I want to be a Health Coach, RN!

JSBoston · Nov 22, 2011

I think that would be awesome... at least in theory! I have NO idea how you'd start that up. I am also interested in Holistic Nursing as well. I don't know if you'd have to get into other things like yoga/pilates/fitness instruction.

The big problem I see, and like I said I have NO CLUE how it would work, but using your nursing license to care for people when you aren't under a physician, or working for a clinic etc. I don't know if there are legal issues with that, but possibly something to think about.

tlancio · Nov 23, 2011

Starting a health coaching business is possible but I would first have to ask you how much business experience do you have? You need to understand business, marketing and how to work with clients. It's not enough just to have a nursing license. I have been in nursing for 30 years now and I took a coaching program last year. I learned so much. Coaching is a different mind set than what you are taught in nursing school, you need to understand what coaching means and how it's done successfully. I've written about health coaching on my blog and for other sites, if you need more info you can pm me. There's a science in how health coaching is done right, that's what you will need to learn as well as the business end of things - these are the things that are not taught in nursing school.

Good Luck!

Tina L.

SPJJMommy · Nov 23, 2011

I think it's a great idea! I'm a nursing student, but my previous degree is in Kinesiology, and I've had some experience in health coaching and fitness training. I always thought it would be cool to combine my two degrees and become a health coach RN. I definitely think an RN would be great for the role of health coach! I'm all for preventative health... it's so important. Not sure how to start up that kind of business, but good luck!! :)

cosmicmama, BSN, RN · Nov 23, 2011

I'm an integrative health coach, I got my training at Duke. Coaching is in no way like nursing or pt. teaching, it's a whole different ball game. Duke Integrative Medicine has an awesome program that will prepare you to start your own practice, but it's pretty intense, and expensive. I'm kind of in a rush right now, but you can PM me.

xtxrn, ASN, RN · Nov 23, 2011

What in the pickle is a health coach?

Pay someone to tell someone the right thing to do?

Have we gotten to be this inadequate at living our own lives? In this economy, I'd think it risky to do unless money isn't an issue. (if so- great :up: have a ball :))

JMO..... I hope whatever it is you're looking to do works out. :)

tyvin, BSN, RN · Nov 23, 2011

Your idea is one that I've been kinking around for awahile. I was going toward a life coach and fine tune it to a hospice consieire. And I have other really neat ides. I want to be my own boss. I've been looking into the different coaching programs.

cosmicmama, BSN, RN · Nov 25, 2011

xtxrn, as I stated, health coaching is not pt. teaching, and it is definitely NOT telling someone what to do. It is something that has be to be learned, think motivational interviewing, visualization exercises, things like that. You are helping the person to find their own answers and set their own goals, and then when they do, you hold them accountable for taking the specific steps to get there.

http://www.dukeintegrativemedicine.org/patient-care/integrative-health-coaching

melissakc12 · Mar 3, 2013

Yes, the Duke program is good if you can afford it. I have also found the HealthSciences Institute Health Coaching and Motivational Interviewing (MI) Training and CCP Certification from HealthSciences Institute programs to be very credible and I know they work with Duke (that's how I learned about Duke). I would be afraid of starting a practice, As a CCM, I am looking for a position in a wellness, disease management or care management program. I work with the highest risk patients at my company and looking to do something more along the wellness lines. Does anyone know what the job opportunities would be in wellness, disease management or care management (maybe). It would have to be telephonic probably.

njoceangirl41 · May 19, 2013

Do you have to complete this course to become an RN health coach? My background is in acute care but also have an MS in healing modalities & am a yoga instructor. Are there areas to search that I (we) are not aware of? ANY help is soooo appreciated!!!

tlancio · May 25, 2013

To answer your question njoceangirl41 about "Do you have to complete this course to become an RN health coach?" is no you don't have to finish any course to call yourself a health coach but the reason for taking a health coaching program is to learn what coaching is and how to apply it. Most people who didn't take a coaching program and do coaching are actually consultants not coaches because they don't understand that coaching isn't about you telling a client what to do, it's the client figuring out what is best for them. As nurses we are task oriented and follow care plans, doctors orders and teaching clients what they need to do be well. In coaching this isn't how it works, so although you have a MS in healing modalities that background won't prepare you for being a health coach, additional training is needed to effectively help others make a change in their health that works for them not for you. It's a skill that nurses can easily learn though and I highly recommend doing research on this topic to give you an idea of what coaching is and how to apply it. You may be able to self teach yourself how to coach others or consider hiring someone to be your coach to see how the process works. Hope this helps, if you need any more information let me know, I'm a nurse writer and write about this topic frequently, just pm me.

nurse_kv · Jun 26, 2013

Hello, I'm currently a dialysis nurse (over 2 years experience) and have for the past year or so been thinking about my niche/calling/dream job. I learned about health coach nurses in my area (Silicon Valley) and was very drawn to the idea of coaching your clients to set health goals for themselves and helping them in their journey to find wellness. I've been browsing on indeed.com for these positions but they are not so common at this time. Case management is a bit different and it requires acute experience. I do not have any acute care experience myself because during the time that I graduated, there were no jobs for new nurses. I looked at some online programs and plan on enrolling next year. I admit that I am reluctant to invest in the certification and have nothing come out of it as the health coach jobs aren't as plentiful as the hospital based jobs. What I do have is a lot of passion for helping others reach their health goals. It would be such a fulfilling job to know that I helped to improve someone's quality of life.