Meet The Woman Behind the Coat

There is a woman behind the white coat.

A woman who has sat on both sides of the examination table. A woman who understands what it feels like to know that something is wrong with your body, only to be told that everything is “normal.” A woman who has watched the people she loves struggle to be heard, understood, and appropriately cared for. A woman who decided that if she ever had the privilege of caring for other women, she would do it differently.

I am Shemiko McInnis, a Double Board-Certified Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner, entrepreneur, educator, wellness advocate, and the founder of multiple women-centered health and wellness brands. My professional life has been built around one central purpose: helping women feel informed, empowered, and fully seen in every area of their health.

However, my passion for women’s health is not rooted in credentials alone.

It is deeply personal.

When I Became the Patient

For 33+ days, I experienced continuous vaginal bleeding.

This was not a slightly longer menstrual cycle or an occasional irregular period. I knew my body, and I knew that what I was experiencing was not normal for me.

I went to my OB-GYN provider looking for answers, guidance, and reassurance. Instead, my concerns were minimized. I was told that it was probably “just time to change my birth control.”

But I continued to explain that this was different.

I knew my normal. I knew my patterns. I knew that bleeding for an entire month was not something that should simply be dismissed as a routine contraceptive issue.

Still, I did not feel heard.

I had to repeatedly advocate for myself and practically beg for imaging to investigate what was happening. Eventually, an ultrasound was performed. Afterward, I was told that the results were “normal.”

Had I not been a healthcare professional, the conversation may have ended there.

But because I worked in the medical field, I reviewed the ultrasound report myself and found some things that warranted further investigation. .

I advocated for an MRI.

That MRI revealed three uterine fibroids.

There was an explanation for what I had been experiencing. There was a reason for the bleeding. There was a reason for the pain. My concerns had not been irrational, dramatic, or insignificant.

After finally receiving the diagnosis, I returned to my provider looking for clarity. I wanted to understand what the diagnosis meant, why the fibroids had developed, what may have contributed to them, and what I could do moving forward.

The answer I received was essentially: “Nothing. We will watch them.”

After everything I had gone through to be heard, I was left with a diagnosis but no meaningful direction. There was no deeper conversation about possible contributing factors, nutrition, lifestyle, hormonal influences, symptom management, or the steps I could take to become an active participant in my own care.

I was expected to simply wait.

I did not want to wait passively while something was happening inside my body. I wanted to understand it.

So, I decided to take my health into my own hands.

I researched, researched, and researched some more.

I enrolled in an herbalism course to deepen my understanding of plants, traditional wellness practices, and the ways herbs have historically been used to support women’s health.

I wanted to understand what fibroids were, how they developed, what could contribute to their growth, how symptoms could be managed, and whether there were steps I could take to support my body and potentially reduce their impact.

I began looking beyond the diagnosis itself.

I removed my birth control. I changed my diet. I eliminated alcohol. I became more intentional about what I was putting into my body and how my daily choices could be influencing my hormones, inflammation, metabolism, and overall well-being.

I stopped focusing solely on the question, “What do I have?”

Instead, I began asking, “Why is this happening?”

That realization led me to enroll in a Doctor of Functional Medicine program.

I wanted to better understand the interconnected systems of the body and learn how nutrition, hormones, inflammation, metabolism, stress, sleep, environmental exposures, gut health, genetics, and lifestyle can influence a woman’s symptoms and overall well-being.

I remember thinking: What happens to the woman who does not know how to read her imaging report? What happens to the woman who does not know which questions to ask? What happens to the woman who trusts that “normal” means there is nothing more to investigate? What happens to the woman who is too intimidated, exhausted, or overwhelmed to keep advocating for herself?

That experience changed the way I viewed healthcare.

My Promise to Women

I promised myself that I would never become the kind of provider who speaks over a woman instead of listening to her.

I would not assume that every symptom had a simple explanation. I would not force women into cookie-cutter treatment plans simply because those plans were convenient or commonly prescribed. I would not treat a laboratory value, ultrasound finding, diagnosis, or medication list without also considering the woman living inside that body.

I vowed to become a provider who listens before she labels.

My personal experience was not the only moment that shaped this commitment. Over the years, I have also watched family members and women within my community struggle to receive thoughtful, timely, and compassionate care. I have seen symptoms overlooked, concerns minimized, and chronic conditions treated as isolated problems rather than connected pieces of a larger story.

Women deserve better.

\From Emergency and Trauma Nursing to Women’s Health

Before becoming a Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner, I spent several years working as an emergency and trauma nurse. That experience taught me how to remain calm under pressure, recognize subtle changes in a patient’s condition, make critical decisions, and advocate fiercely when something did not feel right.

I became increasingly passionate about prevention, education, early intervention, and helping women understand their bodies before their symptoms became emergencies.

That passion led me to earn my Master of Science in Nursing from Emory University, the #1 Master of Science in Nursing program in the country and become a Double Board-Certified Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner.

Each part of my professional journey has given me a broader understanding of women’s health.

Creating What I Could Not Find

My personal and professional experiences inspired me to build businesses and platforms that address the gaps I continued to see in women’s healthcare.

I am a co-founder of UrGyn, a women’s health practice created in response to the significant need for accessible gynecologic care within the community, particularly in Black communities where women often experience limited access, delayed care, and persistent health disparities.

UrGyn was designed to give women a place to seek timely evaluation for concerns that may not require an emergency room visit but should not be ignored. It represents our commitment to creating more accessible pathways to women’s health services and reducing the barriers that prevent women from receiving care.

I am also the founder of OneChoice, a wellness and telehealth-focused practice centered on personalized health, weight management, metabolism, hormone support, peptide therapy, longevity, and integrative wellness solutions.

OneChoice reflects my belief that women should have access to ongoing support, not simply a brief appointment and a prescription. Health transformation requires partnership, education, accountability, and care plans that evolve as the patient evolves.

I created HerRx as a women’s wellness brand because I wanted women to have practical tools that support them beyond the examination room. HerRx represents a new prescription for women’s wellness—one that includes education, nourishment, herbal support, self-care, body awareness, and conversations that women are often embarrassed or afraid to have.

Through the International Academy of Aesthetics and Wellness, I also educate healthcare professionals and aspiring wellness providers. Teaching allows me to multiply my impact by helping other clinicians develop their skills, build ethical and sustainable businesses, and provide safe, informed care within their communities.

I am also the author of The Nourished Queen, a resource created to help women understand how food, lifestyle, and intentional wellness practices can influence the way they feel.

Although these businesses and projects may appear different on the surface, they are all connected by the same mission:

To help women become informed participants in their own care.

To create spaces where women feel safe asking questions.

To improve access to high-quality women’s health services.

To help women understand that their symptoms are not character flaws.

To remind women that they are not difficult, dramatic, or demanding for wanting answers.

More Than a Provider

The white coat represents my education, training, and responsibility as a healthcare professional.

But the woman behind the coat is just as important.

Behind the credentials is a woman who understands how vulnerable it can feel to sit in an examination room and wonder whether your provider believes you.

A woman who has experienced pain and prolonged bleeding while being reassured that nothing significant was wrong.

A woman who had to challenge a conclusion, read her own report, request further imaging, and keep pushing until she received an accurate diagnosis.

A woman who received that diagnosis, returned for guidance, and was told there was nothing to do except watch and wait.

A woman who refused to stop at the diagnosis and instead committed herself to researching, learning, and understanding her body more deeply.

This Is the Woman Behind the Coat

I am a healthcare provider, but I am also a patient.

I am a clinician, but I am also an advocate.

I am an entrepreneur, but I am also a woman building the resources and spaces I once needed.

I understand the science, but I never want the science to overshadow the person sitting in front of me.

Today, every patient I educate, every woman I encourage, every provider I train, every product I develop, and every business I build is connected to the promise I made during one of the most frustrating moments of my own healthcare journey:

I will listen.

I will educate.

I will investigate when something does not make sense.

I will help women look beyond the diagnosis and understand the deeper story their bodies may be telling.

I will continue expanding my knowledge so that I can provide women with care that is informed, individualized, comprehensive, and compassionate.

I will never forget the woman behind the symptoms.

And I will continue working to create a future where women no longer have to fight so hard to be believed.

Thanks for listening. Let’s connect soon!

Shemiko McInnis, MSN, APRN, WHNP-BC, RHI-C