| Amy: | Tell me a little bit about your current position and how long you have been in this field? |
| Megan: | I am a Wellness Program Coordinator, Accounts Manager and Health Coach for an organization called Health Solutions. I have been in this role for about 3 ½ years; we are based in Cedar Rapids, IA. I have a Bachelors in Health and Fitness Management and am a certified personal trainer. I have been health coaching overall for the last 6-7 years for other organizations. Several of our coaches in the field, from my current organization, have gone through the Clinical Health Coach® training program. |
| Amy: | Who does Health Solutions serve? |
| Megan: | For the most part we support organizations who are self-insured from the insurance standpoint. Our goal is work with employees and/or spouses to help them identify areas of opportunity to improve their personal health or support those who are at risk for developing chronic conditions. We help the employee from a personal financial standpoint, while helping the company to drive down claims. |
| Amy: | It sounds like you have found a way to utilize your health coaching skills in all of your roles at Health Solutions. You wear many hats! What is something that excites you from what you have learned from the CHC online training program? |
| Megan: | For me, it was just a really great refresher course. I had a lot of MI training prior to going through CHC training, but no matter if it is this training or another training, you are never done learning. It validated what I was doing and why I was doing it. |
| Amy: | Since you weren’t new to this type of training, did the training challenge you enough, knowing it was a bit of a refresher in some cases? |
| Megan: | Absolutely! That is what is so great about the MI spirit in general. Although, I have been through extensive MI training for other positions that I have held (even the opportunity a couple of years ago to attend a training with Stephen Rollnick and William Miller); I use my Motivational Interviewing training within my role every day as a trainer and coach. Knowing the learner that I am, I would have liked to have added the two-day live portion to my online training. I love the interaction with people and walking away feeling empowered. |
| Amy: | How did the training change your approach when working with patients? |
| Megan: | It helps you as a coach to step back and know that you can’t go into a situation with your own agenda. You have to understand that you have to meet the patient where they are at…you do that by using the conversation skills within the training. You may walk away from that one appointment not being able to check all the boxes, but you probably gained so much more information that will only benefit the two of you moving forward throughout your relationship. It really doesn’t matter what population you’re working with, the training does a nice job getting the coach to understand what’s behind the relationship. If you have one opportunity to receive your training through, the CHC training is very well-rounded and encompasses so much. |
| Amy: | Do you coach patients on a regular basis? |
| Megan: | The program that we show the most favorable outcome from (for our participants) is our Chronic Care – High Risk Program. We have pharmacists on staff that perform chart reviews and communicate with our high risk patient’s physicians. This allows us to share with the patient what questions or concerns the pharmacists wants us to gather, which helps us from a coaching perspective. It gives us a place to start. We also coach to anyone from low, to moderate risk as well. We identify healthy behaviors that they are already engaged in and help identify some new ones. My job is to help patients figure out what their vision of health looks like. It’s different for everyone. |
| Amy: | Have you observed any favorable outcomes from any of your high-risk patients? |
| Megan: | Absolutely! I work with a good number of diabetics (both type 1 or 2). We work together to identify from a behavior standpoint where their numbers are coming from. We take a look at their behaviors and map out a plan to take small steps to help improve those behaviors over time. I have worked with several people who have transitioned from “uncontrolled” or “critical” to a “low risk” category, after following them for 1 or 2 years. |
| Amy: | That has to feel like a huge accomplishment! |
| Megan: | It really does. I have one patient in particular… her A1C was at an 11. She felt helpless, she would always say, “It is what it is…there is nothing I can do about it”. For the first year, I had to work around trying to help her feel less depressed about having a chronic condition. She had been dealing with it for 60+ years. |
| Amy: | I am sure it can almost be paralyzing for some people, not knowing where to start. |
| Megan: | One of the things that contributes to those paralyzing feelings is when your employer brings in outside people to work with you. At first, the participants don’t view it as a benefit. They can often feel judged. Some of my language helps them understand, as a user, that their health insurance costs will go down if they improve their own health. For many that is the motivator! |