​NP in independent practice have the capacity to change the face of health care, no matter where they are!   "Change the world" I say!  Seriously, I have been working in health care for 25 years now, and dramatic change is definitely in order!   

I left the public health care system to start a private practice because i felt the system was a total embarrassment and I just could not work in it any longer.  And yes, it was not an easy decision as I left my retirement plan (5 years to magic 80) and 27,000 union seniority hours as an NP alone behind!   Once the decision was made, I realized it didn't matter, as I NEVER had any intention of working a union job again in my life and that I deserved to be happy in my work and making the REAL difference I was meant to make for my patients!.

 NP's were not properly recognized and very much under-utilized and disrespected everywhere i looked and it deeply disturbed me.   

For 13 years of NP practice, i was silent or would quietly express my concerns in letters (which did not go very far)....  I did not let my voice be heard because I truly felt it was not important what I had to say.

   Now, today,  I truly do not care what people think about what I say, I just know that there are important things that need to be brought into the open and said publicly!   NP's have been hiding behind bureaucracy and red tape for FAR too long now and its time for change.    Its time for the truth to come out, for change to happen and for the incredible skill and uniqueness of the Nurse Practitioner to be RECOGNIZED in the health care system.  

 Its a golden resource (NP's) to transform our health care system, yet not being used properly and its totally maddening!!   Some of our NP's believe that government and unions will help us to become recognized and valued in our system...but I do NOT believe that for a second.  I was in a unionized environment for 24 years prior to leaping out of public practice, and I could see for myself that that type of system is going NOWHERE fast.  We need to be agents for change by doing something completely DIFFERENT from the norm.   
We have such an opportunity RIGHT NOW to change the world of health care and I am damn determined to be a catalyst for this.   This BS has gone on far too long.   

On a daily basis, I hear sad stories from patients and from other Nurse Practitioners about how our health care system is failing patients AND their families and I cannot stand it.  Our system is broken and needs an overhaul and proper Nurse Practitioner utilization and recognition of value in the system is a HUGE part of the solution here!

Being in business for yourself as an NP is not only fulfilling, but gives you the freedom of choice and allows you to live the way you WANT to live.   Become an independent Nurse Practitioner by signing up at the link below.   NPautonomy.com is the place to get connected!!
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Diane Gudmundson 
Nurse Practitioner, Entrepreneur in Manitoba, Canada
Irrationally Passionate about NP role, outstanding care for patients, supporting and promoting NP’s and with Fitness and Nutrition / disease prevention and de-prescribing!
Email:  admin@NPautonomy.com
FB: facebook.com/nponwheels
Private Practice:  www.nponwheels.com
NP Blog:   www.uniqueprovider.com
Join the movement here!   www.NPautonomy.com

Call/Text:  204-870-0652

============================================

To become part of the NP independence and autonomy movement, get your name and email on the list ASAP so that you don’t miss out on the upcoming opportunities!   
www.NPautonomy.com

============================================

Subscribe to our awesome you-tube channel!   
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTYVbA9x_sd0YPzbNaZnZKw

​How many years have Nurse Practitioners (NP) been working on being recognized for what we (really) do?   For me, I have been working on this now for 15 years with the totally wrong approach.  15 years!!   

Do some of these broken record explanations about what an NP is sound familiar?
 …"No, I am not studying to be a doctor"...  "No, I am not a LPN" ... "No, my intent is not to become a doctor" ...  "Yes, I can prescribe medications" .   “No, I am not a doctor, I am a Nurse Practitioner.”   I remember just how many times I have repeated myself over the years with the many misunderstandings about my role.  

And THEN!!...when I left public practice and went into private practice...my eyes opened even further!!   NOBODY knows what a Nurse Practitioner is!   Not even other health care providers, the public and even other Nurse Practitioners!   Some NP had been squashed into the "mini-doctor" role for so long, that they had forgotten what a NP as a unique provider really is!   

 I  heard much "complaining" from other NP’s over the years about the lack of recognition and appropriate pay for the role for the level of responsibility.   So TRUE, but why has this never changed over the whole 15 years of practice?  Because we have been using the totally wrong approach!   Our associations have been “trying” to work with employers, unions, regulators and political groups to advance the role and they have made great strides to allow us to “do more” as providers, but this has still not built the public recognition of the NP role whatsoever.

How do we, as NPs, achieve the value and recognition we deserve for our full scope of practice?  Do we keep pushing the government and unions and employers even though that approach has not worked for over 15 years already?   All of that has got us nowhere and we need to create a completely NEW approach and completely scrap what doesn’t work.   We need to look inside ourselves as NP’s and rediscover the belief and excitement we once had for the role as it was meant to be.  We need to put our foot down and clearly do what we do best as NP’s in the interest of patient care.   We need to get out of these “union” and restrictive roles and be more out in the public eye doing what we do best!   The PUBLIC, and NOT the government will be our best advocates once they discover who we are and what we can offer them in terms of quality holistic health care.  It is the informed and knowledgeable public who will increase the demand for our type of care.    The time is now for a totally transformational change I would say!

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Author:   Diane Gudmundson 
Nurse Practitioner, Entrepreneur in Manitoba, Canada
Irrationally Passionate about NP role, outstanding care for patients, supporting and promoting NP’s and with Fitness and Nutrition / disease prevention and de-prescribing!
Email:  admin@NPautonomy.com
FB: facebook.com/nponwheels
Private Practice:  www.nponwheels.com
NP Blog:   www.uniqueprovider.com
Join the movement here!   www.NPautonomy.com
Call/Text:  204-870-0652
============================================
To become part of the NP independence and autonomy movement, get your name and email on the list ASAP so that you don’t miss out on the upcoming opportunities!   www.NPautonomy.com
============================================
Subscribe to this awesome you-tube channel!   
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTYVbA9x_sd0YPzbNaZnZKw

​After having several hairy and unbelievable situations as an NP out in practice over the years while working for a Regional Health Authority in a Unionized job, it took some guts and determination to, in a socialist environment, be able to start a private medical practice.   It was not an easy transition, but, with good foundational work, research and many meetings with political leadership at the provincial and federal, it became a reality and then took off even faster than I expected!!   

As a results of my experiences and success in the practice development realm, (and because of the endless (and interesting) emails, calls and messages from other NP's with questions).... I decided to survey NP's across North America, then develop a program to help these other NP's to do what I did and with a step by step process to achieve fast success no matter where the NP was located or the "practice rules" of the location.   I believe that there is ALWAYS a way to be successful if you are determined enough!

There is also some unique ways to start a private practice without getting start-up loans, having to invest etc.   Its too much pressure to start a business and then have to be stressed about paying off loans.   NO thanks!   I was able to do it without loans and on a shoestring budget which truly helped me to practice freely without the financial pressures and worries that would accompany that  ie having to see so many patients a day to survive and pay the bills.   Seriously, who wants to have pressure like that?  Not me!

I have spent a lot of time in the recent weeks talking on video about some of my bad experiences as an NP, but now its time to really get down to talking about solutions and how I can help you to move beyond the controlled and sometimes unhealthy environments and have some freedom and true autonomy in our practice lives.  

Freedom and autonomy not only benefits the Nurse Practitioner, but gives control back to the patient for true patient-centered care.  Patients love this and if we talk about the potential, the demand for our type of care will skyrocket!   

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Diane Gudmundson 
Nurse Practitioner, Entrepreneur in Manitoba, Canada
Irrationally Passionate about NP role, outstanding care for patients, supporting and promoting NP’s,  Fitness and Nutrition / disease prevention and de-prescribing!
Email:  admin@NPautonomy.com
FB: facebook.com/nponwheels
Private Practice:  www.nponwheels.com
NP Blog:   www.uniqueprovider.com
Join the NP for change here!   www.NPautonomy.com

Call/Text:  204-870-0652

============================================

To be part of NP for change with the goal of NP independence and autonomy, get your name and email on the list ASAP so that you don’t miss out on the upcoming opportunities!   
www.NPautonomy.com

============================================

Subscribe to this awesome you-tube channel!   
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTYVbA9x_sd0YPzbNaZnZKw

IHave you considered dabbling or moving into a part or full time private practise as a Nurse Practitioner?   I have been practicing as an NP for a very long time and decided to make the transition to private practice as a full time business (and all without going into debt).   I was one of the first in our area to make this leap, so I really had no examples of how this was possible, but I knew it just had to be done to give control back to patients and to advance the NP role.   So, I got to work and have now built the foundation for what is a very successful private practice here in Manitoba, Canada.   

No matter where you are located, and no matter what the laws and regulations, setting up a private practice is possible as long as you have a valid practice license in your jurisdiction and some strong conviction and creativity!   It takes some determination and work, but anything is possible!   

During my foundation-building phase, it would have been very helpful to have support and a model to follow, but unfortunately, none of this existed in our type of political environment.   I had to wade through the system, build the foundation and do some strong advocacy work to make this possible.   

As an NP, my passion is not only providing outstanding patient-centered care but also to work hard to help other NP's to be able to love their work again, to advance the role of NP quickly, get excited and realize the possibilities when it comes to private practice.   There are so many advantages to advancing the NP role this way versus being boxed into union or employer-based jobs and if we continue to push forward as a collective, the patients we serve will be our biggest advocates and create a high level of demand for our services.   

LETS DO THIS and do not give up.   Anything is possible and I am here to support, encourage and lead you towards success!   Sign up at www.npautonomy.com to be part of this exciting transition for NP's!

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Diane Gudmundson 
Nurse Practitioner, Entrepreneur in Manitoba, Canada
Irrationally Passionate about NP role, outstanding care for patients, supporting and promoting NP’s and with Fitness and Nutrition / disease prevention and de-prescribing!
Email:  admin@NPautonomy.com
FB: facebook.com/nponwheels
Private Practice:  www.nponwheels.com
NP Blog:   www.uniqueprovider.com
Join the movement here!   www.NPautonomy.com

Call/Text:  204-870-0652

============================================

To become an NP with independence and autonomy, get your name and email on the list ASAP so that you don’t miss out on the upcoming opportunities!   
www.NPautonomy.com

============================================

Subscribe to this awesome you-tube channel!   
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTYVbA9x_sd0YPzbNaZnZKw

​For many years as a NP, I was advocating for NP's to be able to bill direct to the province (Manitoba Health) for our services which would allow us to have an independent clinic without all the red tape and bureaucracy that gets in the way of our job satisfaction and the quality of care for our patients!!  Well, through experience, talking to family doctors, and looking critically at the politics and the true definition of patient-centered care, I discovered I was advocating for the WRONG thing!!!

Billing fee-for-service sounded like something that would work...why not?  We could have our own practices and just bill direct for our services....but we are forgetting that this would create a situation where we would have to have our own or at least contribute to reception staff, software, clinic supplies and all of the overhead that is there in your own practice.   All of a sudden, there is a perspective change!   You then realize that you would have to see many patients per hour just to pay the bills and you would still have much unpaid hours of work to do in between.   Hmmm, a fee for service practice funded by the health system suddenly doesn't feel so good.   This system would still contain the pressures to see high numbers of patients every hour and would seriously limit the quality and true ability to provide patient-centered care as you would want to in order to have job satisfaction!  Oh, and if you are working in a clinic that would be billing your work fee-for-service, there would also be productivity expectations to pay their bills as well!!    

Another consideration is...the moment we are funded by the Province (thus becoming part of Canada Health Act), we will have limitations, restrictions for what will be paid for, and it will then be illegal to offer medical services outside what 'they' authorize.  So what about those patients who want half hour or an hour appointment to sort out some major issues or multiple concerns?   Will we have to put up a sign that says "ONLY ONE ISSUE PER APPOINTMENT" like we often see in physicians offices?   The reason those signs are there is a billing system issue.   The health system pays for ONE issue per appointment and the amount they pay only really covers about 10 minutes of professional time.   Hmmmm....more things to think about!   

Time to re-consider whether you would want to work fee-for-service through our provincial health system?  ...I know I wouldn't want it!  NO THANKS!   Currently in Canada, Nurse Practitioners are considered an uninsured service.   AHA!!!  :)  This is both good for us and for patients because they (the patients) can pay for the service that THEY want.  They can get the client-centered care they want this way and not have some regulator putting a stop to the quality medical care they prefer to pay for!!

Learn more about how to become an autonomous, independent and FREE NP who has learned to LOVE their work again....it is SO worth it!  
www.npautonomy.com

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Diane Gudmundson 
Nurse Practitioner, Entrepreneur in Manitoba, Canada
Irrationally Passionate about NP role, outstanding care for patients, supporting and promoting NP’s and with Fitness and Nutrition / disease prevention and de-prescribing!
Email:  admin@NPautonomy.com
FB: facebook.com/nponwheels
Private Practice:  www.nponwheels.com
NP Blog:   www.uniqueprovider.com
Join the movement here!   www.NPautonomy.com
Call/Text:  204-870-0652

============================================

To become part of the NP independence and autonomy movement, get your name and email on the list ASAP so that you don’t miss out on the upcoming opportunities!     www.NPautonomy.com

============================================

Subscribe to this awesome you-tube channel!   
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTYVbA9x_sd0YPzbNaZnZKw

​Seriously, the stories get better all the time. I was triggered to remember this story of my primary care practise being covered by a public health nurse while I was off for surgery. A public health nurse is a highly skilled and respected professional, but is not a Nurse Practitioner nor has the scope of practise to cover a Nurse Practitioner practise. Its unfortunate that, despite agreeing with me wholeheartedly that a PHN covering an NP was not appropriate, both our regulating body and our union did not support me nor enforce it when my employer at that time decided to proceed anyways with covering my practice with a PHN.

While I was off for surgery, the PHN that was assigned to cover for me was, to say the least, in a bit of an uncomfortable position. She contacted me by phone (while i was in bed recovering from surgery) to consult about the meaning of test results and how to interpret them and what action to take from there. By no fault of her own, she was placed in a difficult position by her boss, which was not a good scenario for her either.

As Nurse Practitioners, we need to band together to STOP the nonsense. There are too many stories from hundreds of NP's (not just me!) all across North America where the NP is not treated properly, not recognized for his/her scope and definitely not remunerated appropriately for the level of responsibilities that are expected!

If we look back in time, we can see definite patterns of where the source of issues can be traced back to, legal decisions that were made that led to misunderstanding of the role and where we are at NOW is definitely a SYMPTOM of where we have been and what we have allowed until now! Its time for CHANGE and if you are an NP who is ready to join a movement of NP's who are ready for change, then be sure to get your name and email into the system below and have your voice heard!

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Yet another story that demonstrates how the Nurse Practitioner role is not known and is misunderstood in our health care system!

Its scary to me that I have been working my butt off as an NP now for 15 years and people still do not understand the role or how it fits into our health care system.... how can this be?

The issue is being boxed into a "mini-doctor" role in the back of a clinic. Patients and other providers and even employers will see an NP as just another "doctor" style provider if we are in those roles. THAT is the problem from all of these years! I was boxed in and misunderstood for far too long!

Anyways, its TIME for change, TIME for all of the BS to stop and time to move forward as unique providers in our health care system. We are not doctors, we are unique providers that have something far different to offer and its time the world realized this. Once the world realizes this, EVERYTHING will change!

As an NP, be sure to join the movement forward. its time to move our profession forward at a FAST rate and not spend another 15 years unknown and working like something we are NOT in a little box!

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Diane Gudmundson Nurse Practitioner, Entrepreneur in Manitoba, Canada Irrationally Passionate about NP role, outstanding care for patients, supporting and promoting NP’s and with Fitness and Nutrition / disease prevention and de-prescribing!
Email: admin@NPautonomy.com
FB: facebook.com/nponwheels
Private Practice: www.nponwheels.com
NP Blog: www.uniqueprovider.com
Join the movement here! www.NPautonomy.com
Call/Text: 204-870-0652
============================================
To become part of the NP independence and autonomy movement, get your name and email on the list ASAP so that you don’t miss out on the upcoming opportunities! www.NPautonomy.com
​============================================
Subscribe to this awesome you-tube channel! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTYV...

​I am a nurse practitioner with 15 years of experience in the healthcare system in Manitoba!  … Before I became an NP,  I had 10 years of experience as a nurse. My career has been full of interesting stories and experiences as I went along… All those years I worked in unionized positions which were over-regulated, had many limiting scenarios and horrifying experiences which led me to think that being a Nurse Practitioner truly sucks.   I literally started studying pre-medicine and was going to get out of being an NP.  I was sick of excessive rules, being micromanaged and having red tape, bureaucracy and other crap getting in the way of quality patient care and NP job satisfaction.  Where was the autonomy in all of this??  Well there was little to none!   

​     The story in this video was a situation I went through in my own home community where I was born and raised.   I was a local NP and absolutely LOVED my patients and my practice and NEVER had any intentions of leaving that practice....EVER!   Well, circumstances got in the way of that and I felt totally pushed out the door.... felt horrible leaving my patients and felt angry towards the Health Authority for letting one horrible person / manager get in the way of quality health care.  Every single time I re-live that story, it gives me goose-bumps and stirs up a lot of emotion.   Seriously, it is unbelievable some of the things that Nurse Practitioners have been through in their experience.   However, these experiences are things we can learn from to change the future of health care and for NP practice.   We can choose what we tolerate as NP.  We know we have unique and different ways to provide holistic and quality medical care to patients and that those patients have a true appreciation for the care we offer once they experience it.  Never give up on your dreams.   Don't let a bad experience taint your view of what we have to offer to patients.
==========================================This is just one of many stories about my experience as a Nurse Practitioner in the health care system in Manitoba. There are MANY more to come!
Be sure to join the movement www.npautonomy.com and experience and learn about both the good and the unbelievably bad things that happen in our public health care system that have made it what it is today!
Many NP's have great practice areas, but may nagging issues that affect job satisfaction and quality patient care. Many RHA's / employers do not know how to properly manage and look after staff in a way that makes them want to work hard and stick around...in fact, its quite the opposite in many situations!
If, as an employer, you treat staff with disrespect, box them in by micromanaging and making them do all the things they don't like to do ('just because you can"), minimizing their importance in the system, not being a true team player and using top-down authoritarian management styles...then good luck retaining staff and good luck getting those staff to feel good about what they are doing and good luck bringing the BEST quality care to your community that way.
Promoting true practitioner autonomy is a proven way to both job satisfaction and the best quality care for patients.... and so the story goes on....

​==================================================

Diane Gudmundson 
Nurse Practitioner, Entrepreneur in Manitoba, Canada
Irrationally Passionate about NP role, outstanding care for patients, supporting and promoting NP’s and with Fitness and Nutrition / disease prevention and de-prescribing!
Email:  admin@NPautonomy.com
FB: facebook.com/nponwheels
Private Practice:  www.nponwheels.com
NP Blog:   www.uniqueprovider.com
Join the movement here!   www.NPautonomy.com

Call/Text:  204-870-0652

============================================

To become part of the NP independence and autonomy movement, get your name and email on the list ASAP so that you don’t miss out on the upcoming opportunities!   
www.NPautonomy.com

============================================

Subscribe to this awesome you-tube channel!   
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTYVbA9x_sd0YPzbNaZnZKw

​​As a Nurse Practitioner, you never know how certain professionals in our health care system will respond to us being out there providing a private practise to the community.   We know 100% that patients are very pleased with having options available for medical care outside of the "usual" system, but sometimes we don't really know how other medical providers feel about it.  It was interesting that  I got a call from a doctor I used to to work with several years ago.  He is in fee-for-services practise and started the conversation with me by telling me that I was causing chaos in our health care system.   It was hard to tell, but I initially thought he may be upset or accusatory about it....but that was not the case at all.   In fact, he stated very clearly that he thought it was a brilliant idea!  I was taken aback and surprised that he had that conclusion about our private services.   He said that given that we are an uninsured service in the Province that it makes perfect sense to offer private options to the public.   It was a very positive response and I thought that was interesting enough to share with the NP community.   It was encouraging and enlightening to hear his perspective.    As NP, we are excited and enthralled to be out providing care to our patients in a true patient-centered way and by giving them options, we are making them happy and as a result have repeat customers over and over again.   It is very fulfilling to us as Nurse Practitioners to have the freedom and independence to be able to provide services in the way we know best and its nice to have the support of other medical providers in the system too!.  

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Diane Gudmundson 
Nurse Practitioner, Entrepreneur in Manitoba, Canada
Irrationally Passionate about NP role, outstanding care for patients, supporting and promoting NP’s and with Fitness and Nutrition / disease prevention and de-prescribing!
Email:  admin@NPautonomy.com
FB: facebook.com/nponwheels
Private Practice:  www.nponwheels.com
NP Blog:   www.uniqueprovider.com
Join the movement here!   www.NPautonomy.com

Call/Text:  204-870-0652

============================================

To become part of the NP independence and autonomy movement, get your name and email on the list ASAP so that you don’t miss out on the upcoming opportunities!   
www.NPautonomy.com

============================================

Subscribe to our awesome you-tube channel!   
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTYVbA9x_sd0YPzbNaZnZKw

​As a Nurse Practitioner (NP), how many times have you been asked questions like ...hey are you an LPN?   Are you studying to become a doctor?   Can you prescribe medication?  Do I call you 'doctor'?  What is an Nurse Practitioner anyways?  ...  and so on....

There is so much confusion about the NP role from the perspective of patients, public, co-workers and especially our supervisors or employers making the challenges we face much greater on the job. 

 If our role is this mis-understood, then HOW will NP's be recognized for our unique contribution to health care?  How will this give us job satisfaction every day?   How can we continue to function under the constraints, lack of respect and lack of recognition within an employer or regional health authority and feeling like there are no other options?   

Many of us are dissatisfied with our current employment conditions, pay and lack of autonomy...but did you know that there is something that we can do about that?   We don't have to stay inside that restrictive box because there actually are viable options to regain control and freedom in your practise / professional life that you may not have thought of!

Join me on a webclass to discuss further, by completing a few questions and signing up on this link:  https://tinyurl.com/y7l3nxj2

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ABOUT THE WRITER:
Diane Gudmundson 
Nurse Practitioner, Entrepreneur in Manitoba, Canada
Irrationally Passionate about NP role, outstanding care for patients, supporting and promoting NP’s and with Fitness and Nutrition / disease prevention and de-prescribing!
Email:  admin@NPautonomy.com
FB: facebook.com/nponwheels
Private Practice:  www.nponwheels.com
NP Blog:   www.uniqueprovider.com
Join the NP movement here!   www.NPautonomy.com

Call/Text:  204-870-0652

============================================

To become part of the NP independence and autonomy movement, get your name and email on the list ASAP so that you don’t miss out on the upcoming opportunities!   
www.NPautonomy.com

============================================

Subscribe to the awesome you-tube channel!   
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTYVbA9x_sd0YPzbNaZnZKw

 Well now, I wonder what it takes to start a private practice in Manitoba in what has been  for a very long time, a socialist political environment… It takes a little bit of work and determination and grit in order to keep moving forward and to face all of the barriers and potential roadblocks that get in the way when creating a brand new service in environment like this especially where patients are not used to paying for medical care.  Since I have been actually out performing private practice and talking about it on social media, I have been receiving a ton of emails and messages asking me about private practice and what it takes to get a practice started…

Given that I'm working long hours in my business, I definitely did not have time to give one on one support to hundreds of nurse practitioners across the country so I have decided to put together a program to help Nurse Practitioners across the country to understand how to work outside of the usual system and to maybe even transform their lives by doing something different versus working in a Boxed-role…  Those boxed-in roles often have supervisors and other coworkers that do not understand what the role is about ...leading to big time challenges and decreased job satisfaction...ultimately having a negative impact on patient care!   
​
  To join the movement of NP's moving towards change, autonomy and independence and to get notified when the webclass will be opened, please leave your name and email address HERE and answer your ONE biggest question for me to answer in the webinar.

​

​ To join the movement of NP's moving towards change, autonomy and independence and to get notified when the webclass will be opened, please leave your name and email address HERE and answer your ONE biggest question(s) for me to answer in the webinar.