🎤 BEFORE & BEYOND THE BEDSIDE

🎤 BEFORE & BEYOND THE BEDSIDE

Inspire | Educate | Empower

Advocacy. Education. Empowerment.

YOUR EVENT MAY END. THE IMPACT SHOULDN'T.

What if your next event gave your audience more than information, inspiration or a meaningful conversation?

What if people walked away with practical knowledge, real-world strategies and tools they could continue using in their homes, workplaces, families and communities?

That's the value I want to bring to every conversation.

I'm Michelle Smith, an award-winning nurse, health and social advocate, speaker and author of Health Care Shield.

For 24 years, nursing has allowed me to see healthcare from many perspectives, from acute care through to end-of-life care. My work in disability management has added another perspective, showing me how closely our health is connected to our ability to work, care for our families and navigate the systems around us.

Over the years, one thing has become increasingly clear:

Care doesn't begin or end at the bedside. Neither does advocacy.

Health affects every part of our lives. It intersects with employment, disability, mental wellness, ageing, caregiving, family responsibilities, culture, access to resources and the communities in which we live.

That is why my work has grown beyond traditional healthcare education.

❤️ STRENGTHENING HEALTH & SOCIAL LITERACY

Knowledge is important, but having information isn't enough if we don't understand how to use it.

Health and social literacy are about helping people better understand the information, resources and systems that affect their everyday lives so they can make more informed decisions.

Through education, advocacy and culturally responsive conversations, my goal is to help people:

✅ Turn knowledge into action by applying information to real-life decisions.

✅ Strengthen self-advocacy by building confidence to ask questions, express concerns and participate more actively in decisions.

✅ Improve communication between individuals, families, professionals, workplaces and the systems they navigate.

✅ Recognise the importance of cultural competence and the role culture and lived experience can play in how people understand and experience health and support services.

✅ Connect health to everyday life, including employment, disability, mental wellness, caregiving, ageing and family responsibilities.

✅ Increase awareness of resources and supports that may help people navigate challenges with greater knowledge and confidence.

The goal isn't simply to give people more information.

It's to help people understand what that information means for their lives and what they can do with it.

🎤 TAKING THE CONVERSATION BEYOND HEALTHCARE

Some of our most important conversations about health don't happen in hospitals or clinics.

They happen in workplaces.

They happen in schools.

They happen in churches and community centres.

They happen around kitchen tables when a family suddenly finds itself caring for someone.

They happen when a worker becomes ill or injured and doesn't understand what comes next.

They happen when someone leaves a medical appointment wondering what was just said.

And they happen when communities come together to talk openly about wellness, culture, caregiving, disability and the challenges affecting their everyday lives.

Those are conversations worth having.

That's why my speaking and educational work extends across healthcare, workplaces, organisations and communities.

My speaking topics include:

❤️ Health Literacy & Self-Advocacy

Practical education to help people better understand information, navigate healthcare and become more confident participants in their own health journey.

💼 Disability Management & Return to Work

Practical education around occupational and non-occupational disability, accommodation and return-to-work processes.

🌿 Workplace Wellness & Recovery

Conversations around wellness, resilience, support and healthier, more inclusive workplaces.

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Caregiver Support & Healthy Ageing

Helping individuals and families better understand changing care needs and navigate caregiving with greater knowledge and confidence.

🌎 Youth Engagement & Community Wellness

Culturally responsive health education designed to strengthen knowledge, advocacy and community well-being.

📖 KNOWLEDGE THAT CONTINUES AFTER THE CONVERSATION

One of the reasons I created Health Care Shield was because I believe education shouldn't disappear when a workshop, appointment or presentation ends.

Health Care Shield is a practical workbook designed to help individuals and families organise important health information, prepare for healthcare conversations, track what matters to them and become better informed participants in their health journey.

It gives people something tangible they can continue using after the conversation is over.

The presentation may introduce the knowledge. The goal is to help people carry it into everyday life.

🎤 WHY BRING MICHELLE TO YOUR EVENT?

Every event has a purpose.

Maybe your organisation wants to start a conversation about workplace wellness.

Maybe your community wants to increase health literacy.

Maybe families need practical information about caregiving and healthy ageing.

Maybe your audience needs to better understand disability, accommodation or return to work.

Or perhaps you're looking for someone who can connect professional knowledge with the realities people face every day.

I bring together 24 years of nursing experience, seven years of disability management experience, advocacy, culturally responsive education and lived experience to create conversations people can connect with and use.

I don't want an audience simply to listen.

I want people to leave understanding why the conversation matters, how it connects to their lives and what they can do with what they've learned.

🌟 FAR BEYOND THE EVENT

Practical Knowledge. Real-World Strategies. Lasting Impact.

Your event creates the opportunity.

Let's use that opportunity to give people knowledge and practical tools they can carry with them long after the event has ended.

🎤 LET'S BRING VALUE TO YOUR NEXT EVENT

Michelle is available for:

✔ Keynote speaking

✔ Workshops and training

✔ Panel discussions

✔ Workplace and conference events

✔ Community organisations and groups

✔ Schools and youth events

✔ Health and wellness initiatives

✔ Collaborative community events

For speaking engagements, workshops, panels and collaborations:

📧 janursingservices@gmail.com

❤️ Your Health. Your Voice. Your Advocate.

Michelle Smith, RPN, CRTWC

Founder, JA Smith Consulting & Nursing Services

Founder, JA Nursing We Care Inc.

Author, Health Care Shield

 

 

Health Care Shield: A 23-Year Journey to Your Advocate on Paper

Hey, it's your girl, JANURSING 

I've been thinking a lot lately about why I do what I do. And I realized it all comes back to 2002.

That year changed everything for me. I graduated as a nurse, stepping into the greatest joy of my career. But within months, I lost my sister to poor outcomes in the healthcare system I'd just committed my life to. When I asked her doctor how her diagnosis was missed, his response was dismissive. It wasn't good enough. It never is when you're the one left behind.

That loss taught me something early, before the word "advocacy" even existed in nursing curricula: people need someone in their corner. Someone who asks questions. Someone who fights for clarity and dignity when systems fail them.

For 23 years, I've carried that lesson

I've sat in countless healthcare settings and watched what happens when people have no voice. Patients confused across from doctors. Families lost in systems they don't understand. People leaving appointments without clarity, without power, without an advocate.

 

In 1994, I started my journey in healthcare at George Brown College. By 1995, I was in my RN diploma program. But nowhere — nowhere — in my nursing education was I taught the word "advocacy." It wasn't in the curriculum in the 90s. It wasn't there when I graduated in 2002. Our healthcare system was built by professionals who believed they knew it all, and patients were expected to listen, leave, and not question.

For many of us, especially those of us of colour, we didn't have the knowledge or the confidence to say "that doesn't feel right." And we've lost so many good people because of that silence — because fear kept us from standing up for what we knew was true.

Then came 2011

When I founded JA Smith Consulting and Nursing Services, I searched Canada for a model of patient advocacy, and found nothing. So I looked to Florida, where patient advocacy was already thriving because of their large senior population. I modeled my business after what was working there, brought it north, and dubbed myself a "health and social advocate."

 

People spent years asking me, "What does an advocate do?" It wasn't a household term. Neither was "culturally competent healthcare," but that's what I built my entire model around from day one. I was pioneering something Canada didn't even have a name for yet.

In 2015, my need became greater

As my work deepened and the community's needs grew, I founded JA Nursing We Care Inc. — my nonprofit division dedicated to health and social literacy, advocacy, and community empowerment. The for-profit and nonprofit worked together under one mission: to serve vulnerable populations and advance health literacy across the Greater Toronto Area and beyond.

Then came 2017 — a turning point

I became ill. My own health journey forced me to live what I'd been teaching all along. I navigated my own diagnosis, my own disability, my own system. And through that personal experience, I deepened my understanding of what people really need when they're struggling.

That same year, I pursued my Professional  Designation in Disabilty Management as av Certified Return to Work Coordinator (CRTWC). My personal health crisis became my professional catalyst. I wasn't just talking about disability management and workplace navigation anymore — I was living it, learning it, mastering it. That credential completed my toolkit and expanded the populations I could serve: workers facing disability, return-to-work challenges, occupational health — the whole spectrum.

Here's what I want you to understand about advocacy in Canada

In 2011, when I founded my business, I dubbed myself a "health and social advocate." But that word — advocate — wasn't part of our healthcare vocabulary yet. Advocacy wasn't taught in nursing school. The healthcare system was built by professionals who believed they knew it all, and what they said went. You listened. You left. You didn't question.

When I launched my business in 2011, I searched Canada for a model to follow and found nothing. So I looked south to Florida, where patient advocacy was already established and thriving. I modeled my business after what was working there, brought it north through a culturally competent lens, and became Canada's leading resource for culturally competent health care advocacy.

For years, people asked me, "What does an advocate do?" The word wasn't mainstream. The concept didn't exist in Canadian healthcare. But I kept building, kept documenting, kept pioneering.

Fast forward to 2019: Canadian Health Advocates Inc. was founded, eight years after I started. By then, the field was finally recognizing what I'd already been doing.

In 2016, I documented this entire journey on my blog, citing a Vancouver Sun article confirming that healthcare was "behind the times on advocacy." That post became proof — timestamped proof — that I wasn't just talking. I was building, documenting, pioneering before anyone else in Canada was even using the word.

The evidence is clear My nursing education (1995-2002) had zero advocacy training. When I launched in 2011, Canada had no patient advocacy model — so I created one based on Florida's success. My 2016 blog post proves I was documenting this journey years before it became mainstream. And by 2019, the first documented health advocacy organization in Canada was founded — eight years after me.

I say this not to diminish others doing this work now. I say it because it matters. It matters that you know I've been fighting for this for 15 years. It matters that I modeled my business on what works. It matters that I didn't wait for the world to catch up. I built it anyway.

And now, in 2026, here we are

Introducing Health Care Shield Workbook

After 23 years of nursing, after founding a consulting business that pioneered patient advocacy in Canada, after creating a nonprofit, after navigating my own disability and earning my CRTWC credential, after witnessing what happens when people navigate healthcare alone — I've created something I wish existed when my sister was alive.

Health Care Shield is a practical guide to taking control of your health and navigating the healthcare system with confidence. Inside, you'll find:

✔ Family health history tracker

✔ Symptom tracking and pattern monitoring

✔ Medication and supplement log (12+ slots)

✔ Doctor visit preparation and notes pages

✔ Action items and follow-up tracking

✔ Healthcare team contact information

✔ Legal and end-of-life planning sections

✔ Space to document your story

But here's the thing: this workbook isn't just paper. It's your advocate on paper, yes, but I'm a phone call away too. Whether you need clarity on what your doctor said, help preparing for an appointment, or someone to talk through your health journey with, I'm here.

Health Care Shield is the tool. I'm the support. Together, we make sure your voice gets heard.

Whether you want to be proactive about your wellness, support an aging parent, navigate a new diagnosis, or take back control of your health — this workbook is for you.

"Lack of knowledge is the worst disease." That's what I've believed for 23 years. That's what drives everything I do.

Be the first to know when Health Care Shield launches: https://www.janursingservices.com/health-care-shield.html

 

Read more about advocacy in Canadian healthcare: https://janursing.blogspot.com/2016/02/healthcare-advocates-will-be-greatest.html

 

Thank you for following my journey. For believing in the power of advocacy. For letting me be your voice.

Your health. Your voice. Your advocate. ❤️

Michelle Smith 

Founder, JA Smith Consulting and Nursing Services

Founder, JA Nursing We Care Inc.

The Voice of the Community