August 15, 2026 • 29 mins
Feeling stuck even after you’ve “done everything right” can be one of the most frustrating parts of chronic illness and burnout. We sit down with Dr Rachael Clark, a family physician turned functional and integrative medicine practitioner at Village Health and Healing, to unpack why standard healthcare often runs out of road for fatigue, gut issues, hormone problems, and autoimmune-style symptoms and what she does differently now.
Rachael shares how Covid-era patterns, including her own long Covid experience, pushed her beyond quick fixes and short appointments. We talk about root cause healing in real-world terms: deeper history, targeted testing, nutrition and supplements, lifestyle change, and the slower work of rebuilding resilience. She also explains why she started exploring energy healing, how she introduces it to sceptical patients, and what she means by “life force energy” as a missing ingredient when progress stalls despite good protocols.
We also go behind the scenes on the business of modern holistic healthcare: a cash-pay model, out-of-network reimbursement realities, long consults, membership-based care, virtual sessions, and the biggest bottleneck most founders hit scaling without giving up every hour. If you’re a clinician thinking about private practice, or a patient trying to make sense of conflicting advice, this conversation offers a grounded look at where functional medicine, energetic medicine, and conventional care might finally meet.
If you enjoyed the conversation, subscribe for more, share it with someone navigating chronic symptoms, and leave us a review with the part you want to hear more about.
Guest Biography
Dr Rachael Clark, MD, FMACP is a Family Medicine physician and Functional and Integrative Medicine practitioner at Village Health & Healing.
After becoming increasingly frustrated by the limitations she experienced treating chronic health problems within conventional medicine - and navigating her own journey through long COVID and burnout -Dr Clark began exploring a more holistic approach to health.
Her work now considers not only physical root causes but also mental, emotional, spiritual and energetic components of wellbeing. She combines virtual and in-person patient care through Village Health & Healing and is expanding her work to incorporate energy healing alongside her Functional Medicine approach.
Dr Clark is also developing educational programmes designed to extend her impact beyond one-to-one consultations, with future plans to create resources specifically for physicians and healthcare professionals.
- Website: https://www.villagehealthandhealing.com
- Linked In: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachael-clark-6a794133b/
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About the podcast
Voices in Health and Wellness features conversations at the intersection of medicine, lifestyle, and human potential, with clinicians, scientists, and thinkers shaping the future of care.
About Dr Andrew Greenland
UK-based medical doctor and founder of Greenland Medical, specialising in Integrative and Functional Medicine. Trained in both conventional and root-cause approaches, Andrew helps people optimise health, performance, and longevity, with a focus on cognitive resilience and healthy ageing.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Dr Andrew Greenland (00:00):
So, hello, and welcome to another episode
of Voices in Health andWellness.
I'm Dr.
Andrew Greenland, I'm yourhost, and on this podcast I
speak with clinicians, practiceowners, and healthcare leaders
about what it's really like todeliver healthcare and build a
healthcare business today.
The opportunities, thefrustrations, the operational
challenges, and moreimportantly, where healthcare is
heading next.
And today's conversation isgoing to take us into a
(00:22):
particularly interesting area.
I'm joined by Dr.
Rachael Clark, a familyphysician and functional
medicine practitioner at VillageHealth and Healing.
Rachael's clinical journey hasincreasingly led her beyond
addressing physical problemsalone.
Through her work with patients,she's become interested in why
people can sometimes do all theseemingly right things
physically and still remainstuck and whether emotional and
(00:43):
energetic aspects of healing maybe part of that missing piece.
So with that, Rachael, I'd loveto welcome you to the show.
Thank you so much for joiningus for the conversation today.
Dr Rachael Clark (00:51):
Thank you.
Thank you so much for havingme.
Dr Andrew Greenland (00:54):
Thank you.
So for somebody discovering youfor the first time, could you
take us back a little and tellus what originally led you into
medicine and family medicine inparticular?
Dr Rachael Clark (01:02):
Yeah, so I really don't know why ever since
a child I always said I wantedto be a doctor.
My neither of my parents weredoctors.
I did have an uncle that is ageneral surgeon.
But it was really high schoolthat solidified it for me.
I did a program my senior yearof high school called called
Allied Health.
(01:23):
And I was able to um I was ableto shadow doctors and in
different fields, pharmacists,pretty much.
I'm sorry if you can hear mytongue.
And it really solidified for methat, oh, this is what I
definitely want to do.
You know, we'd spend half theday with a nurse who would teach
(01:46):
us, you know, basic medical,um, you know, basic, very basic
medical knowledge.
And, you know, half the classbasically decided this is not
for me.
So they knew they didn't wantto go into undergrad, pre-med.
For me, I was just so excitedevery single day, ate it up.
So that pretty much, you know,solidified my decision to go in
(02:08):
as pre-med in undergrad.
Um, and then in medical school,I kept an open mind, you know,
I was like, I don't know what Iwant to do.
Um, you know, I figured out Ididn't want to wake up at the
crack of dawn and get to thehospital at 5, 6 a.m.
Um, I always knew I wanted afamily, so I kept that in mind
when picking my specialty.
(02:29):
And I just really likedeverything, and I really liked
the idea of having longitudinalrelationships.
So family medicine it was inthe end.
Um and and yeah, and I and Idid love it, but as we know,
there's a lot of things with themedical system that makes it
not exactly the dream we onceenvisioned.
Dr Andrew Greenland (02:51):
Thank you.
Love to hear about the journeyof inspiration.
Um, obviously, yours came froman early age.
What did you imagine that yourcareer in medicine was gonna
look like at that stage when youhad that kind of initial starry
big-eyed view of it?
Dr Rachael Clark (03:04):
Yeah, so when I was younger, I just think I,
you know, I just think I likedhelping people and the idea of
helping people.
Um, I think it probably lookedlike the person that you come
to, right, when things aren'tgoing well and when you're in,
you know, your most vulnerablestate.
And I liked the idea of A,having the knowledge of like
(03:29):
what's going on, and I wasalways fascinated with the human
body, but then B, being able tobe the person that's like, oh,
I can help you and and you know,help you through this.
Dr Andrew Greenland (03:40):
Thank you.
And obviously, there's been anevolution and a movement into
functional medicine.
I'm just really curious to knowwhat drove that move, and was
it something about theconventional medical model that
wasn't really giving youeverything you needed to help
the patients in front of you?
Was there something else?
Dr Rachael Clark (03:57):
Yeah, I'd say it was a combination of things.
So um I was definitely gettingincreasingly frustrated with um
not having answers for mypatients with chronic medical
issues, not being able toprovide them much support beyond
referring out to a specialistor prescribing a pharmaceutical
(04:17):
medication.
You know, I'd have patients infront of me who, you know, I
believed what they were saying,I knew there was something
deeper.
I was just so frustrated that Ididn't know.
And I'm like, I know there'ssomething that I didn't learn in
medical school, and especiallyafter COVID, really, um, you
know, when so many, I was seeingso many young people, even
medical residents and medstudents, you know, develop all
(04:40):
these like autoimmune typesymptoms after the COVID era.
And I'm like, what is going on?
And so it was, you know, andobviously not being satisfied
with the amount of time I wasgetting with my patients, um,
and all the all the things thatcome with working in a large
health system.
So it's a combination of that,but then I did get sick myself
(05:03):
after a COVID infection.
I would have technically hadlong COVID, and it sent me on my
own healing journey.
And I reached my breaking pointof working full-time with two
young children and um startedactually a program, like a
burnout um program before I quitmy job.
And that really started me downhealing a lot of the like
(05:26):
mental and emotional aspects ofburnout, um, really redefining,
remembering who I am as a personand not just as a physician and
a mom and a wife.
Um, and that really started,kickstarted my healing journey.
And then I eventually found umphysical root causes going on,
realized that I most likely hada reactivated Epstein Barr virus
(05:50):
infection from from COVID, um,and slowly was able to revive my
physical health.
And so somewhere along the way,I was like, oh, I can practice
medicine like this.
Like exactly kind of it doesn'thave to be in the order that my
healing journey happened.
Um, but I for a while after Iquit conventional medicine was
(06:12):
like, I'm never going to be adoctor again, because that's the
only way I knew, you know,that's that's all I knew.
And then it dawned on methere's a different way.
Like I don't have to, you know,I I went down this um pathway
and had this journey for areason.
Um, and you know, it allhappened how it was supposed to.
Dr Andrew Greenland (06:37):
And how have you used that um personal
healing journey, that personalum health experience to shape
what you do with the clientsthat you now see in 2026?
Dr Rachael Clark (06:48):
Yeah, so I make sure to address all aspects
of health.
So now I have my own practicecalled Village Health and
Healing.
Um I did functional, I did mytraining in functional medicine.
So I technically call itfunctional integrative medicine.
Um, I'd say I have trouble likesaying exactly what type of
(07:09):
medicine it is.
It's really just like holisticcare.
Um, and I really, you know,make sure to address not just
the physical root causes, butwhat are the mental health
pieces, what are the emotionalhealth, what are the spiritual
health pieces, and um, you know,basically the energetic
component, not just the physicalroot causes.
And um it's tricky.
(07:32):
It's it's I'm realizing that umI can't do it alone, basically.
And I'm I have a big vision forthe future, and I'm my practice
is called village health andhealing because I truly believe
it takes a village.
Like I don't have to be theone, right, that does all the
(07:54):
the energy healing and the youknow the mental health coaching
and the you know emotionalhealing.
Um that's kind of where I'm atright now.
Dr Andrew Greenland (08:05):
Really interesting.
So if a regular inverted comasfunctional medicine practitioner
was sitting in the corner ofyour room, what would they see
differently to perhaps what theydo in you know, for very, very
straightforward by the bookfunctional medicine?
How does your practice lookdifferent?
Dr Rachael Clark (08:21):
Yeah, I'd say um, well, the most different I'd
say is, you know, in the middleof the session, I might say,
hey, I think you might benefitfrom some energy healing.
Would you like to get on thetable?
Um, and that can be reallypowerful.
I'm I'm currently gettingcertified in the process of
(08:42):
being certified as an energyhealer, already completed some
courses, but kind of going on.
And um, other than that, justreally taking the time to talk
about okay, this is all stemmingfrom your gut, right?
Like, we know there's bacterialimbalances, there might be a
slow motility problem, we knowthis, we know that.
(09:05):
But where are you giving awayyour power in your life?
Where are you not standing inyour power?
Because your gut is your powercenter, and so like it's
bringing in the energycomponent, not just lay on the
table and I'm gonna clear allthat energy.
It's like a lot of the healingpart is bringing things to
(09:27):
awareness.
Dr Andrew Greenland (09:29):
Thank you.
And how do you introducesomething like this to patients
who may have originally come toyou expecting more of a
conventional function functionalmedicine approach, but clearly
you have more to offer on yourmenu?
How do you introduce them tothat?
Dr Rachael Clark (09:41):
Yeah, so I say, you know, like I explain
really what energy is, becauseyou know, most of us know just
the term energy and like, oh, Ihave lots of energy or I don't
have energy today.
But I explain that like everycell in our body needs a steady
flow of life force energy to itas just as much as it needs the
(10:05):
nutrients and just as much as itneeds oxygen from the air we
breathe.
And without that steady energyflow, it could there can be too
much or too little to an area ofour body.
And I explain how thatliterally plays into our
physical health and our physicalhealing.
And then I talk about how wecan do all the things right uh
(10:26):
for physical root-cause healing,and we might still hit walls
and still get stuck.
And so I explain kind of myjourney and what I've seen with
patients so far, and and mostpeople are very open to that
concept.
Dr Andrew Greenland (10:39):
And do you I mean I was gonna say, do you
think they're more receptive toexploring something new with you
because you have the kind ofthe functional medicine
background rather than themgoing to see somebody different?
Do you think you have that umadditional credibility for doing
this kind of work on top offunctional medicine?
Dr Rachael Clark (10:54):
Yes.
And I think that it's also nicesometimes for people not to
have to jump around frompractitioner to practitioner and
get really comfortable withsomeone else.
Like I have a patient who I'vebeen seeing, I had been seeing
for at least six months, and wehad talked about energy healing
for a few times, and it wasn'tuntil really six months in that
(11:16):
we did an energy healing sessionon her as well.
And you know, we had developedthat relationship, she trusted
me.
And since I also kind of, youknow, have been able to piece
together what's going on on aphysical level in her body and
energetic when I feel like theenergy healing session was that
much more potent and powerfuljust from knowing her so well
(11:40):
instead of having just you knowsomeone walk in for you know the
first session.
Dr Andrew Greenland (11:46):
Thank you.
So moving from the kind ofphilosophy of medicine into the
reality of the practice, couldyou maybe paint us a picture of
village health and healing as itexists today?
And what does the practice looklike and what does a typical
day look like for you now?
Dr Rachael Clark (11:58):
Yeah, so um village health and healing, it's
I'm the only um practitioner,um, provider, physician in in
the practice.
Um, I see patients virtuallyand in person.
Um, I'd say maybe of I do maybelike 60 to 70 percent virtually
in the rest in the office.
Um I structure my my week, myweekly schedule, like I do like
(12:23):
alternate days.
I work from home when I do thevirtual sessions or I go into
the office uh for the othersessions.
Um when before patients see mefor the first time, they you
know complete a very detailedintake questionnaire.
They they they you know tell meall of their past medical
history, what their top healthconcerns are now.
And then the first session, wekind of dive in deeper, talk a
(12:46):
little bit about you know whattheir their top concerns are and
dive more into that history.
And then we talk about you knowwhat the root, what I think
could be the root causes are,maybe some testing we're going
to pursue, either blood work orsome of the functional medicine
tests, how to get started, youknow, with diet, um diet
recommendations, supplements,and any lifestyle
(13:07):
recommendations or any otheradditional practitioners I'd
recommend in the community.
Um, and I see patients eitherfor six-month um six-month
memberships or yearlymemberships.
And so it's pretty regularfollow-up every month or two.
Um and then I also offerone-time kind of like wellness
visits as well.
(13:28):
So some people like doing thosetoo.
Dr Andrew Greenland (13:31):
And does I mean, excuse my ignorance
because I don't know a hugeamount about energy energy
healing, and that's why I've gotyou on the show to talk about
it.
How does that work remotely?
I mean, does it work remotely,or is that something you have to
do in your in-office uh visits?
Dr Rachael Clark (13:43):
Yeah, so I was actually shocked too.
So I didn't know energy, I wasalways skeptical of energy
healing remotely.
Um, but I actually have learnedto do both, both in person and
virtually, and can actuallysometimes focus more when I'm
remote and kind of in my littlesafe space.
(14:04):
And it's it's actually verypotent still.
Um, it is it is remarkable.
Dr Andrew Greenland (14:13):
And I guess you have to look after your own
energy when you're helpingpatients with theirs.
How do you look after yourselfin the roles that you have?
Dr Rachael Clark (14:21):
So that's a great question.
So part of my burnout wasbecause I'm such a uh sensitive,
I'm very sensitive to others'energies.
And my whole life I had neverlearned how to protect my own
energy.
I was basically just an openfield.
So, you know, I was literallytaking on the energy of all my
patients, back to back to backto back to back all day long.
(14:41):
I had nothing left to give whenI got home at night for my
children.
So um the part of the energyhealing course I took, the very
first one, he really dives deepinto how to protect your own
energy field.
And so now I do it on a daily,you know, it's a daily practice
for me.
Every single morning I do it inbetween clients and patients.
(15:05):
Um, I, you know, you also learnhow to protect their energy
field as you're you're doing theenergy healing.
Um, so now I don't feel, I'mnot, you know, I don't live in
fear at all about like my energyum kind of being affected.
Dr Andrew Greenland (15:22):
Very good.
So obviously you've built avery successful practice and
you've been telling us about itas we've been talking.
What are you most proud of inthe practice from a business
point of view?
What are you uh what'sparticularly successful in in
your opinion?
Dr Rachael Clark (15:36):
Hmm.
So from a business point ofview, um I think I'm just most
proud that like my let my teamand I have a business partner, I
have a um health coach, um, Ihave someone that does our
marketing, and I have a nursethat helps us with client or
(15:57):
patient relations.
I'm most uh proud of us justdoing it, like building it from
nothing, building it fromscratch.
It was such an amazing learningexperience.
Like none of us had started abusiness before, and we were
like, yeah, let's do it.
And um, and and we did it.
And so that's what I'm mostproud of.
(16:18):
And you know, slowly buildingon on everything.
And um, you know, we all bringdifferent skills to the table.
So I think we are a very goodteam of like, you know, hearing
each other and being able to umbe honest with each other.
Um, there's not a lot of likefeeling like you can't bring up
(16:40):
how you really feel, um, youknow, and so I think that's part
of what makes a businesssuccessful is just like being
open to new ideas and growth andbeing able to like, you know,
truly work together.
Dr Andrew Greenland (16:53):
Well, congratulations on what you've
built.
And on the other side of thecoin, what are the the
challenges that you're currentlyhaving to overcome in the
practice that are perhaps thingsthat you would regard as
bottlenecks?
Because I guess everything isnot always plain sailing.
I just wonder what the kind ofthings are that uh keep you up
at night at the moment or thingsthat you're having to work
through.
Dr Rachael Clark (17:11):
Yeah, I'd say the bit biggest bottleneck is
really how to expand and growwithout trading more hours, like
more of your time.
Like, since I'm the onlyphysician and you know, the the
appointments are long, likethey're all at least one hour
long.
And then the protocolsafterwards take, you know, take
time.
(17:31):
And I am answering patientmessages, they have access to
message direct message me at anypoint.
Um, I think it's reallyfiguring out like, okay, how can
I help more people, but withouttrading, you know, my my time
uh one-on-one.
You know, how can we expand?
How can we grow?
Um, I definitely I already havedone one online course that was
(17:54):
live.
I have plans to record coursesand to try to reach more people
and across state lines andmaking it more educational and
you know, have live coachingwith those courses, but you
know, it's not necessarily alllive sessions from me.
Some is pre-recorded and somewill be live.
Um, so I guess that's thebiggest bottleneck is like how
(18:18):
to how to expand and growwithout more hours.
Dr Andrew Greenland (18:22):
Got it.
And I guess as the CEO founder,clinic owner, um, you wear all
the hats all the time, uh,pretty much.
What's what do you would yousay is the biggest time drain
from you that takes you awayfrom the things that you really
find meaningful in the work thatyou do?
Dr Rachael Clark (18:36):
Hmm, the biggest biggest time drain.
So I think it's just the thetechnical aspect of keeping up
with the clinical likeprotocols.
Like I know in my mind um whatthe protocol is and what I want
it to be, but I just um like thetechnical aspect of creating it
and getting it out and andthings like that.
(18:58):
So um as far as the businessside, my business partner is
great.
She she's like she's like thebusiness part most for the most
part.
And then I get to mostly focuson clinical and you know, like
ideas, and then we so we workreally well together in that
(19:18):
way.
Dr Andrew Greenland (19:20):
Thank you.
And what's been the biggest umlesson you've learned about
being a business owner that youdidn't really ever learn as a
physician?
Dr Rachael Clark (19:30):
I think just like how much really how much
money everything costs to likerun on the back end and like to
keep things going and to likeyou know, pay employees.
And um, it's you know, you haveto I think I was shocked of
like how much you truly have toinvest in the beginning and then
(19:52):
how long it takes to like youknow see that turnover of like
okay, getting past theinvestment phase and like, oh,
some money's coming in, and youknow, um, so I'd say that was a
big shock of like the theinitial investment.
Dr Andrew Greenland (20:07):
I guess you're operating outside the
traditional insurance model.
Is that you the model that youpractice?
Dr Rachael Clark (20:12):
Yes.
So we are cash pay.
The um I are my patients cansubmit the you know insurance
claim to get reimbursedafterwards.
Um, and it really depends ontheir plan whether they are
getting reimbursed, but it's outof network coverage.
So um not everybody is gettingreimbursed, unfortunately.
So I, you know, I'm reallyhopeful that eventually our
(20:36):
healthcare system will catch upand you know start actually
paying for this kind of carebecause this is true
preventative care.
Dr Andrew Greenland (20:45):
But just coming from family medicine,
you've had to kind of switchyour model.
And I just wonder how that'ssort of shaped the way that
you've built your practice frommoving from one model to
another.
Dr Rachael Clark (20:55):
Yeah, so so in what way, like in how I treat
preventative.
Dr Andrew Greenland (20:59):
Well, I was thinking for you, you've come
from family medicine, presumablythat was an insurance-based
model, you've gone intofunctional medicine, and I just
wondered how you've structuredyou and built your practice
around that shift in mindsetabout the two different models
that you've had to navigatethrough during earlier work and
your current practice.
Dr Rachael Clark (21:17):
Yeah, it was really hard at first because you
know, I went from seeingpatients that mostly always had
insurance, or if they didn't, Iworked for a long time at a
federally qualified healthcenter where you know there was
a sliding scale fee.
So it was a very small fee toum to see the the doctor.
Um and then when and and youknow, not having to worry about
(21:41):
who showed up or who didn't, youknow, I was getting paid my
salary from the healthcaresystem.
It was and and just seeingpatients all day.
Whereas, you know, switching tolike, you know, it it uh almost
like more of like sales, youknow, it was it was totally new.
Um, and I really didn't like itfor.
And then then I, you know,learned how much it it costs,
(22:03):
like I said, to actually run abusiness and a good one.
And that took a while for me tolike even be able to uh
determine my worth of like evenhow much I charge for the visit.
So that that took a lot of likemindset uh work around that.
Um and then I'd say it's justtough because I know that this
(22:26):
kind of care is really importantand it's what people need, and
our healthcare systems justlagging behind in like what
they're covering.
And so even though I'm nothappy with how much it costs and
how it's not accessible toeveryone, I feel like this is
just a necessary bridge of likewhat I need to do right now.
(22:47):
Um, and eventually I do thinkthe systems will merge um as far
as access.
Dr Andrew Greenland (22:56):
Yes, I hope so too.
It's a very different model inthe UK, so functional medicine
is purely private.
Um, but we you know we have ahealthcare system which is
covered, but functional medicineis completely private.
There's no nothing gets umcovered by our health service
for functional medicine, whichis a chain.
So in 2026, what are your umwhat are you seeing in terms of
(23:18):
client expectations from whatclients are expecting from
healthcare in 2026?
Dr Rachael Clark (23:24):
Um you mean from village health and healing
in particular?
Dr Andrew Greenland (23:27):
Yeah, the clients you see.
I mean, you must get some somesense of um shift in
expectations over time.
I just wondered if you'd seenany particular trends in the
last year in terms of whatpeople are expecting from
healthcare.
Dr Rachael Clark (23:39):
Yeah, so so sorry, I still don't totally
understand like healthcare, likein our in my co in the United
States.
Dr Andrew Greenland (23:47):
United States, functional medicine,
energy healing, your practicespecifically, whichever one you
want to take.
I don't know.
Dr Rachael Clark (23:55):
Yeah, I mean, I think so.
What I hear so many of mypatients say is just like there
needs to be a merging and a conlike a so basically what they're
doing right now is they'regoing to conventional doctors,
hearing one thing, not hearinglike anything about what I talk
about with root cause healingand supplements and herbs.
And then, you know, even thespecialists, right?
(24:17):
They're like going to, forexample, their endocrinologists
and being told your thyroiddisease is you just have to take
this medication the rest ofyour life, right?
And then they're coming back tome and I'm saying, no, we can
heal this.
We, it's, you know, it could bethis chronic viral infection,
and we're going to reverse itand we're going to get you off
your meds.
And they're just like, I'm soconfused.
(24:39):
They're like, how can there beall these doctors?
And I'm getting such differentopinions, and they just really
want to see emerging.
And um, you know, more and morepeople are waking up and
realizing that this holistichealing is really important.
And um there's even um energyhealers now doing, I don't know
if you've heard they're doing uhresearch on um like for cancer
(25:03):
treatment.
It's right now just in likepetri dishes, but they'll have
the cancer cells and they'rethey're bringing in energy
healers.
Um and they're realizing like,oh wow, like energy healing is
stopping the cancer fromspreading.
And you know, so there is likeactually larger scale research
(25:24):
going on on energy healing.
So I just feel like this is areally exciting time.
I think we're still in youknow, very early stages of this
type of healing, not just beingthe weird woo-woo like
alternative stuff, and likebringing it into you know,
actual, you know, medicalpractice and merging the worlds.
(25:46):
So that's what I'm seeing mypatients want the most is just
like doctors kind of all gettingon the same page in a way.
Dr Andrew Greenland (25:56):
For sure.
Um, there'll probably be lotsof other practitioners listening
and they're thinking, I'd haveto go and build my own practice.
What would you want them tounderstand before they take that
leap?
Dr Rachael Clark (26:09):
I I would say you you can't do it alone.
Um, unless you want to.
But you know, I'd say the bestadvice I can give is surround
yourself with people that don'thave the skills that you have
andor the skills that you don'twant to do, and that drains your
energy because you want to saveyour energy for what you're
(26:30):
good at and what you will beable to really bring to the
table for your patients and yourcommunity.
And it's okay to invest inthose things, you know, and and
it'll all pay out on the backend because you'll move forward
quicker and you won't get burntout.
Dr Andrew Greenland (26:49):
Magic wand.
I'm gonna give you a magicwand.
If there's anything you couldfix with a magic wand in the
practice, the business, whatwould that be, if anything?
Dr Rachael Clark (26:57):
Magic wand.
I would have someone followingme or have a system that as soon
as the visit were was done andI like knew what the protocol
and all the afterwork would issupposed to be, I would wave my
wand after every visit and itwould automatically be sent to
(27:19):
the patient.
Yeah.
Dr Andrew Greenland (27:21):
And if you were gonna start again tomorrow
and do it all again, um, wouldyou do anything differently?
Dr Rachael Clark (27:29):
Did I do anything differently?
No.
I think it was all how it wassupposed to be.
And it was, you know, everypart of it was a great learning
experience.
And it's only been two years,honestly, um, since my practice
launched, and um I feel likewe've come so far and you know,
(27:53):
already planning the next phase.
So I just think that uh eachstep is you know necessary for
the learning.
Dr Andrew Greenland (28:02):
Great answer.
And where where are you headedin the future?
Where would you like to be inthe next 12 months or so with
village health and healing?
Any ambitions or ideas?
Dr Rachael Clark (28:13):
Yes, um, I definitely within the next 12
months would like to have mycourse developed, my first one
at least.
Um I um eventually also want toum make a course for physicians
and um healthcare workers.
Um because I truly think weneed to heal the healers because
(28:40):
we're the ones, you know,reaching the most people.
And so many of us are woundedhealers.
Um, so I think it's importantto I I hope that a course like
this would, you know, eventuallybe in medical schools because
um, you know, we all carrywounds and then you know,
(29:01):
different parts of our life openthem and then you know,
different aspects of working inthe healthcare system.
So that's pretty much the next12 months I'd like to really
figure out the courses and umfor village health and healing,
um, just continuing to grow,probably really start to bring
in the energy healing um morefrequently in my patient visits.
Dr Andrew Greenland (29:25):
Lovely.
And with that, Rachael, I'dlove to thank you so much for
joining us today.
It's been a really interestingconversation hearing about your
approach, how you've managed toweave in energetic medicine to
functional medicine to give thatreally holistic approach to
your patients.
So, thank you for sharing that.
Also, thank you for sharing thebehind the scenes stuff of
actually growing and growing anew clinic and a new idea from
(29:45):
the ground up.
It's been really enlightening.
So, thank you very much.
Dr Rachael Clark (29:49):
Of course, I really enjoyed our conversation.
Thank you for having me.
So, hello, and welcome to another episode
of Voices in Health andWellness.
I'm Dr.
Andrew Greenland, I'm yourhost, and on this podcast I
speak with clinicians, practiceowners, and healthcare leaders
about what it's really like todeliver healthcare and build a
healthcare business today.
The opportunities, thefrustrations, the operational
challenges, and moreimportantly, where healthcare is
heading next.
And today's conversation isgoing to take us into a
(00:22):
particularly interesting area.
I'm joined by Dr.
Rachael Clark, a familyphysician and functional
medicine practitioner at VillageHealth and Healing.
Rachael's clinical journey hasincreasingly led her beyond
addressing physical problemsalone.
Through her work with patients,she's become interested in why
people can sometimes do all theseemingly right things
physically and still remainstuck and whether emotional and
(00:43):
energetic aspects of healing maybe part of that missing piece.
So with that, Rachael, I'd loveto welcome you to the show.
Thank you so much for joiningus for the conversation today.
Dr Rachael Clark (00:51):
Thank you.
Thank you so much for havingme.
Dr Andrew Greenland (00:54):
Thank you.
So for somebody discovering youfor the first time, could you
take us back a little and tellus what originally led you into
medicine and family medicine inparticular?
Dr Rachael Clark (01:02):
Yeah, so I really don't know why ever since
a child I always said I wantedto be a doctor.
My neither of my parents weredoctors.
I did have an uncle that is ageneral surgeon.
But it was really high schoolthat solidified it for me.
I did a program my senior yearof high school called called
Allied Health.
(01:23):
And I was able to um I was ableto shadow doctors and in
different fields, pharmacists,pretty much.
I'm sorry if you can hear mytongue.
And it really solidified for methat, oh, this is what I
definitely want to do.
You know, we'd spend half theday with a nurse who would teach
(01:46):
us, you know, basic medical,um, you know, basic, very basic
medical knowledge.
And, you know, half the classbasically decided this is not
for me.
So they knew they didn't wantto go into undergrad, pre-med.
For me, I was just so excitedevery single day, ate it up.
So that pretty much, you know,solidified my decision to go in
(02:08):
as pre-med in undergrad.
Um, and then in medical school,I kept an open mind, you know,
I was like, I don't know what Iwant to do.
Um, you know, I figured out Ididn't want to wake up at the
crack of dawn and get to thehospital at 5, 6 a.m.
Um, I always knew I wanted afamily, so I kept that in mind
when picking my specialty.
(02:29):
And I just really likedeverything, and I really liked
the idea of having longitudinalrelationships.
So family medicine it was inthe end.
Um and and yeah, and I and Idid love it, but as we know,
there's a lot of things with themedical system that makes it
not exactly the dream we onceenvisioned.
Dr Andrew Greenland (02:51):
Thank you.
Love to hear about the journeyof inspiration.
Um, obviously, yours came froman early age.
What did you imagine that yourcareer in medicine was gonna
look like at that stage when youhad that kind of initial starry
big-eyed view of it?
Dr Rachael Clark (03:04):
Yeah, so when I was younger, I just think I,
you know, I just think I likedhelping people and the idea of
helping people.
Um, I think it probably lookedlike the person that you come
to, right, when things aren'tgoing well and when you're in,
you know, your most vulnerablestate.
And I liked the idea of A,having the knowledge of like
(03:29):
what's going on, and I wasalways fascinated with the human
body, but then B, being able tobe the person that's like, oh,
I can help you and and you know,help you through this.
Dr Andrew Greenland (03:40):
Thank you.
And obviously, there's been anevolution and a movement into
functional medicine.
I'm just really curious to knowwhat drove that move, and was
it something about theconventional medical model that
wasn't really giving youeverything you needed to help
the patients in front of you?
Was there something else?
Dr Rachael Clark (03:57):
Yeah, I'd say it was a combination of things.
So um I was definitely gettingincreasingly frustrated with um
not having answers for mypatients with chronic medical
issues, not being able toprovide them much support beyond
referring out to a specialistor prescribing a pharmaceutical
(04:17):
medication.
You know, I'd have patients infront of me who, you know, I
believed what they were saying,I knew there was something
deeper.
I was just so frustrated that Ididn't know.
And I'm like, I know there'ssomething that I didn't learn in
medical school, and especiallyafter COVID, really, um, you
know, when so many, I was seeingso many young people, even
medical residents and medstudents, you know, develop all
(04:40):
these like autoimmune typesymptoms after the COVID era.
And I'm like, what is going on?
And so it was, you know, andobviously not being satisfied
with the amount of time I wasgetting with my patients, um,
and all the all the things thatcome with working in a large
health system.
So it's a combination of that,but then I did get sick myself
(05:03):
after a COVID infection.
I would have technically hadlong COVID, and it sent me on my
own healing journey.
And I reached my breaking pointof working full-time with two
young children and um startedactually a program, like a
burnout um program before I quitmy job.
And that really started me downhealing a lot of the like
(05:26):
mental and emotional aspects ofburnout, um, really redefining,
remembering who I am as a personand not just as a physician and
a mom and a wife.
Um, and that really started,kickstarted my healing journey.
And then I eventually found umphysical root causes going on,
realized that I most likely hada reactivated Epstein Barr virus
(05:50):
infection from from COVID, um,and slowly was able to revive my
physical health.
And so somewhere along the way,I was like, oh, I can practice
medicine like this.
Like exactly kind of it doesn'thave to be in the order that my
healing journey happened.
Um, but I for a while after Iquit conventional medicine was
(06:12):
like, I'm never going to be adoctor again, because that's the
only way I knew, you know,that's that's all I knew.
And then it dawned on methere's a different way.
Like I don't have to, you know,I I went down this um pathway
and had this journey for areason.
Um, and you know, it allhappened how it was supposed to.
Dr Andrew Greenland (06:37):
And how have you used that um personal
healing journey, that personalum health experience to shape
what you do with the clientsthat you now see in 2026?
Dr Rachael Clark (06:48):
Yeah, so I make sure to address all aspects
of health.
So now I have my own practicecalled Village Health and
Healing.
Um I did functional, I did mytraining in functional medicine.
So I technically call itfunctional integrative medicine.
Um, I'd say I have trouble likesaying exactly what type of
(07:09):
medicine it is.
It's really just like holisticcare.
Um, and I really, you know,make sure to address not just
the physical root causes, butwhat are the mental health
pieces, what are the emotionalhealth, what are the spiritual
health pieces, and um, you know,basically the energetic
component, not just the physicalroot causes.
And um it's tricky.
(07:32):
It's it's I'm realizing that umI can't do it alone, basically.
And I'm I have a big vision forthe future, and I'm my practice
is called village health andhealing because I truly believe
it takes a village.
Like I don't have to be theone, right, that does all the
(07:54):
the energy healing and the youknow the mental health coaching
and the you know emotionalhealing.
Um that's kind of where I'm atright now.
Dr Andrew Greenland (08:05):
Really interesting.
So if a regular inverted comasfunctional medicine practitioner
was sitting in the corner ofyour room, what would they see
differently to perhaps what theydo in you know, for very, very
straightforward by the bookfunctional medicine?
How does your practice lookdifferent?
Dr Rachael Clark (08:21):
Yeah, I'd say um, well, the most different I'd
say is, you know, in the middleof the session, I might say,
hey, I think you might benefitfrom some energy healing.
Would you like to get on thetable?
Um, and that can be reallypowerful.
I'm I'm currently gettingcertified in the process of
(08:42):
being certified as an energyhealer, already completed some
courses, but kind of going on.
And um, other than that, justreally taking the time to talk
about okay, this is all stemmingfrom your gut, right?
Like, we know there's bacterialimbalances, there might be a
slow motility problem, we knowthis, we know that.
(09:05):
But where are you giving awayyour power in your life?
Where are you not standing inyour power?
Because your gut is your powercenter, and so like it's
bringing in the energycomponent, not just lay on the
table and I'm gonna clear allthat energy.
It's like a lot of the healingpart is bringing things to
(09:27):
awareness.
Dr Andrew Greenland (09:29):
Thank you.
And how do you introducesomething like this to patients
who may have originally come toyou expecting more of a
conventional function functionalmedicine approach, but clearly
you have more to offer on yourmenu?
How do you introduce them tothat?
Dr Rachael Clark (09:41):
Yeah, so I say, you know, like I explain
really what energy is, becauseyou know, most of us know just
the term energy and like, oh, Ihave lots of energy or I don't
have energy today.
But I explain that like everycell in our body needs a steady
flow of life force energy to itas just as much as it needs the
(10:05):
nutrients and just as much as itneeds oxygen from the air we
breathe.
And without that steady energyflow, it could there can be too
much or too little to an area ofour body.
And I explain how thatliterally plays into our
physical health and our physicalhealing.
And then I talk about how wecan do all the things right uh
(10:26):
for physical root-cause healing,and we might still hit walls
and still get stuck.
And so I explain kind of myjourney and what I've seen with
patients so far, and and mostpeople are very open to that
concept.
Dr Andrew Greenland (10:39):
And do you I mean I was gonna say, do you
think they're more receptive toexploring something new with you
because you have the kind ofthe functional medicine
background rather than themgoing to see somebody different?
Do you think you have that umadditional credibility for doing
this kind of work on top offunctional medicine?
Dr Rachael Clark (10:54):
Yes.
And I think that it's also nicesometimes for people not to
have to jump around frompractitioner to practitioner and
get really comfortable withsomeone else.
Like I have a patient who I'vebeen seeing, I had been seeing
for at least six months, and wehad talked about energy healing
for a few times, and it wasn'tuntil really six months in that
(11:16):
we did an energy healing sessionon her as well.
And you know, we had developedthat relationship, she trusted
me.
And since I also kind of, youknow, have been able to piece
together what's going on on aphysical level in her body and
energetic when I feel like theenergy healing session was that
much more potent and powerfuljust from knowing her so well
(11:40):
instead of having just you knowsomeone walk in for you know the
first session.
Dr Andrew Greenland (11:46):
Thank you.
So moving from the kind ofphilosophy of medicine into the
reality of the practice, couldyou maybe paint us a picture of
village health and healing as itexists today?
And what does the practice looklike and what does a typical
day look like for you now?
Dr Rachael Clark (11:58):
Yeah, so um village health and healing, it's
I'm the only um practitioner,um, provider, physician in in
the practice.
Um, I see patients virtuallyand in person.
Um, I'd say maybe of I do maybelike 60 to 70 percent virtually
in the rest in the office.
Um I structure my my week, myweekly schedule, like I do like
(12:23):
alternate days.
I work from home when I do thevirtual sessions or I go into
the office uh for the othersessions.
Um when before patients see mefor the first time, they you
know complete a very detailedintake questionnaire.
They they they you know tell meall of their past medical
history, what their top healthconcerns are now.
And then the first session, wekind of dive in deeper, talk a
(12:46):
little bit about you know whattheir their top concerns are and
dive more into that history.
And then we talk about you knowwhat the root, what I think
could be the root causes are,maybe some testing we're going
to pursue, either blood work orsome of the functional medicine
tests, how to get started, youknow, with diet, um diet
recommendations, supplements,and any lifestyle
(13:07):
recommendations or any otheradditional practitioners I'd
recommend in the community.
Um, and I see patients eitherfor six-month um six-month
memberships or yearlymemberships.
And so it's pretty regularfollow-up every month or two.
Um and then I also offerone-time kind of like wellness
visits as well.
(13:28):
So some people like doing thosetoo.
Dr Andrew Greenland (13:31):
And does I mean, excuse my ignorance
because I don't know a hugeamount about energy energy
healing, and that's why I've gotyou on the show to talk about
it.
How does that work remotely?
I mean, does it work remotely,or is that something you have to
do in your in-office uh visits?
Dr Rachael Clark (13:43):
Yeah, so I was actually shocked too.
So I didn't know energy, I wasalways skeptical of energy
healing remotely.
Um, but I actually have learnedto do both, both in person and
virtually, and can actuallysometimes focus more when I'm
remote and kind of in my littlesafe space.
(14:04):
And it's it's actually verypotent still.
Um, it is it is remarkable.
Dr Andrew Greenland (14:13):
And I guess you have to look after your own
energy when you're helpingpatients with theirs.
How do you look after yourselfin the roles that you have?
Dr Rachael Clark (14:21):
So that's a great question.
So part of my burnout wasbecause I'm such a uh sensitive,
I'm very sensitive to others'energies.
And my whole life I had neverlearned how to protect my own
energy.
I was basically just an openfield.
So, you know, I was literallytaking on the energy of all my
patients, back to back to backto back to back all day long.
(14:41):
I had nothing left to give whenI got home at night for my
children.
So um the part of the energyhealing course I took, the very
first one, he really dives deepinto how to protect your own
energy field.
And so now I do it on a daily,you know, it's a daily practice
for me.
Every single morning I do it inbetween clients and patients.
(15:05):
Um, I, you know, you also learnhow to protect their energy
field as you're you're doing theenergy healing.
Um, so now I don't feel, I'mnot, you know, I don't live in
fear at all about like my energyum kind of being affected.
Dr Andrew Greenland (15:22):
Very good.
So obviously you've built avery successful practice and
you've been telling us about itas we've been talking.
What are you most proud of inthe practice from a business
point of view?
What are you uh what'sparticularly successful in in
your opinion?
Dr Rachael Clark (15:36):
Hmm.
So from a business point ofview, um I think I'm just most
proud that like my let my teamand I have a business partner, I
have a um health coach, um, Ihave someone that does our
marketing, and I have a nursethat helps us with client or
(15:57):
patient relations.
I'm most uh proud of us justdoing it, like building it from
nothing, building it fromscratch.
It was such an amazing learningexperience.
Like none of us had started abusiness before, and we were
like, yeah, let's do it.
And um, and and we did it.
And so that's what I'm mostproud of.
(16:18):
And you know, slowly buildingon on everything.
And um, you know, we all bringdifferent skills to the table.
So I think we are a very goodteam of like, you know, hearing
each other and being able to umbe honest with each other.
Um, there's not a lot of likefeeling like you can't bring up
(16:40):
how you really feel, um, youknow, and so I think that's part
of what makes a businesssuccessful is just like being
open to new ideas and growth andbeing able to like, you know,
truly work together.
Dr Andrew Greenland (16:53):
Well, congratulations on what you've
built.
And on the other side of thecoin, what are the the
challenges that you're currentlyhaving to overcome in the
practice that are perhaps thingsthat you would regard as
bottlenecks?
Because I guess everything isnot always plain sailing.
I just wonder what the kind ofthings are that uh keep you up
at night at the moment or thingsthat you're having to work
through.
Dr Rachael Clark (17:11):
Yeah, I'd say the bit biggest bottleneck is
really how to expand and growwithout trading more hours, like
more of your time.
Like, since I'm the onlyphysician and you know, the the
appointments are long, likethey're all at least one hour
long.
And then the protocolsafterwards take, you know, take
time.
(17:31):
And I am answering patientmessages, they have access to
message direct message me at anypoint.
Um, I think it's reallyfiguring out like, okay, how can
I help more people, but withouttrading, you know, my my time
uh one-on-one.
You know, how can we expand?
How can we grow?
Um, I definitely I already havedone one online course that was
(17:54):
live.
I have plans to record coursesand to try to reach more people
and across state lines andmaking it more educational and
you know, have live coachingwith those courses, but you
know, it's not necessarily alllive sessions from me.
Some is pre-recorded and somewill be live.
Um, so I guess that's thebiggest bottleneck is like how
(18:18):
to how to expand and growwithout more hours.
Dr Andrew Greenland (18:22):
Got it.
And I guess as the CEO founder,clinic owner, um, you wear all
the hats all the time, uh,pretty much.
What's what do you would yousay is the biggest time drain
from you that takes you awayfrom the things that you really
find meaningful in the work thatyou do?
Dr Rachael Clark (18:36):
Hmm, the biggest biggest time drain.
So I think it's just the thetechnical aspect of keeping up
with the clinical likeprotocols.
Like I know in my mind um whatthe protocol is and what I want
it to be, but I just um like thetechnical aspect of creating it
and getting it out and andthings like that.
(18:58):
So um as far as the businessside, my business partner is
great.
She she's like she's like thebusiness part most for the most
part.
And then I get to mostly focuson clinical and you know, like
ideas, and then we so we workreally well together in that
(19:18):
way.
Dr Andrew Greenland (19:20):
Thank you.
And what's been the biggest umlesson you've learned about
being a business owner that youdidn't really ever learn as a
physician?
Dr Rachael Clark (19:30):
I think just like how much really how much
money everything costs to likerun on the back end and like to
keep things going and to likeyou know, pay employees.
And um, it's you know, you haveto I think I was shocked of
like how much you truly have toinvest in the beginning and then
(19:52):
how long it takes to like youknow see that turnover of like
okay, getting past theinvestment phase and like, oh,
some money's coming in, and youknow, um, so I'd say that was a
big shock of like the theinitial investment.
Dr Andrew Greenland (20:07):
I guess you're operating outside the
traditional insurance model.
Is that you the model that youpractice?
Dr Rachael Clark (20:12):
Yes.
So we are cash pay.
The um I are my patients cansubmit the you know insurance
claim to get reimbursedafterwards.
Um, and it really depends ontheir plan whether they are
getting reimbursed, but it's outof network coverage.
So um not everybody is gettingreimbursed, unfortunately.
So I, you know, I'm reallyhopeful that eventually our
(20:36):
healthcare system will catch upand you know start actually
paying for this kind of carebecause this is true
preventative care.
Dr Andrew Greenland (20:45):
But just coming from family medicine,
you've had to kind of switchyour model.
And I just wonder how that'ssort of shaped the way that
you've built your practice frommoving from one model to
another.
Dr Rachael Clark (20:55):
Yeah, so so in what way, like in how I treat
preventative.
Dr Andrew Greenland (20:59):
Well, I was thinking for you, you've come
from family medicine, presumablythat was an insurance-based
model, you've gone intofunctional medicine, and I just
wondered how you've structuredyou and built your practice
around that shift in mindsetabout the two different models
that you've had to navigatethrough during earlier work and
your current practice.
Dr Rachael Clark (21:17):
Yeah, it was really hard at first because you
know, I went from seeingpatients that mostly always had
insurance, or if they didn't, Iworked for a long time at a
federally qualified healthcenter where you know there was
a sliding scale fee.
So it was a very small fee toum to see the the doctor.
Um and then when and and youknow, not having to worry about
(21:41):
who showed up or who didn't, youknow, I was getting paid my
salary from the healthcaresystem.
It was and and just seeingpatients all day.
Whereas, you know, switching tolike, you know, it it uh almost
like more of like sales, youknow, it was it was totally new.
Um, and I really didn't like itfor.
And then then I, you know,learned how much it it costs,
(22:03):
like I said, to actually run abusiness and a good one.
And that took a while for me tolike even be able to uh
determine my worth of like evenhow much I charge for the visit.
So that that took a lot of likemindset uh work around that.
Um and then I'd say it's justtough because I know that this
(22:26):
kind of care is really importantand it's what people need, and
our healthcare systems justlagging behind in like what
they're covering.
And so even though I'm nothappy with how much it costs and
how it's not accessible toeveryone, I feel like this is
just a necessary bridge of likewhat I need to do right now.
(22:47):
Um, and eventually I do thinkthe systems will merge um as far
as access.
Dr Andrew Greenland (22:56):
Yes, I hope so too.
It's a very different model inthe UK, so functional medicine
is purely private.
Um, but we you know we have ahealthcare system which is
covered, but functional medicineis completely private.
There's no nothing gets umcovered by our health service
for functional medicine, whichis a chain.
So in 2026, what are your umwhat are you seeing in terms of
(23:18):
client expectations from whatclients are expecting from
healthcare in 2026?
Dr Rachael Clark (23:24):
Um you mean from village health and healing
in particular?
Dr Andrew Greenland (23:27):
Yeah, the clients you see.
I mean, you must get some somesense of um shift in
expectations over time.
I just wondered if you'd seenany particular trends in the
last year in terms of whatpeople are expecting from
healthcare.
Dr Rachael Clark (23:39):
Yeah, so so sorry, I still don't totally
understand like healthcare, likein our in my co in the United
States.
Dr Andrew Greenland (23:47):
United States, functional medicine,
energy healing, your practicespecifically, whichever one you
want to take.
I don't know.
Dr Rachael Clark (23:55):
Yeah, I mean, I think so.
What I hear so many of mypatients say is just like there
needs to be a merging and a conlike a so basically what they're
doing right now is they'regoing to conventional doctors,
hearing one thing, not hearinglike anything about what I talk
about with root cause healingand supplements and herbs.
And then, you know, even thespecialists, right?
(24:17):
They're like going to, forexample, their endocrinologists
and being told your thyroiddisease is you just have to take
this medication the rest ofyour life, right?
And then they're coming back tome and I'm saying, no, we can
heal this.
We, it's, you know, it could bethis chronic viral infection,
and we're going to reverse itand we're going to get you off
your meds.
And they're just like, I'm soconfused.
(24:39):
They're like, how can there beall these doctors?
And I'm getting such differentopinions, and they just really
want to see emerging.
And um, you know, more and morepeople are waking up and
realizing that this holistichealing is really important.
And um there's even um energyhealers now doing, I don't know
if you've heard they're doing uhresearch on um like for cancer
(25:03):
treatment.
It's right now just in likepetri dishes, but they'll have
the cancer cells and they'rethey're bringing in energy
healers.
Um and they're realizing like,oh wow, like energy healing is
stopping the cancer fromspreading.
And you know, so there is likeactually larger scale research
(25:24):
going on on energy healing.
So I just feel like this is areally exciting time.
I think we're still in youknow, very early stages of this
type of healing, not just beingthe weird woo-woo like
alternative stuff, and likebringing it into you know,
actual, you know, medicalpractice and merging the worlds.
(25:46):
So that's what I'm seeing mypatients want the most is just
like doctors kind of all gettingon the same page in a way.
Dr Andrew Greenland (25:56):
For sure.
Um, there'll probably be lotsof other practitioners listening
and they're thinking, I'd haveto go and build my own practice.
What would you want them tounderstand before they take that
leap?
Dr Rachael Clark (26:09):
I I would say you you can't do it alone.
Um, unless you want to.
But you know, I'd say the bestadvice I can give is surround
yourself with people that don'thave the skills that you have
andor the skills that you don'twant to do, and that drains your
energy because you want to saveyour energy for what you're
(26:30):
good at and what you will beable to really bring to the
table for your patients and yourcommunity.
And it's okay to invest inthose things, you know, and and
it'll all pay out on the backend because you'll move forward
quicker and you won't get burntout.
Dr Andrew Greenland (26:49):
Magic wand.
I'm gonna give you a magicwand.
If there's anything you couldfix with a magic wand in the
practice, the business, whatwould that be, if anything?
Dr Rachael Clark (26:57):
Magic wand.
I would have someone followingme or have a system that as soon
as the visit were was done andI like knew what the protocol
and all the afterwork would issupposed to be, I would wave my
wand after every visit and itwould automatically be sent to
(27:19):
the patient.
Yeah.
Dr Andrew Greenland (27:21):
And if you were gonna start again tomorrow
and do it all again, um, wouldyou do anything differently?
Dr Rachael Clark (27:29):
Did I do anything differently?
No.
I think it was all how it wassupposed to be.
And it was, you know, everypart of it was a great learning
experience.
And it's only been two years,honestly, um, since my practice
launched, and um I feel likewe've come so far and you know,
(27:53):
already planning the next phase.
So I just think that uh eachstep is you know necessary for
the learning.
Dr Andrew Greenland (28:02):
Great answer.
And where where are you headedin the future?
Where would you like to be inthe next 12 months or so with
village health and healing?
Any ambitions or ideas?
Dr Rachael Clark (28:13):
Yes, um, I definitely within the next 12
months would like to have mycourse developed, my first one
at least.
Um I um eventually also want toum make a course for physicians
and um healthcare workers.
Um because I truly think weneed to heal the healers because
(28:40):
we're the ones, you know,reaching the most people.
And so many of us are woundedhealers.
Um, so I think it's importantto I I hope that a course like
this would, you know, eventuallybe in medical schools because
um, you know, we all carrywounds and then you know,
(29:01):
different parts of our life openthem and then you know,
different aspects of working inthe healthcare system.
So that's pretty much the next12 months I'd like to really
figure out the courses and umfor village health and healing,
um, just continuing to grow,probably really start to bring
in the energy healing um morefrequently in my patient visits.
Dr Andrew Greenland (29:25):
Lovely.
And with that, Rachael, I'dlove to thank you so much for
joining us today.
It's been a really interestingconversation hearing about your
approach, how you've managed toweave in energetic medicine to
functional medicine to give thatreally holistic approach to
your patients.
So, thank you for sharing that.
Also, thank you for sharing thebehind the scenes stuff of
actually growing and growing anew clinic and a new idea from
(29:45):
the ground up.
It's been really enlightening.
So, thank you very much.
Dr Rachael Clark (29:49):
Of course, I really enjoyed our conversation.
Thank you for having me.
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