In the Clinic with Camille Episodes

At this time of year, it's tempting to spend hours planning and organizing to prepare for 2022. I've found that this approach, while fun, isn't always one that works for me in the long run. In this episode, I'll share more about why I avoid annual planning and what I do instead (hint: seasonal planning). If you want to plan for the winter season together, please join me for a free Seasonal Dreaming & Planning for Practitioners workshop on December 21 at 12:00 pm ET. It will last about 30 minute...

As 2021 comes to a close, I recommend spending some time reviewing your offers. Most of us start out very simply. We have one offer, usually an initial consultation + a few follow-up visits as needed. As time goes by, sometimes additional services, classes, and programs get added to the roster. In this week's episode, I share a few thoughts on why adding more services isn't always the way to go. I also encourage you to ask yourself whether it's time to prune any of your current services as ...

Ever had a brilliant idea, only to find out that someone else was already doing the same thing? I think we've all been there. You brainstorm and scheme until you're pretty sure you have the perfect program, offer, or class in mind. It can be a big blow to find out that someone else is already doing it. Your first instinct might be to give up, try to think of something new, and move on to your next idea. In this episode, I explain why you might want to do the thing anyway. Your voice is imp...

Transitioning Quickly If you're in practice long enough, you'll likely find yourself in a situation where you need to transition quickly between one client and another. You'll also find that there are times when you need to move from a jarring personal situation into your clinical work, without much time to make a mental adjustment. In this week's episode, I share a situation that required me to flip into clinical mode with just minutes to spare. I'll let you listen to the full story in the ...

Should you take the COVID vaccine if you're pregnant or trying to conceive? This is a great question to bring to your primary care provider! Even though I am not a primary care provider, I've been getting this question from many of my clients who are wondering whether to get vaccinated during pregnancy or while trying to conceive. I thought it might be useful to share my perspective in this week's episode. As always, please talk to your own healthcare team to make the best decision for your pa...

In this teeny-tiny episode, I discuss how to think about quarterly taxes so that it's not quite so painful to send in those checks every few months. Resources Mentioned Happy Money by Ken Honda My Roots course just re-opened. If you're getting started & need help setting up your practice (insurance, forms, scheduling, etc), come and join us! Not sure how much you should be setting aside for taxes? Check out Episode 14 | How to Handle Income from your Practice --- Send in a voice message: htt...

Why I Spend Money on Mentoring... and lots of it. This week, I'm sharing specifically how much money I spend every month on mentoring. Hint: it's an amount that would have been inconceivable to me a year or two ago. It's an amount that doesn't feel entirely comfortable. It pushes me, which is part of the point. When I first started practicing, I resisted spending money on mentoring and other "business building" things. I didn't have money to spend, and a lot of these programs seemed scammy ...

Why licensed nutritionists need to be aware of the new OpenNotes rules. Did you know that new legislation went into effect in April, 2021 that affects the way licensed healthcare providers share information with their clients/patients? It's called OpenNotes. If you're in practice, it will affect how you communicate with your clients and potentially how you take notes. Because it's still very new, we still don't know the full implications of OpenNotes for nutritionists. At this point, most o...

If you've ever felt bashful because you don't run an apothecary... Check out this week's episode! There are many different ways to be an herbalist. Not everyone needs to fulfill each aspect of herbalism personally. If you love running an apothecary, great! If you don't love it, you don't have to do it. If you don't have the time, or the money, or the ability to deal with it: that's fine. There are plenty of amazing, ethical people and businesses who you can work with to supply herbs for y...

Do you need a business plan? One of the things I get asked relatively often in my Roots course is whether you need to have a formal business plan before you open your private clinical practice as an herbalist or nutritionist. The short answer: Nope. Not really. In this episode, I share why I don't think you need one and a few things to consider instead. Need help with some of these steps? You may want to consider my Roots course and/or a private mentoring session. --- Send in a voice messag...

An interview with herbalist Lori Wroten In this week's episode, you'll hear an interview with herbalist Lori Wroten. This is the first time I've had a guest on In the Clinic! A cautionary tale I invited Lori to share about a frightening experience associated with the use of an herbal product being sold by a 3rd party vendor on Amazon. Although we don't have all of the details about what was in the product, this case study provides a cautionary tale about the quality and veracity of products t...

Should you charge extra for payment plans? When you purchase a course, program, or package online, you're often offered a payment plan - particularly if the price is on the high end. Usually, the payment plan winds up being more expensive than the "paid in full" price. An Example A program costs $999 - or - four payments of $300 In this scenario, you'd be paying an extra $200 if you couldn't afford the upfront fee Questions and Ethics Are you comfortable penalizing someone who can't afford...

Do you have your eye on a course, program, or package that's starting soon? There are endless tempting opportunities out there. If you're anything like me, you probably receive messages daily about trainings or courses that seem like something you really, really should know about. There are times when a course, training, or coaching package is just what you need. Most of the time, these are not just what you need. Before you purchase, ask yourself these questions: Do I actually need this p...

Are you having a hard time finding new clients? When your schedule isn't booked and you're spirits are down, it's tempting to start grasping at straws. Maybe you need to run Facebook ads? Hire a pricey consultant? Do some deep visualization? Take another class? Before you do any of these things, make sure you've tried the basics first. If you're not getting clients, ask your self this: do the people who already love and support you know what you do? Have you told them about your work? Do t...

Do the ovaries work without the uterus? Although the ovaries and uterus work hand-in-hand (so to speak), for a long time we've thought that ovarian hormone production would continue more or less unchanged if someone needed to have a hysterectomy. It turns out that removing the uterus does affect ovarian function. In this episode, I share some of the newer studies looking at how hysterectomy affects ovarian function & hormone production, as well as some outstanding questions to consider. The ...

In this visit, I share some things to think about if you're consistently going over the scheduled amount of time for your clinical visits. These aren't always obvious, and it's important to consider how your timing affects your clients physically, emotionally, and logistically. If you'd like to be part of a community of practice with other clinical herbalists/herbally-minded nutritionists, please consider joining us in Monday Mentoring. We'd love to have you join! --- Send in a voice message: ...

The trials and tribulations of survey research. A paper that I've been working on with a team of other folks was published in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition. It took about 2.5 years from the start of the project to publication, and it's been a wild ride. In today's episode, I share some of what went into the research and publication process, and a few things that I learned along the way. I hope you enjoy these reflections on what goes into a seemingly simple - and imperfect...

It's okay to keep things simple. Sometimes practitioners feel pressured to come up with complicated recommendations. A complicated case means someone needs a complex protocol, right? Not always. Sometimes, simple is just the thing. In this episode, I gently remind you of the reasons it's okay - and even preferable - to stick with basic, easy (in some ways) recommendations. These are more affordable. They're easier to follow. They're more likely to stick, to make a difference in the long run...

The more clear you are about who you're aiming to serve, the easier things will be in your clinical work. Feeling confused about your target market and niche? Not even sure what the difference is between the two? Don't think you really need either of these? Listen to this episode to find out why it's so helpful to narrow these things down for yourself and to learn why it's okay - really! - if you're not quite there yet. Special Prize 🎁 If you've stumbled across this, congratulations! You c...

Profit First: The book I didn't want to like. Based on the title alone, this didn't seem like something I'd be interested in. It's been recommended by so many people, though, and I'm feeling increasingly lost when it comes to business finances so I thought I'd check it out. And yep. "People" were right. It was super helpful. I've detailed the most important thing I learned from the book in this episode. Although this seems like very basic information, it helped things click into place for m...

Being in private practice can be isolating. If you're a clinician in a private practice, you may feel like very few people understand what you do and the challenges that come along with the work. It's easy to get distracted or to spend hours running around in circles trying to fix a small thing. This is why I recommend joining an accountability group ASAP An accountability group is simply a small group of people who meet regularly to check in and provide support for one another. This doesn't...

Do you have a referral list? It's one of those things that's easy to put off, particularly when you're just getting started with your practice. Over time, you might get busy and never quite get around to starting one. Or, perhaps you have a jumble of business cards from conferences or networking events bopping around in the bottom of your bag. If you don't have a referral list, I highly recommend starting one now. Why? It makes it easier to remember who's out there to help your clients. Yo...

Are you guilty of website perfectionism? I am. If I had my way, I could easily spend 10 or 20 hours a week tweaking things on my website. But I'm not really helping anyone when I spend that kind of time working on aesthetics. Here's the problem: focusing all of your attention on your website prevents you from doing the harder work of finding clients. Too often website perfectionism gets in the way of actually starting your practice. Do any of these sound familiar? "I can't really promote ...

Are probiotics safe to use in infants? I'm so glad you're asking this question. Before recommending any supplement, we should always be asking whether it's likely to be safe and effective. This is even more important when using supplements with infants, where the stakes are higher than in many other life stages. The short answer is that the safety profile of probiotics in infants is quite strong in many cases. I don't recommend probiotics for all infants, but in some cases I believe that th...