Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Monique Couillard-Nelson. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Monique, thanks for joining us today. Was there a moment in your career that meaningfully altered your trajectory? If so, we’d love to hear the backstory.
I had been teaching parenting classes for 26 years. I had always taught in person in the middle of the day during the week. This schedule catered to stay at home moms primarily. As a nurse educator for a specialty pharmacy, I had a couple of colleagues (male) expecting their first babies. They told me they wanted to take my parenting classes. I told them both I would love to have them, but I knew their schedule would not allow them to attend. So as a gift I said I would teach both couples private lessons in the evenings. I am not sure what they expected but my friend Brian a Pharm D said after the first class, this is an amazing amount of information. Dads need this too, you need to write a book, so everyone has access to the material. I said maybe someday I will get around to it. He teased me and said Well I am going to bug you until you do. He was not kidding each week he ended our 2-hour class asking me, “When are you going to write that book?” After 12 weeks of this I thought what is stopping me and I wrote out an outline so on week 13 when he asked me, I told him I had started it. In 2 months, the bones of this book were written. The photo on the cover is his little one’s feet. I thought it was only fitting.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
From the time I was a little girl I always wanted to be a pediatrician. I even graduated pre-med. Yet life had different plans for me. When I was a senior in college I met my husband and fell in love. I couldn’t move away for med school. I went back to school with the goal of becoming an NP. Yet again life had other plans. I finished nursing school and had my first child. She was a preemie with many health issues that made going back to school at that time impossible. I started working in pediatric triage and teaching parenting classes and never looked back. It was where I was meant to be.,
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
I loved working, but I also loved being a mom. When my husband and I first started out we did not have the luxury of me staying home full time, as much as I wanted to. We needed two incomes. I learned however that you never know the answer to something unless you ask and people may surprise you. I had always been doing triage in house but like I said I had a preemie baby with many medical issues. When my boss asked me when I could come back to work, saying how much they missed me I laughingly said when you put in a day care. He said Well I wish we could, but we can’t do that. I said Well then the only other way I see me working here is if I could work from home. He said Well now that I might be able to make happen. Remember this was almost 30 years ago. We were still using paper charts. The practice actually went to electronic charting. Now I am sure it wasn’t just for me. They were probably thinking about making the switch already, but it fell into place at just the right time. It was a perfect solution. SO, when moms are torn about going back to work or staying home, I tell them to be creative. It never hurts to ask. You may be able to job share, go part time or work from home. Know your value and ask for what you want.
Training and knowledge matter of course, but beyond that what do you think matters most in terms of succeeding in your field?
In pediatrics things change all of the time. You always have to be on top of what is happening not only in the US but in Europe as well. Parents are constantly reading information some good some not so great. It is your job to help them weed out the mis-information from facts and help them make the best decisions for their baby when the answers are not always black and white.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.parentinglikeapro.net
- Instagram: parentinglikeapro.net
- Facebook: parentinglikeapro.net
- Linkedin: monique couillard-nelson
- Other: email: monique@parentinglikeapro.net
