Leaning Into Discomfort: From Clinician to Researcher

Finishing my first term as a PhD researcher at Coventry University has been nothing short of a whirlwind. A return to academia after years in clinical practice. A leap taken while raising three small children, setting up Orchard View Physiotherapy and, rather ironically, a deep dive into menopause research while heading steadily toward perimenopause myself.

For most of my professional life, I’ve introduced myself as a clinician. A physio. A problem-solver. So stepping into a role labelled researcher has brought its fair share of imposter syndrome. But this term has also given me space to reflect on why now, and why this path matters so much.

Why Now?

I’ve always carried the idea of “doing a PhD one day,” but never with a clear topic or timeline. Suddenly I found myself nearing 40, juggling the joy and chaos of three young children, and realising that waiting for a “better moment” meant risking never doing it at all.

At the same time, my clinical career felt stuck. Progression routes weren’t opening up.

And I kept asking: What else? Where next? Where can I genuinely make a difference?

When the opportunity to explore health technology and menopause support, particularly for underserved communities appeared, I knew I had to say yes. Even if the timing wasn’t perfect. Even if life was full and messy. And even if perimenopause might soon become part of my own lived experience.

Because There’s a Problem We Cannot Ignore

The more I listened, the clearer it became: Menopause care is not equitable.

We lack diverse, robust research. We lack understanding across ethnic, neurodivergent, and socio-economic groups. We lack accessible, culturally relevant pathways that meet women where they are.

Historically, menopause simply wasn’t prioritised. And now, as digital health solutions flood the market, we risk widening inequalities even further if we don’t base innovation on evidence, co-design, and genuine community insight.

This gap isn’t just academic, it’s societal, systemic, and deeply personal and we owe women better than what currently exists.

Where Tech Meets Care

I’m not a tech expert. But I do understand people, access, inequality, and the clinical realities of menopause. I see the women who fall through the cracks. The ones services weren’t designed for. The ones we unintentionally fail to reach. Technology may offer part of the solution but only if designed responsibly and inclusively.

That intersection between clinical experience, real-world barriers, and digital innovation is where my research sits.

From Enabler to (Reluctant) Activist

A conversation with an academic mentor recently caught me off guard. She asked whether what I’m doing is, in fact, a form of activism.

My instinct was to resist the label. I’ve always seen myself as an enabler, someone who supports others, joins the dots, helps people get where they need to be.

Pragmatic.

Balanced.

Careful.

But the more I thought about it, the more I realised:

By questioning the status quo, by pushing for equity, by challenging systems that don’t serve all women, by wanting better for future generations; I am stepping into activism.

Quietly. Uncomfortably. But purposefully.

And maybe leaning into that discomfort is exactly what this journey is about.

Owning the Identity of “Researcher”

For months, a voice in my head whispered:

“How dare you be a researcher?” “What do you know?”

But I’m learning to soften that voice. Because I do know things. My experience does matter. And lived clinical insight has a rightful place in research.

I’m not replacing academic voices - I’m joining them. Contributing in the way I know how.

Looking Ahead

My goals for the next year:

✨ Build stronger research foundations

✨ Deepen my methodological understanding

✨ Continue connecting with brilliant people across women’s health, tech & equity

✨ Keep questioning the systems, assumptions, and myself

✨ Centre the women I’m doing this work for

✨ Embrace the discomfort of being both enabler and activist

My contribution may be small, but small steps can still move systems.

So I’ll keep leaning in...

As a mum.

A clinician.

A researcher.

An enabler.

And perhaps, unexpectedly, an activist.