Healthlinks Upstate January/February 2021

64 | www.UpstatePhysiciansSC.com | www.HealthLinksUpstate.com KEELY INGRAHAM, MSN, RN Keely Ingraham decided to pursue nursing after her father was diagnosed with esophageal cancer when she was 19 years old. “I witnessed the excellent care given to my dad, and I wanted to be a part of that,” she said. She has now worked as a nurse for six years, first in the Emergency Department and then in vascular access before she moved into oncology, which is where she is now. “I’m new to oncology and still learning, but I’ve finally found where I’m supposed to be serving my com - munity. It is such an honor to care for my patients, and I’m so grateful to be a part of their journey.” Ingraham’s advice to new nurses: “Be compassionate. Take care of your patients and not just their diagnoses. Be the nurse you would want caring for you.” HEATHER JACKSON, RN, BSN, CCDS A career in graphic design was where Heather Jackson was headed after graduating from college. She actu - ally worked for the Greenville News when she decided to go back to school for nursing. “I loved nursing immediately after getting in the program, and knew I was where I was meant to be,” she said. After several years in bedside nursing, Jackson learned about a different role in health care that piqued her interest – clinical documentation specialist. “I took the job as a CDS at Spartanburg Regional and have really enjoyed reviewing patients’ medical records and doing my part to ensure that all the information is documented accurately with the severity of illness, which in turn improves patient care,” she explained. Jackson is now certified as a clinical documentation specialist. “If I could give any advice to an aspiring nurse, it would be to stay open-minded because you never know what opportunity lies around the corner,” she said. T H E P U L S E O N UPSTATE NURSES HealthLinks Upstate wants to recognize nurses as the backbone of our medical community and thank them for all their efforts! LISA ROBINSON, RN When it comes to having a “rewarding” career, Lisa Robinson believes she has found it. She started her journey in nursing in the NICU, but, for the past 25 years, she has been working with medically fragile children as the school nurse at McCarthy Teszler School in Spartanburg. “I enjoy working with my students as it provides me with daily challenges. I use my critical thinking skills every day,” she said. Many of her students are nonverbal or lack the ability to articulate how they are feeling. Lucky for them, Robinson is a natural caregiver. She also enjoys teaching nursing students who come to work with her for clinical rotation about the various medical syn - dromes and diagnoses of the McCarthy Teszler population. “Unfortunately, people with disabilities are often invisible because we are not taught how to interact with them. We are only taught not to stare. My advice to nursing students is to acknowledge a child with a disability. Let them know you ‘saw’ them,” she concluded.