Melissa Rineard
RN
Lactation Services
Monument Health
- Tell me about yourself. I was raised in California, but I have lived in South Dakota for over 40 years. I’m married to my amazing husband, Eric, who is also a nurse. We have an amazing daughter Erica who is a lawyer, and a son, Christian, who we were blessed with for 14 months before he passed because of a heart condition. In my free time I love racquetball, hiking, being outside, and scrapbooking. My happy place is at the ocean with my family.
- Why did you choose a career in nursing? I wanted to help other people.
- How long have you been a nurse? 36 years.
- What is most rewarding about your job? I am thankful for the job I get to do as a lactation consultant, birth planner and grief support nurse. I get to support women in their birth experience by assisting with birth planning. I am passionate about aiding a mother as they breastfeed their children. I also facilitate a grief support group with my husband. We can connect to these couples because of our past experience. I am thankful for the team I work with as I can only do my job because of them. I am thankful that Monument Health supports me in my roles and allows and encourages me to continue to grow in my nursing career. I am thankful to God for all of this.
- What do you find most challenging? Being a witness to a loss that people experience and wishing loss did not have to occur.
- What skills make a nurse exceptional? Being a patient advocate, listening to your patient and their needs. Loving people right where they are at.
- What advice would you give others thinking about becoming a nurse? Do it. Nursing is an awesome, rewarding field to be in.
- When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up? A cruise director or a veterinarian.
WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT MELISSA AND HEAR WHAT HER NOMINATOR HAD TO SAY ABOUT HER? CHECK OUT OUR VIDEO INTERVIEW WITH THEM BY CLICKING BELOW!
