed away,” she said. Her advice for new nurses is to find the position that is right for them: “There are so many areas in nursing to choose from. You will eventually find what works for your family and what’s best for your mental health.” Fearon is working on her RN and BSN and plans to become self-employed with her own national provider identifier number. T H E P U L S E O N UPSTATE NURSES HealthLinks Upstate has partnered with KUDZU MEDICAL STAFFING to highlight some of the Upstate’s top nurses.