Tom Hanks: Joe…just call me Joe.
Meg Ryan: Okay…
If you don’t know what I am referencing to, it’s the movie “You’ve Got Mail”. Released in 1998.
Hi and Welcome! You can call me Jo. =)
I would say, my journey in life is a typical one in our culture. Born and raised in Manila, Philippines, our family eventually immigrated to Canada when I was twelve. Instilled in my upbringing was to do well in school and someday become either a doctor, lawyer or a nurse.
My decision to be a nurse was an easy one. I chose getting my degree at our local college because I didn’t want to do the long commute to SFU or UBC! In 2007, I graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. And in a similar fashion, I applied to our nearest health authority and I have worked in various hospitals within our health authority for more than 17 years.
2019 has been a pivotal part of my career. I was ready to move on from shiftwork. One nightshift while on my break, I stumbled upon an internal job posting for the Bladder Clinic. If anything, the posting piqued my interest. “What is a Nurse Continence Advisor and how come I am only learning about this role now?” Out of my curiosity, I reached out and did a job shadow. I walked out of that job shadow feeling invigorated and as they say, the rest is history.
Amidst the pandemic, I managed to graduate from McMaster University as a Nurse Continence Advisor thru their online program. During my time at the Bladder Clinic, I helped hundreds of men and women navigate through their overactive bladder, bladder pain, recurrent UTI symptoms. I saw the benefits of incorporating lifestyle changes and how it impacts other systems in the body. Who knew that increasing water intake and decreasing coffee can work miracles!
However, the job did have some hurdles. A lot of work revolved around mindset. I’ve heard things such as “Oh, I’ve tried this and I’ve tried that but none of them worked”. I sensed the frustration and hopelessness. The one key ingredient that was missing from ‘trying it all’ was the lack of guidance and support from someone. Someone who listened and who was willing to hold their hand and be their cheerleader even for the small wins.
Cue my entrance. When these patients come to see me for the first time, I sense their apprehension and lack of confidence. The most common comments I hear are “You look too young to be working here. Or, how long have you been a nurse?”. (Little did they know that I just turned 40 this year!)
From a clinician’s point of view, those who are ready to make changes in their life and dedicate the time to implement the care plan are the ones who successfully ”graduated’ from our program. I wish this to be for you.
My nursing career has evolved into learning all about women’s health and how I can provide guidance and support through a woman’s perimenopause and menopause journey. In some ways, this new career path is also a benefit for myself. I want to be able to age gracefully and at the same time be a role model to my two young daughters that being a woman should be celebrated throughout the different stages of womanhood.
I am here to help you optimize your health. Please don’t suffer in silence.
To guide women and families through every stage of their journey by providing evidence informed education infused with nonjudgmental support, compassion, and empathy.
To become a recognized global team of healthcare professionals utilizing innovative practices, and committed to improving the quality of life for women and families as they grow and evolve over time.
Our job as healthcare professionals is to listen to your priorities and goals as our client. We will walk beside you and share in your challenges and your triumphs, and we promise to support you with empathy, compassion, and respect.
As you move through your journey, certain stages can feel overwhelming at times. We value creating a shared community, online and in our cities, where you are always welcome.
We support all families — as we believe every family is completely unique and deserves access to quality support. We support all women. We will continue to learn and listen, ensuring our brand is thoughtful as well as inclusive.
You can expect us to provide you with evidence-informed information in a professional manner. As healthcare professionals, we will treat you as unique, provide individual assessments, and determine the best plan of care to meet your educational needs.
Good question! We are called The Mama Coach because years ago, when Carrie’s first boy was very small, she often wondered out loud to herself, “Where is my Mama Coach?” and “I need a Mama Coach!”. Carrie searched and searched for the kind of support she was looking for, and realized there was a need for qualified support for new families. Now that Carrie is going through her own journey into perimenopause, she has realized yet again the lack of qualified support for women and has set out to change that by launching a Women’s Health division within The Mama Coach brand.
We recognize our name may give the impression we only serve moms; however, we will continue to work and learn to ensure our messaging is clear – all people are welcome here. Women carry a heavy load and they do it with grace. All people deserve support, and The Mama Coach is the answer you’ve been searching for.
We do not just support moms; our Women’s Health division will help ALL folks. Everyone is welcome here and we are committed to providing you with quality support, no matter your sex assigned at birth, your current identified gender, and whether you have had children or not. We are ready to hear your story and will ask and use the language you feel most comfortable with during our assessment and consultation.
Yes! As Registered Nurses and Nurse Practitioners, we have years of training on where and how to access credible guidelines and information. All of our programming is based on extensive research from credible sources and updated frequently.
As Registered Nurses and Nurse Practitioners, it is our professional obligation to manage client records and confidential information properly. We use an Electronic Medical Record (EMR) that is compliant. Even though we share the same brand, we are all independent Registered Nurses and Nurse Practitioners with our own private practices. As such, we each have our own EMR that is private and secure. We do not share EMR or client information between one another without consent.
Often they are — the answer largely depends on where you live and what your private insurance covers. For example, in Canada, our services are covered under ‘Lactation’, ‘Registered Nurse Services’ or ‘Health Spending Accounts’. In the United States our services can be covered as well, through HSA or FSAs. Reach out to me for more information.
