Caregiver Feature 
Megan Winter, RN, discovers her ideal role at Monument Health through helping patients.
There’s a reason that when someone discovers a place of thriving it’s called a sweet spot. That place in life is where passion meets service. Finding it comes from trial and error, but once a person lands there — well, it’s sweet. Megan Winter, RN, is a portrait of uncovering that place in life.
A nurse with Monument Health Dermatology in Rapid City, Megan felt a deep desire to use her life to serve those around her. “I always knew I wanted to help people,” she said, “specifically in the medical field. And in nursing, you really get to make an impact on your patients. That’s always been really important to me.”
Megan is excited for the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of people in her hometown. She was born and raised in Rapid City, attended Central High School and graduated in 2015. She earned her bachelor’s degree in nursing from the University of South Dakota in May of 2020, so Megan started her nursing career in a crucial time in health care. “I joined the nursing field in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic,” she said, “so that was definitely a learning curve.” This tumultuous time in medicine was a challenge for Megan and other caregivers, but it also galvanized her call to serve people.
Expressing yourself
Today, Megan is a wife and a mother. Her daughter turned 1 this year. “She keeps me pretty busy,” she shared. Megan and her family love spending time outside, enjoying their beautiful Black Hills surroundings. “We try to stay pretty active,” she said. Her family also expresses themselves through cooking.
Megan also finds joy in fashion. “When I’m not in scrubs, then I try to express myself with fashion, and I think it’s a fun way to express who you are as a person, and it makes you feel good about yourself.”
Knowing the truth of your passion is vital when searching for your sweet spot in life. Megan is attuned to her heart of service. She is also in touch with her life outside of work. So, with a few adjustments, Megan was able to transform her nursing career from a fulfilling and challenging job to a calling.
Finding your sweet spot
One of the reasons that Megan originally chose to pursue nursing as a career was for its adaptability. “There’s always job stability, and there’s so many different ways you can use your degree,” she said. “There’s teaching, if you want to go that way. There’s different specialties to pursue. You can also go into research. These options always made me feel comfortable because I knew that I didn’t have to be stuck in one area of nursing if I ever wanted to change my focus.”
Megan started as a nurse in the progressive care unit. “I was there for almost a year, and then I decided it was time for a change,” Megan recounted. “I wanted something with a more balanced schedule, so I was drawn to the dermatology clinic.”
Serving others
The sweet spot — that place where going to work is fun and fulfilling: that’s what dermatology is for Megan. “I’m so grateful to work alongside such amazing health care professionals. Our team is very close, and we all support one another. We help each other to grow each and every day,” she said.
Dermatology is an opportunity for Megan to flex her care muscles and help people optimize their health. “We do a lot of patient education and love to include patients in their care, which is very important,” she shared.
Megan enjoys connecting with patients, and she’s had the joy of forging some meaningful relationships. “I’ve been with Dermatology now for a little over three years,” she said. “We get to see patients on such a regular basis. There’s a couple who come in every four to six months for their routine skin exams, and they always remember a little bit about me — things about my family, my husband and they’d always ask what was new. I really enjoy catching up with them and I really appreciate that they remember those things about me.”
The variety that comes with working as a dermatology nurse is thrilling for Megan. “Dermatology is pretty unique because we don’t just do regular clinics. We also do outpatient surgery.” These surgeries are a special chance for Megan and her fellow caregivers at the Dermatology Clinic to offer some special care to patients.
“Surgery days are my favorite,” she said. “We really get to be hands-on in patient care. There are some cases where patients are in our clinic for Mohs surgery for over four hours.” Some of these surgeries involve skin cancers, which can be a rattling experience for patients. “We get to comfort them,” Megan said. And for Megan and others who have found their sweet spot, providing that kind of fulfilling care is a gift to the world.