Menopause Care, Misinformation, and Advocacy: Nurse Betsy Returns

Amy Pons welcomes back repeat guest Elizabeth “Nurse Betsy” Kelly, a board-certified adult geriatric primary care nurse practitioner with extensive ICU/ER experience, work with Doctors Without Borders in Ethiopia and Malawi, and 13 years serving nursing home patients at Sinai Chicago.

They discuss rapid changes in midlife women’s health education and access to menopausal hormone treatment, emphasizing that the 2002 WHI study was widely miscommunicated, fueling fear of breast cancer and leaving many boomer women without treatment. Betsy explains that starting menopausal hormone treatment within 10 years of the last period can be protective, that transdermal estrogen reduces clot risks compared with oral forms, and that care is individualized; she notes FDA-approved indications and the lack of coverage and research for testosterone in women. They also address misinformation, holistic approaches alongside Western medicine, key supplements (magnesium, vitamin D, omega-3, L-methylfolate), and close with advocacy concerns about a 2026 federal student loan rule deeming nursing not a professional degree, restricting access to graduate programs.

00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro

01:23 Why Womens Health Matters Now

02:35 Why Betsy Is Back

04:28 WHI Study and Lost Generation

07:34 Modern MHT Benefits

17:30 MHT vs HRT Explained

22:18 Testosterone and Insurance

26:42 Healthy Masculinity and Energy

33:12 Holistic Care Meets Medicine

36:12 Supplements That Help

41:52 Avoiding Wellness Snake Oil

43:07 Where to Find Betsy

44:18 Final Advocacy Call

Find Nurse Betsy on Instagram and Facebook @Stay In Your Cortex, and at https://stayinyourcortex.com

Thank you for tuning in to Women Making Moves, be sure to rate and subscribe to the show on your favorite podcast platform and follow along on Instagram and Bluesky. Visit Amy at Unlock the Magic, and follow on Instagram and LinkedIn.

Women Making Moves is for personal use only and general information purposes, the show host cannot guarantee the accuracy of any statements from guests or the sufficiency of the information. This show and host is not liable for any personal actions taken.

Wayfinding Moms: Conscious Parenting, Cycle-Breaking, and Finding Your Inner Compass

Host Amy Pons of Women Making Moves interviews Dr. Priyanka Venkataraman, a board-certified OBGYN, life and parent coach, and founder of Wayfinding Moms, about helping parents understand their nervous systems, break generational patterns, and build emotionally safe homes.

They discuss “remembering” an inner truth center/inner compass, leaving mainstream career molds after breaking points, and how grief and discomfort can guide healing and course-correction. Dr. Priyanka describes conscious parenting as doing internal work to recognize triggers and projections from upbringing and ancestry, regulate the nervous system, and teach children emotional resilience and compassionate leadership rather than chasing quick behavior fixes. She shares creating “the village,” a monthly community gathering for women, and offering a 12-week group parenting program, and provides her website, wayfindingmoms.com, for calls and registration.

00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro

02:02 Cycle Breaking and Lineage

04:22 Remembering Your Path

05:35 Inner Compass Wayfinding

07:39 Magic School and Truth

09:29 Parenting Without the Noise

10:18 Truth Center and Alignment

13:19 Grief and Course Correcting

14:59 Feeling Triggers to Heal

16:03 Ignoring the Body in Medicine

17:38 Breaking Point and Surrender

19:03 Ego After Leaving Work

19:57 Remembering What Matters

20:32 Earth School Talk With Kid

22:59 Wayfinders And Matriarchy

23:41 Building The Village

26:01 Lighthouse Healing Paradigm

27:46 Cycle Breaking And Boundaries

34:41 Conscious Parenting Explained

38:15 Schooling Choices And Values

40:17 Where To Find Wayfinding

Thank you for tuning in to Women Making Moves, be sure to rate and subscribe to the show on your favorite podcast platform and follow along on Instagram and Bluesky. Visit Amy at Unlock the Magic, and follow on Instagram and LinkedIn.

Women Making Moves is for personal use only and general information purposes, the show host cannot guarantee the accuracy of any statements from guests or the sufficiency of the information. This show and host is not liable for any personal actions taken.

Women Making Moves — Episode: Audacity and Authenticity

Guest: Sandhya Sudhakar — Certified Coach, Enneagram Practitioner, Speaker, Facilitator, Founder of Self At Work, and Host of the Working Your Way podcast.

Host: Amy Pons — Founder of Unlock the Magic Coaching, Healing and Magic School

Episode Summary: Amy sits down with Sandhya to explore what it means to show up authentically in the workplace and in life. They discuss the courage it takes to be direct, the tension between practicality and audacious dreaming, and how to navigate discomfort in a way that leads to real growth.

Key Topics Discussed:

• Audacity as a guiding word — Sandhya shares why she chose "audacity" for 2026 and how she's learning to dream bigger and care less about others' perceptions.
• Directness vs. palatability — Both Amy and Sandhya reflect on being told to "achieve the same but be nicer," and the impossible double standard women face in the workplace.
• Self-abandonment and trade-offs — A nuanced conversation about when to walk away from misaligned work and when financial safety takes priority, and the long-term cost of forsaking yourself.
• The learning zone — Sandhya breaks down the comfort zone / learning zone / panic zone framework and how to discern good discomfort from harmful discomfort.
• Generational dynamics at work — How Boomers, Millennials, Gen Z, and Gen Alpha each play a role in reshaping workplace culture.
• Enneagram in teams — How Sandhya uses the Enneagram to help high-achieving leaders diagnose team dynamics and lead more effectively.
• Speaking up and truth-telling — Amy shares a personal story about confronting inappropriate behavior and the backlash that followed.

Where to Find Sandhya:

• Website: selfatwork.com
• Podcast: Working Your Way (available on YouTube and all audio platforms)

Where to Find Amy:

• Website: https://unlockthemagic.org
• Instagram
• LinkedIn

Closing Thought: "Having less so I could do more — simplifying, and going much bigger with fewer things." — Sandhya Sudhakar