Alumni Spotlight: Bailey Reinard McLaughlin

FMCA graduate Bailey McLaughlin came to health coaching after navigating her own health challenges and feeling limited by the traditional healthcare system. With a background in exercise science and years of experience supporting the aging population, she immediately connected with FMCA’s root-cause approach and the art of behavior change. The live cohort experience and motivational interviewing practice helped her build confidence, community, and a coaching style grounded in active listening.

“I was looking on the FMCA job board and Pillar had posted a full-time health coaching job… And it really gave me hope. The process with Pillar was awesome — so smooth and so kind. They answered every question and helped me move forward with confidence.”

Bailey Reinard McLaughlin, FMCA Graduate

After graduating, Bailey launched Aligned Health Coaching and passed her National Board Exam. When she was ready to find a full-time coaching role, the FMCA Job Board and Pillar Health played a key role. Through Pillar, Bailey connected directly with the hiring team at Cadence, where she will soon begin her new full-time remote coaching role.

Watch the Interview

Watch the full FMCA Alumni interview with Bailey to learn more about her inspiring journey:

Transcript

Natalie: Hello, everyone. My name is Natalie. I am on the marketing team with FMCA. And I’m really excited today to be with Bailey McLaughlin. She is an FMCA graduate and founder of Aligned Health Coaching. She has a background in exercise science, and years of experience supporting the aging population. Bailey discovered functional medicine during her own health journey, and had inspired her to become a health coach with FMCA and launch a new career to help others thrive. So, welcome, Bailey.

Bailey: Thank you.

Natalie: So, first, I’d love if you could tell me what you were doing before you became a student at FMCA.

Bailey: Yes, so I kind of took a break from the healthcare realm. The position that I’d had was eliminated during the pandemic. And I lived in small town USA, and there weren’t a lot of wellness opportunities around. So, I had gotten out and I was working for a lumber company as an export shipping coordinator, and really missing working with people and helping people. And I was going through some personal health issues, and Western medicine wasn’t really helping me and I was getting pretty frustrated. So, I did a deep dive in my own research and found functional medicine. And through finding functional medicine I found FMCA and health coaching. And wasn’t really sure what health coaching was until I did some more research and I was like, “You know what? I think that this would blend perfectly with my background. And I could help people from small town USA as a health coach.” So, I enrolled and learned so much in the program and fell in love with health coaching. And the goal was to find a full-time job with benefits as a health coach when I graduated. And luckily, I was able to do that.

Natalie: Awesome. Yeah, you described so perfectly how you fell into functional medicine after frustration with the Western medicine world. And that is what so many of our health coaches come to us having that experience. And so, now, how are you using your health coaching certification and making an impact on the health and wellness of your clients and community today? I would love if you could speak a little bit to your own company that you founded. And then also your experience with the FMCA job board and Pillar Health to help you find a role that you’ll start soon, I know.

Bailey: Yeah. So when I graduated, the job force…there was a lot of health coaching jobs out there, but I wasn’t hearing back from any of them. And I wanted to actually be coaching so I formed my own LLC, Alliance Health Coaching. And I started coaching clients on the side. And it was really awesome to just use what I just learned in school the past year, and get hands-on practice coaching clients through, you know, all of their health and wellness goals. And I was studying for the boards because I wanted to take the boards, and just, you know, kind of have that standard as a health coach to kind of set me apart. And I ended up passing my boards, and that opened up another level of jobs that want you to be board certified specifically.

And I was looking on the FMCA job board and Pillar had posted a full-time job, health coaching job, work from home. And I was very excited because it was, you know, the job posting was like, “Send an email and a little bit about yourself to this recruiter through Pillar.” And I knew that that was going to be an opportunity that I could actually get someone to see me, and not just be in a field of resumes, thousands of resumes, you know, not really getting looked at. So, I sent my information, and I got in contact with Kasha. And she was like, “Listen, this is the job. If you’re interested, we can schedule a call so you can learn more about it.” Because at first I wasn’t sure if it was real. You know, you get so excited about a possible opportunity, but you want to be cautious. And when I started doing some research into Pillar, I was like, “Okay, this is a real company. They help recruit health coaches.”

So, I talked to Kasha, the job sounded great. And when I agreed to want to move forward, then she sent my information directly to the recruiting team at Cadence, which is the company that I got hired for. And it was so nice to have that extra support because when you are one of thousands applying for health coaching jobs, and you’re not hearing any responses back or any feedback, it can get really discouraging. So to have direct contact with someone who spoke with Cadence, and then could streamline me straight to their recruiting team was so reassuring. And it really gave me hope that I could actually get a full-time health coaching job. And the process with Pillar was awesome, and so smooth, and so kind, and just always answering my questions. And then I got to work with the Cadence team and go through their interviewing process. And then I was fortunate enough to land the job, which I’m really excited. I start at the end of the month.

Natalie: That’s amazing. That’s so awesome. And it’s such a great example for our current students, future graduates that will want that same experience. And FMCA will continue to work with Pillar for this opportunity to make that transition so much more seamless, and feel like you have support along the way. So, now, I kind of want to go back into your experience while you were at FMC as a student. And could you tell me a little bit about what you enjoyed most about the program while going through it?

Bailey: Yeah. My cohort was amazing. And Jen was our leader. And just getting so close with that group, because that hands-on is where you actually do most of your learning. So, you know, the rest is self guided, and you go through the modules as you can, but it’s the getting into the cohorts to the live training sessions. That’s where you learn. And that’s where you gain your skills to be such a good health coach. And we just formed such a good bond in our cohort. We still communicate to this day. We have a WhatsApp group that we talk on and catch up on, you know, and we formed a study group for the boards. So, it really is just like a family that you gain. And the program itself is…just the knowledge that you get from it is so solid. And I just felt really prepared to be a health coach when I graduated FMCA.

Natalie: That’s awesome. That is what FMCA stands for is helping create that community. That live in-person component is really special. And so, what tools or educational components prepared you to be a successful health coach? If there are a couple you might be able to recall.

Bailey: Really understanding positive psychology and motivational interviewing techniques. Like going through those modules…I forget what module it was, but you learn the basics of it. And then you get closer towards the end of your program. I actually went back through those earlier modules because I understood so much more towards the end of the program about what the art of coaching really was. And so, when I went back and re-watched those videos, I gained so much more from them. And that enabled me to be such a good active listener. And when you are actually summarizing and reflecting back to your clients, they’re getting so much out of your sessions. So, to really be able to understand those techniques and practice them makes all the difference in my health coaching business.

Natalie: That’s a fantastic little word of advice, to go back and review everything again, because you still have the content. So going back after you’ve gone through and learned can really enhance that understanding. So, at FMCA, we like to say that you’re an FMCA graduate for life. And what does this ongoing alumni connection and support look like for you? You mentioned that you still are in contact with your cohort, but is there anything else that you wanted to add?

Bailey: Yeah. I go on to…I signed up for some of the trainings through the alumni program. I haven’t gotten to complete some of them yet, but just knowing that, you know, they’re constantly doing Ask the Experts, and they’re always providing more and more information, and it’s all there. So, although, I may not have time to always go back, it’s always there for me to go back and watch those Ask the Experts, and do the business training that I did. Or there’s a program to really learn more about labs, and how to use lab data in your coaching. I haven’t gotten to go through it yet, but I signed up for that. So, it just means a lot that there’s so many resources that they’re always trying to compile and have for us. And to know that when I do have time, that I can go back and, you know, use those resources, and just continue to hone the skills and the art of coaching.

Natalie: That’s great. And so, what would you say to an individual like you that finds health coaching and functional medicine, wants to land a full-time coaching role with benefits and all of that, and it seems overwhelming? What would you say to them if they’re considering embarking on the journey to become a functional medicine certified health coach?

Bailey: Yeah. I would look at the job market because a lot of it depends too on your area. Like if you’re in a city and there’s opportunity around you, not just remotely, then it is going to be a lot easier for you to find that full time. If you are looking specifically just remote, I would look into recruiting companies like Pillar. So, the really cool thing about Pillar is you actually can apply to kind of like their job board. So, if you give, you know, your resume, and your background, and your skills, and what you’re looking for out of a company, you’re then in this database that whenever companies reach out to them, they look at their database first. And if they don’t have enough people, then that’s when they reach out to the different job boards and things, like they did with FMCA.

So it’s a really cool resource. I would highly suggest anyone looking to be a health coach, whether you’ve gone through the program yet and graduated or not, to just have some of those resources in the back of your mind to use. And when you do graduate, you know, to kind of apply to that database so that you are putting yourself out there and giving yourself the opportunity. And then looking at the job boards because that’s a resource I don’t think that a lot of people are utilizing. And there are jobs that are posted there. You know that you can trust those jobs because FMCA wouldn’t allow them on there if they weren’t good opportunities. So, make sure you’re looking at the job boards.

And then going for your board certification. That opened up so many more job opportunities than not going for the boards. You know what I mean? There’s a lot of companies that want board-certified coaches. And so it’s worth taking the time and the effort to study and, you know, take those boards and pass those boards, because it’s going to open up more opportunities for you.

Natalie: Great. Well, it has been so wonderful to learn all about your experience, and your new job that you’ll be starting, and your experience with Pillar. Is there anything else that you would like to add before we close?

Bailey: If health coaching is something that you aren’t sure what it really is, talk to other health coaches, get some insight. And really figure out if it’s something that you want to pursue, and then go for it because you’re not going to regret it.

Natalie: That’s beautiful. Thank you so much, Bailey.

Bailey: Thanks, Natalie.