Nurse Practitioner

Hi, I’m Lisa Ducharme, a nurse practitioner with over two decades of nursing experience.

I am passionate about women’s health, particularly women experiencing perimenopause and menopause. Women take care of everyone else before they care for themselves, which has immeasurable consequences. However I did not experience the full impact of this truth until I reached the age of menopause and found myself focusing exclusively on what I was ‘lacking,’ i.e. lack of mental acuity, energy, performance, interest, and libido, rather than seeking help.

I was actually blaming myself for the 'natural' transitions occurring in my mind and body because these changes were negatively affecting the people, work and life I love.

When I finally sought medical attention, it didn't help that there was such a shortcoming of primary care knowledge and experience regarding perimenopause and menopause care.

As a lifelong student, I began a personal and professional journey to learn everything I could about safe and effective treatments for hormonal imbalances. My goal was to not only restore my own health and vitality but also the health and wellbeing of all the women in my life and practice. I am currently a member of the North American Menopause Society and working to complete my certification within the organization. I recently completed the NPIG Menopause Review for Primary Care course and the NPIG Nurse Practitioners and Political Advocacy course so I can continue to promote women's health on a much broader platform.

Following graduation from the University of Western Ontario (UWO) with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BScN) in 1996, I practiced as an acute care pediatric nurse for the next 16 years. During this time, I also worked abroad in England and Ireland as a pediatric nurse and in Haiti, providing care for children with HIV. In 2011, my interests in leadership, social justice and systems change management led me to pursue graduate studies, including a Master's in Nursing and Nurse Practitioner Certificate in Primary Care (2011-2014). Once I graduated, I held multifaceted roles at several facilities and institutions providing care to indigenous women and youth, seniors in LTC, the LGBTQ2+ community, military veterans and as a director of health services within the private education system. In my spare time, you will find me outdoors hiking, biking, swimming, and playing racket sports, including the newest rage- pickleball. I also love traveling, reading books, playing guitar and watching true crime shows. But the best part of every day is spending time with my partner Trish and our beautiful chocolate lab, Kricket.

Looking to the future, I have a particular passion for elevating women’s health in primary care by incorporating aspects of holistic medicine, believing that optimal health and empowerment are fostered in every individual's mind, body and spirit. I strongly believe that if we truly care about healthy families and communities then we need to start by prioritizing women's health.