Anyone done NIWH Whole Health Educator program?

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Has anyone completed (or know anything about) the National Institute of Whole Health (NIWH) Whole Health Educator for Nurses program? If so, have you become a Certified Holistic Nurse? What's the verdict? I'm trying to learn if it would be helpful to my career. I believe the education itself will be very valuable for the knowledge itself, and to help patients, but I'm asking more in terms of credentials, job obtainment and career advancement. The course is not free, so I'm thinking of payback in terms of the practical, realistic stuff.

Also, I'm trying to learn about coaching options independent from a hospital setting. Is it possible to teach classes or do one on one counseling with this certification. What would be the legalities, and how does it work with an RN scope of practice? Does anybody have any experience with this?

Thanks for any input!

Well spoken as to the quality of the NIWH 3-1 Whole Health Education program you are a graduate of! (Whole Health Programs - Accredited | National Institute of Whole Health). And there are other programs NIWH offers, depending on what you are seeking for further education, credentials, and skills. NIWH also offers the "Patient Health Advocacy Certificate Program"(Patient Health Advocacy Certificate Whole Health Training Program, Become Patient Advocate | National Institute of Whole Health) and the "Holistic Nurse Certification" (Holistic Nurse Certification | National Institute of Whole Health). NIWH graduates are qualified to apply for further credentials (see Nationally Recognized Credentials | National Institute of Whole Health) for advancing your professional career choices in the healthcare field.

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Hi there!

TwoDreams...I have been TRYING to complete this program. I get my assignments rejected all the time in spite of reading all materials and videos. I spend about 11 hours each module. I personally feel my advisor is too particular. The course outline says each module is recieved with only 75% completion but I feel I get rejected even if I do have that much. I enjoy what I learn but for some reason am having a very difficult time. Could you offer advice? I would really appreciate it. thanks

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As a graduate of the NIWH program (Whole Health Programs - Accredited | National Institute of Whole Health) I am familiar with the assignments you spoke of in your post. At the beginning of the program I too struggled to understand what I was being asked to do as it is very different than my previous experiences with learning expectations. Prior to taking the NIWH program, I was simply asked a question and only needed to copy/paste” the answer in order to satisfy my instructors and testing. What is unique and requires a bit of a learning curve is that I was being taught to learn about the whole person, not just a series of facts. The Whole Person/Whole Health model of training within the NIWH program looks at a person and their health from a 360 degree perspective. Most of us have spent our life being taught to "just answer the question" with a singular answer. This makes it challenging to grasp the circular, feminine model of wholeness and inter-relatedness. Once I understood that the NIWH program was teaching me information based on an integrated Whole Person/Whole Health curriculum model, I could SO much better understand what was expected of me and my assignments. It's a little bit like learning a new language-it can be challenging at first, and then once you get it, everything makes so much more sense! My recommendation is that you talk with your advisor and a person from program services who will be happy to help you with this leaning curve. They do talk about the model of the curriculum in the various guides and course inserts but that can be hard to grasp until you are doing the work. I can tell you from my own experience of this program it is worth the initial struggle of trying to understand this unique model of learning as it offers our patients and clients the help they are looking for when they seek our help! Hang in there - its well worth it!

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I am presently enrolled and have completed several classes. They have been very enlightening for me connecting the dots that have been missing in my past Nursing Edu. and years of experience as a Nurse.

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Hi there! I just joined and also just posted in another section looking for Canadian nurses turned Holistic Nurse/Coaches. Now, I see this! haha. Would love to hear from anyone, of course, but particularly interested in it from a Canadian's perspective.

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Hi All! I wanted to share that I recently completed the National Institute of Whole Health Program and it has changed the way I think about healthcare and health education. The program was amazing and a huge change from the body systems approach that I learned in nursing school. When I was in nursing school over 30 years ago we learned about the body system by system and learned the diseases that go with each system. Medicine was, and still is very specialized and the specialists tend to look at their body system without thinking about how it is connected to all other systems.

From a Whole Person Health perspective we learn to focus on wellness, not illness and we look at a person through a different lens using five perspectives of health. Wellness is dependent on how life and it's stressors affects these five perspectives, physical, nutritional, environmental, emotional and spiritual. NIWH teaches about how every body system is interrelated and co-dependent.

The program is a 400 hour comprehensive curriculum given completely on-line but with tons of communication and support from the staff. NIWH is approved by both AHNA and AHNCC and may be applied to both the Holistic Nurse Exam and the Board Certified Nurse Coach test. I absolutely recommend this program for all health care professionals, it has completely changed how I interact with my patients, students and people in general. As a health educator for both children and adults the program has enhanced my communication skills as well as my ability to guide people toward a state of complete wellness.

If you decide to enroll in this program just know you will be challenged. It is very comprehensive and includes disease prevention, patient health education and patient advocacy training. You will be reading, and writing there is a a test at the end for certification but the time spent is well worth it and the job opportunities are endless. Whole Health Educators are needed in a variety of settings including doctor's offices, chiropractor's offices, hospital settings and wellness centers. I see Whole Health Education as the new trend in healthcare management.

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I have been an RN for 29 years now, and have enjoyed my career more in the last 2 years since I graduated from the NIWH 3-in-1 nurses program than in all the years prior. After years in a hospital setting, I moved to the corporate world 7 years ago and work in a wonderful employee wellness program. The NIWH training enabled me to better empower patients to navigate the complex health issues that they present with, demystifying health information for them and identifying options for care so they can make truly informed decisions that align with their own values and goals. I most love helping patients understand how their body works and how everything is connected, so they can choose to create healthier habits now and avoid chronic disease and regrets in the future. As Dr. Donadio always says, "People don't change old behaviors without new information." Our wellness program's monthly and annual reports consistently show that employees who work with me make progress toward biometric targets, and patients often leave appreciative comments on their satisfaction surveys about the attentive care and assistance that they receive. It's very rewarding work! And to answer the question above, the NIWH program, along with studying the Holistic Nursing textbook, enabled me to score well on my recent Holistic Nurse certification exam. I got my certificate in the mail last week, and can now use the initials HNB-BC after my name :) It's nice to have that validation of my skills for potential new private patients and employers. I highly recommend the NIWH program for nurses.

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Some very exciting news for NIWH graduates and learners! Now NIWH graduates can earn, in addition to having their NPI credential in patient health education, a national certification as a Patient Advocate, by sitting for the National Patient Advocate certification exam! Here is an excerpt from the PAC Board website:

The Patient Advocate Certification Exam

(Updated February 22, 2018)

The Patient Advocate Certification Board is pleased, proud, and excited to announce the opening of registration for the inaugural examination for professionals involved in the practice of patient advocacy. The certification will allow professionals to achieve the credential Board Certified Patient Advocate (BCPA).

For more information about this valuable certification or the NIWH programs available in Patient Advocacy you can contact us at 888-354-4325 or at National Institute of Whole Health - Accredited Holistic Health Programs

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I am both a board certified Holistic Nurse and attending the 3 in 1 program for nurses with the National Institute of Whole Health. I am finding the program both intellectually stimulating, robust in content, and very financially reasonable. I would highly recommend this program to any and all nurses who wish to assist in healing for themselves and society at large, to move towards a whole health life. Excellent program!

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Can anyone comment more on the NPI number? It appears that the application process is very straightforward and says RNs are eligible to register for an NPI number free online. Is there some kind of special NPI application requirement that the NIWH program meets that I'm missing? Thanks!

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Can anyone comment more on the NPI number? It appears that the application process is very straightforward and says RNs are eligible to register for an NPI number free online. Is there some kind of special NPI application requirement that the NIWH program meets that I'm missing? Thanks!

I answered my own question: I went ahead an applied for an NPI number and my number was issued to me within a few HOURS of submitting the online application. So there really isn't anything to significant there. If you're a practicing RN and want an NPI number it's super easy to get! Here's the website link:

MAIN PAGE — NPPES

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Specializes in Whole Health and Behavioral Health.

There is much confusion regarding the use of NPI numbers for nurses. The NPI number is a unique identification number for an individual nurse's

services to be billed and reimbursed for. Unless a nurse is a nurse practitioner, the NPI that is available to all licensed nurses is for the billing of medical

nursing services only and is used in a doctor led medical practice or environment It does not apply to any additional alterative modalities that an individual state license (scope of practice) might allow a nurse to practice privately in her state.

Many nurses mistakenly believe they can create a private practice that uses their nursing NPI number. This is not correct and unfortunately attempting to do so can get them in legal trouble. The nurse NPI (except for NPs) is for the medical services he/she provides in a medical setting only. Some nurses also believe they can bill for private coaching services. However, coaching services are not a billable, reimbursable service and when billed for can flag an audit and result in numerous issues for the nurse.

The National Institute of Whole Health, the only nationally accredited and recognized Patient Health Education program in the US, qualifies licensed nurse professionals to receive a secondary provider status, additional Scope of Practice and receive an NPI number specifically for patient health education. Professional for this specialty is also available and NIWH provides a billing manual and individual consult with a nationally credentialed billing and coding compliance officer.

This is a huge topic as holistic and health and wellness nurses experience frustration in creating a private practice in this area of care. NIWH is being requested to provide seminars for nursing groups to help them understand the various aspects of private practice billing.

Here is additional information about patient health education:5 Star Quality Care Through Patient Engagement - Webcasts - PatientEngagementHIT

5 Star Quality Care Through Patient Engagement

Posted on May 15, 2018

The healthcare industry's shift from volume to value puts increasing pressure on providers to improve both care quality and patient experience. Patient education plays a critical role in determining positive patient outcomes, but education is only effective when patients are engaged in the right way. Educating providers and administrative staff on the factors influencing patient activation is essential to improvement engagement of individual patients and patient populations.

In this webinar, Nathan Newman, MD, FAAFP, of WellMed Medical Management Inc., details strategies to enhance quality of care through patient engagement as providers help patients live healthier lives through preventive care.

Learning Objectives:

Define patient activation and patient engagement

Describe how patient activation drives better health outcomes and lowers healthcare costs

Measure the success of communications to patients

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