Estimated Reading Time: 10-12 minutes
This case study is from our monthly Practitioner Spotlight series featuring health professionals who’ve successfully transitioned from traditional settings to freedom-based online practices. Watch the full interview HERE for additional insights and emotional moments.
The Moment Everything Changed
Rachel Betts had done everything “right”—worked as an RN in the hospital for years, advanced to nurse practitioner, and was checking all the boxes of a successful healthcare career.
But she was exhausted. Burnt out. Stuck.
“I knew I wanted something different, more fulfilling, and something that would give me more freedom, but I didn’t know how to get there or how to make that happen,” Rachel recalls.
The deeper frustration: She was watching the healthcare system fail patients day after day—15-minute appointments, prescriptions without root cause investigation, patients dismissed and told their symptoms were “in their head.”
She knew there had to be another way. She just didn’t know what it looked like yet.
The Fear That Almost Stopped Her
When Rachel discovered functional medicine and the possibility of building a virtual practice, every doubt imaginable flooded in:
“I’ve spent so many years in school working for this. I feel like I have to have this license in order to practice. I feel guilt for letting it go.”
The internal conflict was intense: release the credential she’d worked so hard for, or stay trapped in a system that was burning her out while failing her patients.
The turning point: Finding mentorship that showed her exactly what was possible and how to make it happen step-by-step.
The Decision to Release Her License
This is the conversation most nurse practitioners are terrified to have: What happens if I let go of my license?
Rachel’s honest reflection on releasing her NP license:
“It feels contradicting at first. You feel like you have to have this in order to practice. But then you realize it also has a cost to it—there’s a lot of restrictions required from you in the traditional world of medicine that are hindering your ability to support clients and also hold you to different obligations as a provider that are more time-sucking, energy-sucking, and that aren’t doing a service to you or your client.”
The reality check: The license was actually limiting what she could offer clients, not expanding it.
Important legal consideration: Rachel didn’t just release her license and start practicing medicine online. She obtained a functional nutrition certification, providing a legitimate credential under which to practice while offering the holistic, root-cause approach she wanted to provide.
Her current status: Over a year without her NP license, zero regrets.
“You couldn’t pay me to go back into that world.”
The Functional Lab Breakthrough
When Rachel joined The WELLth Academy, she had a slight background in functional nutrition but zero experience with functional lab testing.
The intimidation factor: “There’s so much to this. I don’t even know where to begin.”
What changed: Learning functional labs gave her tools that went “above and beyond what traditional lab testing is done in the traditional setting in terms of getting so much deeper and seeing exactly what’s going on in your body internally at the deepest level.”
The Client Story That Changed Everything
One of Rachel’s early clients had spent years dealing with debilitating health issues:
- Seen countless specialists
- Run dozens of tests
- Repeatedly told everything was “normal”
- Dismissed as having psychosomatic symptoms
What happened after their first consultation together:
“When we went through her functional lab results, she was brought to tears because she finally had answers for what was going on in her body.”
This is the power of functional testing—validation, direction, and finally, a path forward.
The Learning Curve Reality
How long did it take Rachel to feel comfortable with functional labs?
Her honest answer: There’s no specific timeframe.
Her approach:
Start on yourself first – Run the labs on yourself during training
Learn through application – Each client teaches you something new
Release the pressure – Don’t stress about a specific timeline
Embrace personalization – Every situation is unique, so you’re always adapting
Even after years of practice: “Every single time I run them, there’s something new, a new layer or connection I’m discovering.”
The lesson: Perfection isn’t the goal. Progress is.
Ready to learn functional labs? Join our practitioner community →
Building the Virtual Practice Model
Rachel’s transition timeline:
- Joined The WELLth Academy in 2021
- Released her NP license within months
- Moved from New York to Hawaii less than 6 months after completing the program
- Met her now-husband 6 months after moving
- Built a 100% virtual practice serving healthcare professionals
What her life looks like now:
- Complete schedule freedom
- Healthy work-life boundaries
- Weekend adventures (hiking, paddle boarding, exploring Hawaii)
- Deep, meaningful client relationships
- Time for personal life and love
The business model: One-on-one virtual health consulting using functional labs and personalized protocols, specifically serving burnt-out healthcare professionals.
The Niche Evolution
Rachel’s niche journey demonstrates the natural evolution many practitioners experience:
Original focus: General holistic health for women
Current niche: Exhausted, burnt-out healthcare professionals dealing with health issues
Why it works: “That was me personally—an exhausted, burnt-out healthcare professional dealing with health issues. Now that’s who I really align with and resonate with and want to serve.”
The advantage of this evolution: She intimately understands their struggle because she lived it. Her story becomes their inspiration.
The Community That Changed Everything
One of Rachel’s biggest takeaways from mentorship wasn’t just the strategy or systems—it was the community.
“You so often feel so alone before joining a community like this. I feel like I’m the only one in this situation. Just having that support, that community of other like-minded individuals pursuing these goals and doing something out of the norm in the healthcare world—it changes everything.”
Why community matters:
- You realize you’re not alone in your struggles
- You see others at different stages of the journey
- You get real-time support and encouragement
- You witness what’s actually possible
- You find people who understand without explanation
The Investment That Paid Off
When Rachel invested in mentorship, she was still working in New York, feeling stuck, and unable to imagine the life she has now.
What the investment enabled:
- Cross-country move to Hawaii
- Freedom to adventure and live fully
- Meeting her life partner
- Building a business around her values
- Serving clients at a depth she never imagined
- Living as “the truest version of myself ever”
Her reflection: “Had I not said yes despite the fear, I don’t know where I would be today. I literally am living a life I never could have dreamed of that is far greater than I could have ever imagined.”
The Fear vs. Freedom Equation
Rachel’s most powerful message is about fear:
“We can let fear hold us back even if it’s something that is good or something that we know we want. Had I not said yes despite the fear, I don’t know where I would be.”
The truth about fear: It’s not a warning sign that you shouldn’t do something. It’s your nervous system’s way of saying “this is unfamiliar territory.”
The reframe
Instead of letting fear stop you, acknowledge it:
“Thank you for trying to protect me, but I’m ready to get to a different place now. It’s time to do something different.”
Looking back: “Fear has nothing on where I am now.”
Struggling with fear? See how other practitioners overcame it →
The Gaps She Saw in Traditional Healthcare
Rachel’s transition wasn’t just about her own burnout—it was about the systemic failures she witnessed daily:
The 15-minute appointment model:
- Give diagnosis
- Prescribe medication
- Provide no real answers or guidance
- Send patient on their way
The result: “We continue to see patients over and over again with the same thing. It’s not progressing because we’re not truly addressing the root of what’s going on or spending the time that they deserve.”The new approach: Building real relationships, knowing clients as whole people, empowering them over their health in ways that would never have been possible in traditional settings.
The Transformation Timeline
Before mentorship:
- Exhausted hospital nurse practitioner
- Burnt out and dealing with personal health struggles
- Stuck in traditional medicine model
- Limited knowledge of functional approaches
- Zero functional lab experience
During mentorship (6 months):
- Learned functional lab testing and interpretation
- Studied personalized protocol development
- Connected with supportive practitioner community
- Built confidence in new approach
- Started working with first clients
Within 1 year after:
- Released NP license
- Moved to Hawaii
- Built 100% virtual practice
- Established boundaries and freedom
- Refined niche to healthcare professionals
Current reality:
- Thriving virtual practice
- Complete location freedom
- Married and living in Hawaii
- Bringing clients to tears with life-changing answers
- “Living the truest version of myself ever”
Key Success Factors From Rachel’s Journey
1. She took action before feeling ready
“Ready is not a feeling, it’s a decision.”
2. She invested in proper training
Rather than trying to piece it together from free content, she got comprehensive training and support.
3. She obtained proper certification
Released her NP license but secured functional nutrition certification for legitimate practice.
4. She started with herself
Ran functional labs on herself first to understand the process intimately.
5. She embraced the community
Leveraged support from other practitioners on the same journey.
6. She let her niche evolve naturally
Didn’t force a niche but allowed it to emerge from her own lived experience.
7. She moved through fear
Acknowledged fear but didn’t let it be the deciding factor.
For Nurse Practitioners Watching This Journey
If you’re a nurse practitioner feeling that same restlessness Rachel felt, here’s what you need to know:
You don’t have to keep your license to help people
In fact, releasing it might allow you to help them more effectively.
Certifications matter
You need legitimate credentials under which to practice, but they don’t have to be your nursing license.
The learning curve exists but it’s manageable
You don’t need to know everything before starting—you learn through doing.
Your healthcare background is valuable
It informs your approach even if you’re not practicing under that license.
The “shoulds” are keeping you stuck
Just because you spent years in school doesn’t mean you’re obligated to practice traditionally forever.
The Practitioner-to-Client Relationship Transformation
Traditional model:
- 15-minute appointments
- Transactional interactions
- Limited follow-through
- Minimal patient engagement
- No real relationship building
Rachel’s virtual model:
- Deep, ongoing relationships
- Truly knowing clients as whole people
- Understanding all aspects of their lives
- Empowering them over their health
- Creating lasting transformations
The impact: Clients crying tears of relief because someone finally sees them, validates their experience, and has real answers.
Your Next Steps If This Resonates
If you’re a nurse practitioner (or any healthcare professional) feeling stuck:
1: Audit your current reality
- What’s draining you most?
- What would fulfillment actually look like?
- What’s the cost of staying where you are?
2: Explore certification options
- Research functional medicine certifications
- Consider health coaching credentials
- Look into practitioner training programs
3: Connect with others who’ve done it
- Join communities of practitioners who’ve transitioned
- Learn from real stories, not just theory
- See what’s actually possible
4: Make a decision despite fear
- Acknowledge the fear but don’t let it decide
- Take one small step forward
- Trust that the path reveals itself as you walk it
5: Invest in proper training
- Don’t try to piece it together alone
- Get comprehensive support and systems
- Learn from someone who’s actually done it
Rachel’s story isn’t unique because she’s exceptional—it’s powerful because she’s just like you. She had the same doubts, the same fears, the same licensing concerns.
The difference is she decided fear didn’t get to make the final call.
Where could you be a year from now if you made that same decision?
Ready to dive deeper? Join our free Self-Led Online Practitioners community of 800+ health professionals where you get exclusive access to practitioner spotlight interviews like Rachel’s, monthly coaching calls, and first access to new programs and discounts. Join the community here – it’s completely free for verified practitioners.
About the Author: Michelle Rogers, ND, MSAOM, FDN-P, is a clinical mentor and founder of The WELLthy Woman™ movement. A practicing clinician since 2012, she pivoted to mentoring fellow practitioners in 2019 after experiencing her own transformation from clinic burnout to online business success. She has since guided hundreds of health professionals to build profitable online practices using her unique integration of functional medicine expertise and scalable business strategies.
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