Inspiration And Expert Advice: Expert Columns

About Joy Pape, RN BSN CDE WOCN CFNC


Dynamic, energetic, honest, fun, and caring are words used to describe Joy Pape, a board certified diabetes nurse educator. She became a registered nurse due to the high incidence of heart disease in her family. Joy had health and weight problems that started in her early teens but she was not diagnosed with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) until her early thirties, a diagnosis she did not believe or understand until recently. Growing up as a professional model and dancer, Ms. Pape learned early on of the relationship of nutrition and health by first helping herself. Later, so many of her patients had diabetes, she became a diabetes nurse educator. "People need to learn all they can, take charge of their own health to prevent complications of diabetes and other diseases. This is how I learned the true relationship of diabetes, cardiovascular disease and PCOS."

Joy has years of experience in most health care settings, residential, long term facilities as well as inpatient and outpatient settings. A pioneer in the home health field, she was educated at Cleveland Clinic and board certified in Wound, Ostomy, and Continence Nursing (WOCN), a field that brings a wealth of knowledge to the diabetic population. She learned early on of the importance of diabetes education in the home setting rather the hospital setting. “People don’t live in hospitals with food and medications brought to their bed. They live at home doing their normal daily activities. It’s the place to teach because you can meet them on their level. Being a home health nurse for 15 years made me the “Real Nurse (RN)” I am today.”

Well versed and knowledgeable in mainstream diabetes management, Ms. Pape’s own doctors encouraged her to look more into lower carbohydrate lifestyle programs for herself and her patients. She traveled the country visiting the leading authors on the subject, Dr. Robert Atkins, Dr. Richard K. Bernstein, Drs. Michael and Mary Dan Eades, Dr. Diana Schwarzbein, and Dr. Barry Sears. She saw amazing results and now had another management choice available for her patients. She has been so successful that she is now in private practice, president of EnJoy Life! Health Consulting, LLC, providing health education to individuals and groups on a local and national level.

She was a columnist for Diabetes Health, a well-known and respected national diabetes magazine and on the Editorial Board for H. Crimson Publishing, Publishers of Walgreen's Diabetes & You. She is an active board member for dLife. Joy was recently appointed as The New York State Legislative Coordinator for The American Association For Diabetes Educators (AADE).

In 2001, Joy teamed up with her lifelong friend, professional comedian Phyllis Shulman, to form a health education/comedy team called Laugh It Off! LLC. They travel the country providing health education/comedy programs to communities and health care providers teaching people how to laugh off their weight and laugh off their numbers.

Ms. Pape believes it takes knowledge, spirituality, and humor for a truly healthy life.

Joy is currently working on her book, The W Factor. She lives and travels with her husband, Brian, who is an architect. Together they hope to help build communities for healthier lifestyles. For more information, please visit http://www.joypape.com/ and EnJoy!


Read Joy's columns here.