Clinical Health Coach Profile – Melanie Tucker

Interviewer:

What is your role in your clinic or hospital?

Melanie:

I am a faculty member at the University of Alabama School of Medicine and I am in the research department.

Interviewer:

What is your role in implementing Clinical Health Coaching into your setting?

Melanie:

One of our biggest clinics is family medicine. We are making the change to PCMH, some kicking and screaming (laugh). Change here is often very slow. I’ve had an interest in Clinical Health Coaching for some time. I was a marriage and family counselor for about 15 years before I came into higher education. My PHD is in health education/health promotion, so it was a nice marriage of those two (my experience and education). In looking and researching about patient centered medical home, you have to have it. I looked around and I really like the Clinical Health Coaching piece of it. As I shared, I’m in research right now and when we have research participants in our clinical trials, a lot of these clinical health coaching techniques is part of what we do. You really take some additional time to get to know the research participants, using the coaching skills to try and keep them in the clinical studies. So, it was a nice fit.

Interviewer:

Are you mainly using your Clinical Health Coaching skills with the participants of your research studies?

Melanie:

Yes. When we were going through the training, we realized that these are some of the things we have been doing. We just didn’t know that it was called “Clinical Health Coaching”. We will be taking it to the family medicine clinic and working with our large population of patients with diabetes and asthma in August.

Interviewer:

How many providers will you be working with?

Melanie:

Excluding the residents, we have about 15 regular faculty members. Our plan for two Clinical Health Coaches probably won’t be enough. We have LPN’s here. Our dean is very supportive and would like to get them trained in Clinical Health Coaching, so that will help a lot.

Interviewer:

What advice would you have for someone just beginning their journey in Clinical Health Coaching training?

Melanie:

(An enrollee in the CHC Online Training Program) What I liked about the training was that I could do it on my own time. My advice would be not to rush through it. I found myself wanting to rush from one module to another. I found that if I just did a little bit each day, it really meant more to me. Especially with the Motivational Interviewing. Really ponder and think about it. Take some time and try not to rush it. I was fortunate to have a counseling background so that did help, but it was definetely new. I liked it a lot. Our goal is to have everyone in the department trained in Motivational Interviewing.

Interviewer:

What has been your greatest success using your Clinical Health Coaching skills?

Melanie:

With our patients, it’s just that connection. To have someone to just sit down and take the time with them. I’m sad to say that many of our patients have not gotten this, but things are changing. If you are interested in them, they seem to be more interested in their own health. Also, when I talk to the doctors, they seem very appreciative that I will be working with the patients on their goals. It seems to relieve the doctor and allows them to move on to see their next patient. We are trying to change the role from just the provider to more team-based care. They are liking it.

Interviewer:

What was the most valuable skill you took away from the Clinical Health Coach training?

Melanie:

You have to change the way you communicate to meet patient needs and lot of this is based on the patients’ personality. That was hands down very important. One thing that a trainer said that stuck with me was that people who are very talkative and extroverted may have to be interrupted. For those that aren’t that chatty and are more introverted, you really can’t cut them off because you may lose respect and credibility. You really have to know the personality you are talking to and be present to do that.

Interviewer:

I would be interested to hear how things progress come August when you take your skills to the Family Practice clinic.

Melanie:

I am very curious to see how it plays out. It is a process and it may be a bit bumpy, but we are very fortunate that we have the support. After this training, I felt more versed in speaking the language of the PCMH. They have pulled me in so I’m definitely on this team to make the conversion. On the business side, this training has made me more marketable!