About me
What's my story?
My name is Jolien van der Geugten. With my years of experience as a senior researcher and as a teacher, I help you find concrete solutions for challenges in healthcare. Even with complex issues, I am determined to unravel them for you with my highly developed analytical skills, always keeping in mind the experiences and perceptions of the target group.
Change of plans
In 2020, things changed: I resigned from the university where I worked for more than 12 years. I worked there for seven years teaching "scientific research" in the master's programs in Advanced Nursing Practice and Physician Assistant.
Why did I leave? I still enjoy supervising students and critically evaluating research. But I missed the space to do my own research and develop practical solutions myself.
This became even more apparent to me when one of my three children was found to have a chronic skin condition, and as a mother I missed educational materials and understanding of having a skin condition.
What’s Your Story?
That's why I started my company W.Y.S. Research & Education. This is where everything comes together: my professional background as a scientist and teacher, my personal experience as a mother with (chronic) health care for children and my genuine curiosity about people's stories. After all, W.Y.S. stands for "What's Your Story? The common thread in my company is improving the quality of care directly and indirectly, with the stories of experts by experience playing an important role.
Are you a patient or patient advocate? For you, I conduct research, conduct interviews, write journalistic articles and develop educational materials. This contributes to a better understanding of patient experiences. Important for improving patients' treatment and quality of life, and for increasing understanding of people with skin conditions.
Are you a Physician Assistant or Advanced Nursing practitioner? For you, I provide (in Dutch) live and online continuing education on scientific research. By restoring and deepening your knowledge about scientific research, I can indirectly contribute to the position of healthcare professionals and patients in healthcare.
A special project is my children's book "Luke and the Tiger. I wrote this book when my son went to elementary school, and I couldn't find child-friendly material about his skin condition "ichthyosis. It is a positive story about a brave and smart boy with ichthyosis.
I also had the book translated into English and German. As a result, it is being read all over the world. From Australia to Denmark and from Canada to Singapore.
In this way, all children learn that some children have special skin. Moreover, children with ichthyosis discover that they can be the hero in a story and not be the only one with ichthyosis. In this project, too, my underlying goal was to improve the position of (skin) patients.
Would you like to work with me?
Want to hear more about what I can do for you, for your issue or organization? Just contact me by e-mail. I would be happy to hear from you!
Jolien van der Geugten PhD holds the basic qualifications 'Teaching' and 'Examination' (BKO/BKE) and is accredited as a lecturer with the CRKBO in The Netherlands. She obtained her PhD in 2017 for research on adolescent sexual health in Ghana at Maastricht University. In previous years, she conducted qualitative and quantitative research in the Netherlands, Eastern Europe and Ghana.