Healthy lifestyle changes: Preventive nursing care

A Q&A with The Wellness Nurse Ros Lindsey 

Melanie Irwin, Primary Times managing editor 

Ros Lindsey is determined to spread the word that prevention is better than cure. After many years in clinical nursing, she recently made the switch to wellness educating with an emphasis on lifestyle medicine. Ros’s podcast and YouTube channel promote healthy lifestyle changes and ways to reduce chronic disease risks. Her dream is to see all Australians living longer and healthier lives. 

How did you come to be working as a wellness educator, podcaster and YouTuber? 

For many years, I worked as a registered nurse in hospitals in Sydney and Canberra. Over time the work became increasingly demanding. Our population is ageing. We have more chronic disease, more overweight and obesity and there are more patients presenting with multiple comorbidities. Nurses keep trying to deliver excellent care in environments where the demands are ever increasing. I thought, there just has to be a better way.  

From there, I completed a Masters of Public Health. I'm grateful that I had that opportunity. I learned all about the social determinants of health and all the factors that are impacting people’s health and their decisions. The problems don’t lie solely with the individual. It’s a whole system (including government policies) that has made it difficult for people to make healthier choices. 

After the masters, I became a project manager for ACT Health, but it was a difficult time. I was trying to deliver projects during the COVID pandemic with limited human resources. I was hugely stressed. I put on weight. My sleep apnoea had worsened. I was drinking too much coffee and wine. I had a high stroke risk. Eventually I got burnt out. 

And then I decided to focus on my health. We moved to Queensland. I got a health coach. And I went to a reinvention retreat in Fiji. It was with some incredible women, and their prompt was: ‘What would you do if you knew you couldn't fail?’ My answer was: ‘Help people prioritise their health BEFORE they get sick.’ That’s when I decided to start my podcast. 

I launched my podcast on International Nurses Day, 12 May 2024. It's now been two years. My intention for the podcast was to build an audience for my nursing business, which includes group workshops and individual clients. 

What does a typical working day look like for you? 

My work varies from day to day, but my morning routine is very important for my own health and wellbeing. I need to live what I teach! 

My day starts with coffee and I watch the sunrise. I meditate and do journaling, sometimes a session of yoga. More commonly these days, it's playing pickleball! I discovered this game a couple of years ago and I now play several times a week. 

On some days, I’ll run a group workshop. I live in Moreton Bay, and the local council pays me to run workshops that residents can attend for free. I also run group workshops for local businesses, for employee wellbeing, and I’m keen to initiate group medical appointments for medical practices if the interest is there. 

The workshops are fun! They are usually for about 15 to 20 people. I really love the interactions within a small group like that, and people learn a lot from one another. 

I focus on the six pillars of lifestyle medicine: movement, nutrition, sleep, social connection, stress management and avoiding risky substances. I help participants identify the pillar where they are ready to make a change. 

One of my favourite pillars to address is movement. I think we've done a big disservice telling people they must do a minimum amount of exercise. It’s much more effective to help them find a physical activity that they love. 

At the end of a workshop, each person will have chosen a pillar to work on and will leave with a personalised 4-week action plan with achievable behavioural changes. We also identify resources that could help them. It's very simple, but the feedback I've received is that it’s working and people are actually implementing changes into their lives. 

On other days, I will meet with clients one-on-one. In these sessions, we dive deeper to find the underlying reason for why they might be choosing a particular behaviour – this could be alcohol or overeating. Like the group workshops, we focus on identifying where the best place is to start, making tiny shifts in behaviour, identifying strategies for anticipated obstacles, and then building on these changes. 

If I’m not running workshops or meeting with clients, I do lots of other activities related to my business: emailing people to invite them on the podcast, planning and recording podcast and video content, research, self-education, marketing, social media, writing new workshops, developing new tools, administration, accounting… 

I try to get out and network too, and connect with friends and colleagues. That’s an important part of working on my health and prioritising my social connections. 

I’m still building my business, and I've recently taken on a part-time job as a community nurse, as well, to supplement my income. On those days I’m working with people with chronic diseases and disability and I feel very privileged to be gaining insight into those situations as well. 

Have you done any specific training to do the work you're doing? 

As mentioned, I’m an experienced registered nurse with a Masters of Public Health. I have strong foundations in prevention, epidemiology and chronic disease. 

I'm actively engaged in ongoing self-directed research and learning in lifestyle medicine, chronic disease prevention, behaviour change and motivational interviewing. 

I deliberately align with organisations such as APNA, the Australasian Society of Lifestyle Medicine and the Australian College of Nursing, and regularly consume their webinars, guidelines and courses on preventive health and lifestyle medicine. 

Other courses I’ve done include TAFE courses in training and assessment, and small business. I’ve done a short course on digital marketing. I've hired a voice coach. I've done public speaking courses. 

I do so much learning on the job. I’ve learnt a lot from YouTube, too. It's been a huge learning curve! 

I’ve tried to lose any perfectionistic tendencies and just concentrate on progress. And the business is slowly growing. I’ve got nearly 3,000 subscribers on YouTube now, which is wonderful. I'm proud of what I’ve achieved so far. 

In what way do you collaborate with other healthcare professionals? 

Nurses are ideally placed to coordinate preventive care – we understand physiology, the health system and referral pathways, and we’re natural educators and counsellors. I see myself as part health coach and part counsellor, but I'm very conscious that I don't operate outside of my scope.  

I focus on helping clients to identify the right professional for them. For example, somebody might be overeating, but they've never addressed their trauma. My approach is to help them understand the link between the two and prioritise getting the treatment that will address the underlying issue.  

Another key recommendation that I make for clients is to find a good GP and establish a strong relationship with them, so they get continuity of care. I've developed a tool called the Preventive Healthcare Checklist. This helps people keep a record of their screenings. They can use it for proactive conversations with their GP. 

Other recommendations I make are for dietitians, psychologists, exercise physiologists and, where appropriate, evidence-informed complementary supports (e.g., yoga, mindfulness) as part of team-based care. 

Another form of collaboration is my interviews with experts for the podcast and YouTube. I often interview GPs and other clinicians who are actively using lifestyle medicine in their practices. This has included experts on menopause, diabetes and dementia. I love those collaborations and I’m looking forward to doing more with experts in different spheres of prevention. 

What are the most challenging aspects of your role? 

My role as a registered nurse focusing on preventive health is not something many people are familiar with. Prevention is still not the dominant narrative in Australia. I'm trying to create a new narrative and a new position for nurses within this space, and this is challenging. 

Another challenge is addressing the issue of overweight and obesity with clients. I’ve been working on this, but I still find it awkward. Overweight is so prevalent, it’s become normalised. I've been overweight myself and I believe in loving your body at all sizes, but most people don’t realise that their risk of chronic diseases, including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, stroke, some cancers and dementia, is massively increased when they’re overweight. Just 10% can put you at risk. Navigating this issue without making people feel bad is really challenging. 

Growing the business is also tough. It feels like an uphill journey. The finance side is the most challenging thing. I would like to be seeing more individual clients, but the growth is slow. Especially with the cost-of-living crisis, people find it hard to justify booking a private consultation with a registered nurse. 

I also spend a lot of unpaid time on the clinical and education work and the marketing, tech and admin tasks. I've really got to find quicker ways to do this work so the business can be sustainable. 

What are the most rewarding aspects of your role? 

The most rewarding thing is when I observe somebody make a change. That brings me joy, knowing that they've started to improve their health. Perhaps they've started dancing, or they've signed up for a healthy-eating cooking class. When I see people who didn't have hope that now have hope: that's amazing! 

I really enjoy creating tools and other resources that I can share on my website. Health equity is very important to me and the divide is growing: Those with money can invest in longevity and health care. I love that I can make preventive health more accessible for everyone via my different channels. That's rewarding. 

And I enjoy the variety. The interviews I do with different people are a lot of fun. I just love hearing what people are doing to improve their health. I recently interviewed Jonathan Dragt, the Director of Fearless Academy in Adelaide. He runs circus acrobatics classes for older people. He teaches them how to fall safely. It’s such a great initiative for healthy ageing and frailty prevention. I really enjoy these conversations. Plus, interviewing is a new skill, and I enjoy learning new skills. 

What advice would you give to nurses who are considering a career change? 

One of the most beautiful things about nursing is that it's so varied and it's so versatile.  

Keep asking questions: Is there a better way of doing something? If you discover that there might be, research it. Don't make any rash decisions about leaving your job, but learn about what else is possible. Upskill whilst you've still got a job, if you can manage it. 

If you are exhausted, or experiencing burnout, then take care of your health. It’s the most important asset you've got. Don't take it for granted, because it might not always be there. 

If you do decide to start your own business, APNA is a great organisation for providing professional support. Surround yourself with people who believe in you. Use mentors, coaches and accountability partners for specific gaps. 

Protect your registration and ethics – stay within your scope, keep it evidence‑based and aim to collaborate with the system, rather than fighting it. 

And dream big! My dream is that Australians will become the healthiest and longest living people in the world. There's no reason why that can't be the case. I'm doing what I can in preventive care. Anything's possible! 

To download Ros’s free Preventive Health Checklist and other resources, go to www.roslindsey.com/freebies. 

And for inquiries about Ros’s Wellness Roadmap workshops or about sharing an individual transformation story on Ros’s podcast, contact Ros via her website: www.roslindsey.com/.