Interview — Emily Bush, NP MediSync
| Amy: | Good morning Emily. I’m excited to dig in. Tell me a little bit about your current position and how you got involved with the Clinical Health Coach. |
| Emily: | I am excited to be working as a Family Practice Nurse Practitioner for MediSync in Cincinnati, Ohio, and have been practicing for 3 years. My primary role is in the Care Re-Design Department of MediSync. We develop innovative care solutions for primary care practices across the country. MediSync develops innovative solutions with medical group practices to achieve exceptional results. We are currently developing a robust Nurse Practitioner (NP) program designed with a focus on chronic care and wellness. |
| Amy: | That sounds like a really interesting position. Tell me, how/when you saw the need to pull health coaching into the mix of your project? |
| Emily: | I attended the Clinical Health Coach Fusion training program during the fall of 2017. I was interested in learning more about health coaching and how it could serve patients. I started to research all the programs throughout the United States. I kept coming back to the Clinical Health Coach program over and over again. There were several things that drew me to the program, the first being it had an emphasis and focus on patient center work for those with chronic conditions. Secondly, it seemed to be the most robust of the health coach training programs. And, third, it was affordable. It had all the qualities we needed without the huge price tag. The videos I watched with Dr. Appelgate and how he explained the goal and emphasis on chronic care, helping patients achieve outcomes that they desire were very attractive to me. |
| Amy: | What was one of the things (coming away from the training) that most excited you? |
| Emily: | I had started researching health coaching and reading books about Motivational Interviewing and how I could integrate skills and strategies into my practice. My take away from that process was, “This is really overwhelming! And, I wasn’t sure how I could put all of this together.” After I attended the Clinical Health Coach program, I came away with a process that was very dynamic. It wasn’t a one-size fits all, but a process that can be applied to all patients in multiple situations. The neat thing about it was it also felt very individualized for each patient. The techniques and overall process of coaching patients felt very manageable to me, but I knew I needed to put it to work with practice! |
| Amy: | What was your most valuable take away from a business / professional stand point? |
| Emily: | From a professional standpoint, it was the first time I started to grasp what I was supposed to be listening for. The big light bulb went off when I understood change talk vs. sustain talk. That was a defining moment for me! I learned how to truly engage a patient, focus a conversation and guide them towards that change talk. I started to apply that towards meetings that I was involved in, my personal relationships, and of course, my patients. Using that listening skill in all situations – it is amazing how you hear that ambivalence! |
| Amy: | Since you currently aren’t working in the clinical setting, have you had the chance to “test drive” your coaching skills on patients? |
| Emily: | I recently conducted a clinical research project working with a subset of patients, having to set up a protocol and submit it to the IRB (Institutional Review Board). When I began making the phone calls inviting participation from the patients, I was able to use my coaching skills. When I heard ambivalence, I would take the conversation a little bit further and elicit what the individuals concerns were. I ended up having a 99% success rate in recruiting these research candidates. I honestly don’t think I would have had that success without using my health coaching skills. |
| Amy: | That is amazing success! It demonstrates that coaching skills can take place outside the clinicians’ office, and in this case over the phone! |
| Emily: | Once meeting with these individuals, I learned a lot about how to engage patients for behavioral change. I feel in many ways I was doing it all wrong. But when I’ve talked to Dr. Appelgate (CHC Founder) he would say “No, you just have found room for improvement!” My conversations with patients took a 180 degree turn after that training! I had put all the emphasis on myself to help the patient change. I would ask myself, “What can I do during our 15 minute visit to impact the patient the most?” After the health coach training, I learned the patient is the biggest untapped resource. And, that 90% of their healthcare is spent outside of the office. So, I ask myself, how can I put the patient in charge of becoming more confident in their self-management, making better decisions for themselves? Ultimately, it was really more about shifting that focus from myself to the patient and helping to empower them. |
| Amy: | That’s impressive. And, that’s what we hear a lot! So, going forward Emily, what is your goal? Where do you hope to take your new found set of skills? |
| Emily: | I’m a little bit of a perfectionist and have been putting off the competency exam. I had a personal tragedy right before the training. My goal is to complete the competency exam. Dr. Appelgate helped me create a path moving forward. I want to be able to build on this foundation and move from a novice health coach to one who is both competent and highly effective with patients. I know this takes practice and an ongoing commitment to learning. This is my biggest goal moving forward. |
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