Speaker: Virginia Wade, Registered Nurse
What was going on in your life and career that made you want to join NLCA?
Virginia Wade: Psych nurse. I work at an acute behavioral healthcare hospital and I have a second job at a privately owned ketamine clinic where we do IV infusions for patients who have depression. Even treatment resistant depression, PTSD, anxiety, history of trauma, and. People who are Or just feel like they needed um. A reset in their lives. The clinic is incredibly rewarding rewarding because I see, I see such beautiful outcomes for our patients, our clients there, as opposed to the psych ward where I feel like um the administration is frankly more concerned with profit than uh positive outcomes. I would like to expand my role at the ketamine clinic, and though I am trained in psychedelics assisted therapies, and I can already offer preparation and integration services to clients there. I knew that coaching would shore up the therapeutic communication skills that I already have, and would give me new tools and structures to really support our clients on a a whole new level. Um, whether that's group integration or one on one coaching. So, that's why I was called to uh enroll in this program. Like many of the nurses in our cohort, uh, I, I want to move away from the hospital setting. Into something Deeper, more spacious and more meaningful and coaching is part of that path.
What made you say yes to becoming a nurse coach?
Virginia Wade: I was on the fence about this program. I had a good friend from the hospital who had, who was in the course and was raving about Laura and Shelby. That piqued my interest, so I checked it out, but I wasn't sure. I've, I've had a lot of training and a lot of experience in therapeutic communications, and I thought Why do I wanna do this? I don't need another uh frame certificate on my, on my wall. Um, what's, what's the real point of this? And so I scheduled a call with Laura and that helped me clarify. Uh, 3 things. The first was. I did want the BRN credential for nurse coaching. I wanted that. I also wanted the business training and I. I I really saw the need to have a structure, a real structure to do the kind of work. That I'm called to do and that's a coaching business, so. Here I am, no regrets.
What has changed for you since certification?
Virginia Wade: I'm just 3 months into our program, so I do not have the credential yet. But, um, what has changed, um. I have a clearer vision for the work I'm going to be doing. And I have more confidence in my ability to do that. I'm, I find that I'm, I'm taking myself. Um, I'm taking myself seriously. As a result of doing the wheel of life exercise with my peer coach, I have, uh, taken steps to clear out a to clean out a dark, neglected area of my life, which is personal finances. I've also taken steps to set up a practice. I, uh, took a bold step of uh converting my older daughters. She's a, I'm an empty nester, uh, my older daughter. I turned her bedroom into a, a comfy professional private office for myself, something I've never done. I've never had this. I have it now. And uh I have a pro Zoom account, I have a domain name. I'm thinking about a business card. I have Trello boards going. And I'm taking real steps to uh put my finances in order and taking real steps to um. Having a higher income. And of course I'm getting better at coaching. Watching our teachers in action is. Really uh eye opening and really helpful. I've learned so much just watching them. And uh just the process of working with the pro bono clients has. Um, Kind of forced me to put systems and practices into place to sustain. A coaching practice. So by the time I am certified, uh, I plan to have my business up and running.
What are you most proud of?
Virginia Wade: I'm proud of myself for stepping into some uncharted waters, a little bit scary, some unknown territory. Such as, I, I don't think I would have had the awareness, I wouldn't have had the impetus to make the kinds of changes that I'm making in my life right now. Really looking at my finances, putting that area of my life in order. Um, taking steps to create a business. I'm seeing myself as someone who is worthy of respect. And that area of my life, I always felt incompetent and fumbled and I'm feeling. More like a badass now, so there's that and. I'm proud of the work I'm doing with my pro bono clients. Of course I blunder. However, overall, I am really proud of my ability to hold a and hold and sustain a a good. A good container for people to do their internal work.
What would you say to a nurse considering joining Nurse Life Coach Academy?
Virginia Wade: Are you gonna work as a life coach or not, this program really gives you the tools and the experience to uh deepen your therapeutic communication skills, to be able to offer that to people, to be able to hold space, to really listen and to ask. The questions That encourage insight and transformation. Um, what a gift to have. What a gift. Um, it's also really cool to be coached. I've learned some things about myself that I did not know, even after 30 years of self-inquiry and meditation practice and all kinds of other stuff. So it's good stuff, um, if you're considering the program. Schedule a call with Laura or Shelby and talk it out. It was really good for me to have. A good conversation with Laura that really um clarified things for me. You can do that too.
