Best RN Health Coach Program??

SC_RNDude · Dec 9, 2018

If you haven't already, I would first figure out how and how much money you can make doing that first. My instincts would say it's not very lucrative.

Jedrnurse, BSN, RN · Dec 11, 2018

I've been in healthcare a long time and live in a health-conscious highly populated area.

Never heard of this. It doesn't seem like the market for it is exactly booming...

KelRN215, BSN, RN · Dec 11, 2018

I wouldn't spend any money on this. As far as I can tell, based on my facebook newsfeed, "health coaching" is pretty much a MLM scam. I would bet money they'll fade from popularity within a few years.

MHuffman · Mar 13, 2019

Evidence-based Health Coaching is definitely here to stay, especially for nursing! Motivational interviewing (MI) within a health coaching context turns our traditional patient approach on its head, engaging patients to tap into the patients own motivation to change unhealthy behavior. Over thirty years of research and 300+ studies in MI have proven its efficacy and effectiveness..

Clinicians tell me after learning these new strategies that for the first time in their careers they feel like athe “real clinician” they always wanted to be.

Jedrnurse, BSN, RN · Mar 13, 2019

3 hours ago, MHuffman said:
Evidence-based Health Coaching is definitely here to stay, especially for nursing! Motivational interviewing (MI) within a health coaching context turns our traditional patient approach on its head, engaging patients to tap into the patients own motivation to change unhealthy behavior. Over thirty years of research and 300+ studies in MI have proven its efficacy and effectiveness..
Clinicians tell me after learning these new strategies that for the first time in their careers they feel like athe “real clinician” they always wanted to be.

Okay, let's break that down. What does the evidence say about how many nurses are actually making a living doing this? Is there a professional organization of Nurse Coaches?

Also, the holy "evidence-based" seal of approval is only good until something is supplanted by the Next Big Thing. (supported by evidence of course)

CharleeFoxtrot, BSN, RN · Mar 13, 2019

2 hours ago, Jedrnurse said:
Okay, let's break that down. What does the evidence say about how many nurses are actually making a living doing this? Is there a professional organization of Nurse Coaches?
Also, the holy "evidence-based" seal of approval is only good until something is supplanted by the Next Big Thing. (supported by evidence of course)

I'm here to say we do make quite a nice living doing case or care management so yes, it has been around for awhile and is likely here to stay. "Health coach" is simply another label. Several points to ponder follow.

The whole idea behind using motivational interviewing and health coaching is simple. Getting folks engaged in their own health care through education had been shown to decrease hospitalizations. For example. studies show that teaching the CHF patient how to manage their condition at home and being aware that they can control and mitigate their symptoms reduces emergent hospitalizations.

Insurance companies are reimbursing my clinic for my services as the studies clearly show the value of what I do. Patients who are activated and motivated use less services which impacts insurance companies bottom line.

A new wrinkle to the idea is concentrating on the rising risk population, i.e. coaching the pre-diabetic before they become full blown. My company's health insurance carrier offers the use of an online health improvement program which includes a call from a Health Coach at intervals to help you get to a better state. In return, for participation in the program you get your health insurance premiums discounted.

Jedrnurse, BSN, RN · Mar 13, 2019

1 hour ago, CharleeFoxtrot said:
I'm here to say we do make quite a nice living doing case or care management so yes, it has been around for awhile and is likely here to stay. "Health coach" is simply another label. Several points to ponder follow.
The whole idea behind using motivational interviewing and health coaching is simple. Getting folks engaged in their own health care through education had been shown to decrease hospitalizations. For example. studies show that teaching the CHF patient how to manage their condition at home and being aware that they can control and mitigate their symptoms reduces emergent hospitalizations.
Insurance companies are reimbursing my clinic for my services as the studies clearly show the value of what I do. Patients who are activated and motivated use less services which impacts insurance companies bottom line.
A new wrinkle to the idea is concentrating on the rising risk population, i.e. coaching the pre-diabetic before they become full blown. My company's health insurance carrier offers the use of an online health improvement program which includes a call from a Health Coach at intervals to help you get to a better state. In return, for participation in the program you get your health insurance premiums discounted.

What is your opinion about training/prep programs for this specialty? Is there standardization re: requirements for certification? (Not that that is the end all and be all of competence, I realize...)

CharleeFoxtrot, BSN, RN · Mar 13, 2019

10 hours ago, Jedrnurse said:
What is your opinion about training/prep programs for this specialty? Is there standardization re: requirements for certification? (Not that that is the end all and be all of competence, I realize...)

For case management the certification I am familiar with is through https://ccmcertification.org/, which has been the "go to" for the past 25 years. It is not set up as a preparatory program it is more of a refinement and additional training. If you wish to work within the insurance industry as a CM it can be a requirement to either have it at hire or achieve it within a set time frame.

Health Coaching is the newest sub specialty, and although that is what I do (or rather closer to what I do than the traditional care management model) I was not required to have any type of certification prior to obtaining my position. My organization hires on past experience and then teaches motivational interviewing which IMO can't be learned from a book or a webinar powerpoint. You have to have face to face time with qualified teachers, practice a lot and have refreshers to keep up on those skills.

So answer your question, I do think some sort of standardization will come about in the next few years as the field expands because this initiative is being fueled by the insurance industry. But I am not familiar enough with current certification programs to give an opinion on them one way or another.

For the OP: sorry for the side track post. One way to figure out what certification may make you more desirable for hire is to surf the want ads, if the position you want requires you to obtain "x" certification or if you see the same certification repeated in multiple ads you'll have a better idea of what is acceptable. A quick google search showed up a ton of programs so I can see why it'd be difficult to sort through them.

BeachsideRN, ASN · Mar 14, 2019

Our facility just started hiring Clinical Health Coaches... the salaries are mid 40s-50s, M-F 8-5 type gig. They require a BS in nursing or health related field, and prefer a MSN or Master's in a health field such as Public Health. They also required health coach certification with in 6 months of hire from a NCCA organization or Wellcoaches.