The Full Story
About
About
I have always had a passion for helping others, and have worked in the healthcare field in some capacity for over 20 years now. My career started with a degree in Psychology, which I was immediately drawn to. After graduating, I went to work in the mental health field in a wide variety of roles for the next 8 years. I bounced between working with adults with developmental disabilities, emotionally disturbed youth in the foster care system, Alzheimer's patients, triple diagnosis residents who were formerly homeless, formerly drug addicted, and currently in the late stages of AIDS, special needs children on the spectrum, and volunteered with hospice patients and their families.
Nursing was a later career for me, and came about from a combination of my grandparents passing away, and feeling that I needed to work in hospice to process that loss. My mother actually introduced the idea of becoming a nurse when I was in my late 20s and was living out of state. I remember thinking on the phone with her, what an amazing idea! A way for me to better help and serve people than I'd currently been. A way to truly feel I was making a difference in people's lives at the end of the day.
I was specifically drawn to Emergency nursing, and for this reason, I signed up and went to EMT school first in 2008. I felt like if I became an EMT and was still interested in ER nursing, then it was meant to be. EMT school was really the beginning and a catapult into the medical field for me. The information I learned about medicine and the body just made sense, and not that it came naturally, but I was able to process it in a way that worked with my brain. I went on to graduate and became a nationally registered and state-licensed Emergency Medical Technician, with the intention of working in the ER while going to nursing school.
Since every nursing school in my area was impacted, oddly enough, I ended up moving to the state of Oklahoma for school. I began working at the top hospital in the city as a nurse assistant and got accepted to the nursing school I desired. I was extremely fortunate to be granted a full-tuition scholarship for nursing school, which couldn't have been more appreciated. With my background at the time, I was hired onto the Oncology/Hospice floor and worked part-time all throughout nursing school. This was not an easy task by any means!
Upon graduating from nursing school in 2012, I applied to and was awarded a position in a 10-person residency group for brand-new grads in the Emergency Department, at the only level-one trauma center in the state.
In my 11 years of nursing, I have predominantly worked in the Emergency Department, besides a 1.5-year stent in the home health field. ER nursing has taught me so much about helping people; how to talk to just about anyone and build trust quickly with them; how to work as a cohesive team even in a stressful environment, but it didn't exactly teach me how to take care of myself along the way.
Finding Nurse Coaching
When I stumbled upon the field of nurse coaching, I thought finally, a way to combine my passion for mental health work with my love of the nursing field! A means for me to practice self-care in a way that would allow me to promote the same to others. My desire is to help others find what truly makes them feel happy and healthy. To help them realize their inner strength and potential, and guide them toward their health and wellness goals. I meet my clients exactly where they are, and help them find the core of what they are seeking in their lives. I believe in taking a holistic approach and treating each client individually, working on any and all areas in which they want support.
Outside of the work environment, I am passionately drawn to traveling the world. I've visited 13 countries so far and realized I also enjoy traveling by myself. Over the years I have traveled multiple times to Kenya on global health trips as a volunteer nurse with an international company I'm involved with; have been a volunteer nurse with the American Red Cross at different events; a volunteer EMT with the Santa Clara County EMS Multi-Victim Disaster relief group; taught Basic Life Support to healthcare providers in my community; and volunteered with a hospice company for over 2 years.
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I am dedicated to being active outdoors, whether it's exploring nature on a hike, camping somewhere I've never been, indoor rock climbing, stand-up paddle boarding, or bicycling. Yoga, meditation, and healthy eating are important integrations in my daily life, as are my huge family, of which there are over 50 members within 45 minutes of my home.
I'm constantly striving to gain a deeper understanding of myself, and to live a balanced life in all areas. This is what I strive to promote to my clients as a nurse coach. Helping them learn as much as possible about themselves, and to live their healthiest life while having fun along the way.
-Erin Berman, Nurse Coach