The Functional Nurse Podcast - Nursing in Functional Medicine

Sponsored by the Institute for Functional Nursing. Learn more about our programs at www.fxnursing.com.

How can an RN turn a personal health challenge into a purpose-driven functional nursing practice? In this episode of The Functional Nurse Podcast, Samantha Hamilton, MSN-Ed, RN, speaks with Nicole Brzuchalski, RN, BSN, about her journey from postpartum nursing and the pediatric cardiac ICU to becoming a functional nurse entrepreneur. Nicole shares how unexplained cardiac and neurological symptoms after the birth of her third child led her to explore nutrition, holistic care, postpartum depletion, and the root causes of her symptoms.

Nicole now owns Shore Beginnings, where she provides holistic nursing support to women navigating fertility, pregnancy, hormonal health, and postpartum recovery. She discusses working within RN scope of practice, collaborating with medical providers, using functional labs when appropriate, and helping clients implement sustainable changes involving nutrition, sleep, stress, and environmental exposures. Nicole also shares how the Holistic Nurse Entrepreneur Program and Functional Nursing Program helped her build confidence, structure her practice, and turn her nursing knowledge into meaningful support for women and families.

Practice: Shore Beginnings

Sponsored by the Institute for Functional Nursing. Learn more about our programs at www.fxnursing.com.

Are people already asking to work with you, even though you do not feel ready to start your own nursing practice? In this episode of The Functional Nurse Podcast, Dr. Brigitte Sager explores the confidence challenges and imposter syndrome that often arise when nurses and nurse practitioners begin imagining a career beyond conventional healthcare. She explains how creating a simple waitlist can help you document interest, learn more about your potential clients, clarify your niche, and build motivation without committing to a launch date or specific service.

Brigitte shares practical ideas for creating a low-pressure waitlist, choosing helpful questions, collecting the language prospective clients use to describe their challenges, and keeping marketing information separate from clinical intake. She also discusses avoiding shiny object syndrome, staying within your scope and competency, establishing boundaries, and remembering that you do not have to serve everyone. You do not need a website, logo, pricing structure, or complete business plan to take this first small step toward becoming a nurse entrepreneur.

Sponsored by the Institute for Functional Nursing. Learn more about our programs at www.fxnursing.com.

What is shaping the future of pediatric functional medicine? In this episode of The Functional Nurse Podcast, Dr. Brigitte Sager shares her biggest takeaways from A4M’s Pediatrics Reimagined 2026 conference in Nashville. She explores emerging insights into pediatric metabolic health, food as information, environmental toxins, mold exposure, the gut microbiome, neuroinflammation, trauma, genomics, methylation, PANS/PANDAS, and personalized vaccine conversations.

Brigitte also reflects on the importance of staying current as a healthcare professional and translating complex research into practical, actionable care. She discusses why inflammation requires a more specific, root-cause investigation, why pediatric health cannot be separated from family and environmental health, and how nurses and nurse practitioners can make functional and integrative care more accessible. From foundational nutrition and lifestyle support to whole-child care, this episode highlights how helping children earlier may transform the health of families, communities, and future generations.

Sponsored by the Institute for Functional Nursing. Learn more about our programs at www.fxnursing.com.

Could a child’s sudden anxiety, OCD, behavioral changes, or psychiatric symptoms have an underlying biological cause? In this episode of The Functional Nurse Podcast, Dr. Brigitte Sager sits down with Dr. Zendi Moldenhauer, a psychiatric and pediatric nurse practitioner, functional medicine expert, and nationally recognized leader in pediatric functional psychiatry. Together, they explore PANS, PANDAS, neuroinflammation, and the ways infections, immune dysregulation, mold exposure, Lyme disease, gut imbalances, and nutritional deficiencies may influence a child’s brain and mental health.

Dr. Moldenhauer shares powerful stories from her clinical practice and explains why treating the whole child can uncover answers that may be missed when physical and psychiatric symptoms are addressed separately. The conversation also explores foundational strategies involving nutrition, sleep, movement, screen time, and family health, along with the important roles nurses, nurse practitioners, and nurse coaches can play in root-cause care. Dr. Moldenhauer also shares lessons from building a functional medicine practice and her vision for bringing functional and holistic care into nursing education.

Practice: Arbor Health Functional Medicine and Psychiatry

Sponsored by the Institute for Functional Nursing. Learn more about our programs at www.fxnursing.com.

The Functional Nurse Podcast is celebrating its 100th episode! In this milestone episode, Dr. Brigitte Sager reflects on the evolution of functional nursing—from the early conversations that inspired this podcast to a growing movement of nurses and nurse practitioners bringing root-cause, holistic, and personalized care into healthcare. With that foundation established, Brigitte looks ahead to an important next chapter: strengthening the evidence for functional nursing through research, quality improvement, evidence-based practice, and meaningful patient outcomes.

Brigitte explores how nurses and nurse practitioners can help shape the future of functional medicine by asking better clinical questions and studying what actually improves patient care. She shares ideas for DNP projects, PhD research, capstones, quality improvement initiatives, patient-reported outcomes, and practice-based research—including nutrition assessments, functional medicine screening tools, group visits, nurse coaching, access to care, patient satisfaction, and clinician outcomes. She also discusses the Institute for Functional Medicine's approach to studying the complete functional medicine care model and why systems thinking, antecedents, triggers and mediators, modifiable lifestyle factors, and personalization matter when evaluating functional care. Whether you're currently in nursing school, considering an advanced degree, or simply want to help transform healthcare, this episode invites nurses to help build the evidence that can move functional nursing forward.

IFM's research page 🔗 https://www.ifm.org/about/research

Sponsored by the Institute for Functional Nursing. Learn more about our programs at www.fxnursing.com.

What does functional nursing look like in Canada? In this episode of the Functional Nurse Podcast, Samantha Hamilton MSN-Ed, RN is joined by Canadian nursing professionals Megan Kroeker MSN, NP, FMCP-M, Mat Chartrand, NP, and Tabetha Hystad, RN, BSN, to explore how nurses and nurse practitioners are bringing functional medicine into the Canadian healthcare landscape. They discuss the realities of working within a publicly funded, often reactive healthcare system and why more nurses are becoming interested in prevention, integrative medicine, patient education, and root-cause care.

The conversation dives into some of the biggest questions Canadian nurses have about functional nursing, including career opportunities, private practice, scope of practice, functional lab testing, supplements, and the differences between practicing as an RN versus a NP. Megan also shares her experience building a virtual functional medicine practice in Ontario, while Mat and Tabetha discuss how they hope to incorporate their functional nursing education into their careers. Throughout the episode, the guests share why they believe Canadian nurses are uniquely positioned to help patients become more informed, proactive participants in their health and why functional nursing may represent an exciting new direction for nurses looking beyond the traditional healthcare model.

This episode is for educational purposes and does not provide legal or scope-of-practice advice. Nursing regulations vary by province, and nursing professionals should consult their applicable regulatory body.

Megan Kroeker, NP

Mat Chartrand, NP

Tabetha, RN

Sponsored by the Institute for Functional Nursing. Learn more about our programs at www.fxnursing.com.

In this episode of the Functional Nurse Podcast, Samantha Hamilton sits down with Jessica Spradley, RN, a former Navy corpsman, emergency department nurse, and Functional Nursing Program student who recently began working in a functional medicine clinic. Jessica shares how a simple curiosity about nutrition sparked a journey into functional medicine and ultimately transformed both her personal health and nursing career.

Jessica discusses how she integrates functional nursing principles into the fast-paced emergency department by meeting patients where they are, providing practical nutrition education, recognizing root-cause patterns, and empowering patients with small, meaningful lifestyle changes. She also shares her personal experience with functional lab testing, the GI-MAP, and the elimination diet, along with how these tools changed her own health perspective. Whether you're an RN, nurse practitioner, military veteran, or healthcare professional wondering how functional nursing fits into traditional healthcare, this episode offers practical examples, career inspiration, and hope for a more fulfilling future in nursing.

Sponsored by the Institute for Functional Nursing. Learn more about our programs at www.fxnursing.com.

In this episode of the Functional Nurse Podcast, Brigitte Sager DNP, FNP-C, FMCP-M, CNE challenges one of the most common narratives in healthcare: are nurses truly burned out, or are they experiencing something deeper? Drawing from years of conversations with nurses across a variety of specialties, Brigitte explores why so many healthcare professionals feel disconnected from the very calling that inspired them to enter nursing. She examines how modern healthcare systems often prioritize tasks, documentation, and productivity over meaningful patient relationships, leaving many nurses questioning their purpose and future in the profession.

Brigitte discusses the concept of professional misalignment and how functional nursing offers a path back to the heart of nursing by emphasizing root-cause care, patient education, prevention, holistic nursing, and therapeutic relationships. She also explores why functional medicine is reigniting purpose for many nurses, helping them move beyond symptom management toward meaningful healing and long-term patient outcomes. Whether you're experiencing nurse burnout, considering a career change, or searching for a more fulfilling way to practice nursing, this episode offers encouragement, perspective, and a vision for the future of the profession.

Sponsored by the Institute for Functional Nursing. Learn more about our programs at www.fxnursing.com.

In this episode of the Functional Nurse Podcast, Samantha Hamilton sits down with Autumn Wake, RN, IBCLC, to explore how functional nursing is transforming lactation consulting and postpartum care. Autumn shares her personal journey into functional medicine after searching for answers to her son's digestive issues, and how those experiences led her to integrate root-cause thinking into her practice supporting mothers, babies, and families.

Together, they discuss the connection between maternal health and infant wellbeing, including gut health, food sensitivities, breastfeeding challenges, birth interventions, tongue ties, structural issues, maternal stress, and the importance of treating the whole family, not just the symptoms. Autumn also shares practical ways she's incorporating functional nursing into lactation consulting, helping parents simplify care, build confidence, and support healthy development through nutrition, lifestyle, and individualized education. Whether you're a nurse, lactation consultant, maternal-child health professional, or parent interested in holistic postpartum care, this episode offers valuable insights into creating healthier outcomes for both mom and baby.

Sponsored by the Institute for Functional Nursing. Learn more about our programs at www.fxnursing.com

In this episode of the Functional Nurse Podcast, Brigitte Sager shares her biggest takeaways from two major healthcare events: the Institute for Functional Medicine's Annual International Conference (AIC) and the American Holistic Nurses Association (AHNA) Conference. From innovative care models and functional medicine implementation to the growing role of nurses in integrative healthcare, this episode offers an inside look at the conversations shaping the future of patient care.

Brigitte discusses emerging trends in functional medicine, including the integration of artificial intelligence in clinical practice, the impact of social determinants of health, fertility and women's health, chronic disease prevention, neuroplasticity, longevity, and metabolic health. She also shares inspiring examples of how nurses are leading change in healthcare through education, coaching, entrepreneurship, community-based care, and functional nursing. Whether you're a nurse, nurse practitioner, healthcare entrepreneur, or simply interested in the future of holistic and root-cause medicine, this episode is packed with insights, inspiration, and practical ideas you can apply in your own work.