GET TO KNOW MY
STORY, MY WHY
I’M RHEA
RHEA MERCADO IS A HEALTHCARE HUMANIST AND HAS SPENT 20 YEARS DECODING HUMAN REHABILITATION & RECOVERY.
As an accredited exercise physiologist with a Graduate Diploma in Science (Exercise Rehabilitation) & a bachelor’s degree in Human Movement Studies, Rhea launched her first business from her parent’s garage in the Western Suburbs of Sydney. Working throughout her career as both a business owner and an independent contractor, Rhea understands the challenge of balancing the ‘mission and margin’ of healthcare practice. Since finding her passion as a workplace rehabilitation consultant within the workers compensation scheme, Rhea’s core focus has been on humanising healthcare.
For Rhea, service is in her blood. Her family moved to Australia from the Philippines when she was four years old in search of a better life. With both of her parents working in service industries, Rhea was raised with a people-first approach and a belief that generosity should never be rushed and community is paramount. When her family values were challenged by the profit-driven healthcare industry, Rhea saw an opportunity to align her professional and personal principles. Challenging people to raise themselves through careers with the same values they are raised within a family, Rhea has embodied the change she wants to see in her industry.
After witnessing the rise of occupational burnout in colleagues and experiencing it herself, Rhea shifted her focus from the patient to the professional, and founded The Intelligent Rebellion, Threesticks Training and Development, and The Humanising Healthcare Initiative, creating safe spaces for connection, igniting better conversation, and empowering professionals to speak up and contribute their vision towards a better future. Alongside her coaching and training work, Rhea is the host of The Intelligent Rebellion Podcast and author of “Compo - A Rehabilitation Consultant’s Journey.”
RHEA WANTS TO BRING COMMUNITY BACK INTO THE HEART OF HEALTHCARE & TO ENCOURAGE PRACTITIONERS TO SPEAK UP & CONTRIBUTE THEIR VISION TOWARDS A BETTER FUTURE ACROSS ALL SPECIALITIES & MODALITIES.
As a speaker Rhea is dynamic and infuses every presentation with credibility, relatability, sass, and charisma. Pragmatic and heart-driven, Rhea challenges audiences to ask better questions, to invest in building support networks and gives them a good dose of common-sense and wisdom that is missing from professional development. Audiences will leave understanding that their greatest act of service, is the care they give themselves and the respect they show to others.
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