What Is A Nurse Coach?

There are currently over three million nurses in the United States. These healers play a vital role in our healthcare system and society, treating illnesses and keeping our bodies healthy. But often, their expertise is only skin deep, which leaves us nurses wanting more. However, nurses can play a much more significant role in their patients’ well-being. One of the best ways to do so is bybecoming a Nurse Coach.

Here’s everything you need to know about this exciting and fast-growing specialty, including how to become a Nurse Coach.

What is a Nurse Coach?

A nurse coach is a registered nurse (RN) who has undergone additional training in nurse coaching. This training focuses on enhancing coaching techniques, communication skills, and learning strategies to support and facilitate behavioral changes.

In 2013, a book entitled “The Art and Science of Nurse Coaching” hit the market and changed the world of nursing. The book described a new kind of nursing practice: Nurse Coaching.

This term refers to a Registered Nurse who focuses on holistic health by enhancing the overall wellness of their patients. Nurse coaches combine the skills they’ve learned in the medical field with lifestyle coaching to help their patients elevate their mental, physical, and spiritual health.

While Nurse Coaching is a newer field, it’s growing rapidly. There are now thousands of Nurse Coaches across the country, transforming the healthcare paradigm as we know it.

The best part? It’s not just continuing education. It’s a nationally accredited board certification, which sets you apart from any other non-licensed health coach. AHNCC (American Holistic Nurses Credentialing Corporation) requires aspiring Nurse Coaches to prove competencies and demonstrate continued learning before they become Board Certified.

What Sets Nurse Coaching Apart from Other Specialties?

Nurse Coaches work with their patients on a deeper and more individualized level than traditional nurses. One of the benefits of a Nurse Coach is that these holistic practitioners are more than just knowledgeable medical professionals. 

They’re also deep listeners, discussing life’s hurdles without judgment and providing a source of positivity and strength. Whether a patient meets their Nurse Coach in person or virtually, individually or as part of a peer support group, these health coaching services can help promote greater well-being, motivation, and accountability for change.

All of this adds up to one simple fact:

Nurse Coaches are elite communicators, powerful agents of change, and >precisely what has been missing from the medical model.

Benefits of Becoming a Nurse Coach

Registered Nurses enter the medical field because they want to help others. Of course, we do a world of good for people every day, but haven’t you felt compelled to help your patients and community even more? Nurse Coaching gives you the opportunity to reach more people while facilitating holistic healing in the mind, spirit, and body.

Becoming a Nurse Coach can also give you a competitive edge in the nursing field. As we mentioned, there are several million nurses in the U.S. — but the AHNCC has only certified around 1,000 Nurse Coaches. Getting certified in this nursing field can help you land and secure a position at a private practice, group practice, or other medical facility.

And most importantly, you’ll experience more fulfillment, freedom, and creativity in your career than you ever thought possible.

The wellness revolution is just beginning, and if you get in on it now, you’ll ride the wave of change for years to come.

How to Become a Nurse Coach

Every nurse who becomes a Health and Wellness Coach has to obtain certification as a Board Certified Nurse Coach (NC-BC) and as a Board Certified Holistic Nurse (HN-BC). According to the American Holistic Nurses Credentialing Corporation (AHNCC), these are the following eligibility requirements for becoming a Health and Wellness Nurse Coach — Board Certified (HWNC-BC):

• An active, unrestricted registered nursing license in the United States
• At least two years of active practice as an RN (or 4,000 hours part-time) within the last five years
• The minimum of a diploma, ADN, or BSN degree in Nursing from an accredited school (if international, candidates need to have their degrees evaluated)
• A minimum of 60 completed CNEs over the last three years, including education consistent with Nurse Coach Core Values and Competencies
• 60 hours of mentored/supervised coaching experience, verified by a Certified Nurse Coach Supervisor, with a validation letter from a Certified Nurse Coach
• Signed application testifying to agreement to terms in Candidate’s Agreement
• Certification in holistic Nurse Coaching

Becoming a Nurse Coach can be a great way to make a real difference in your life and practice, but how do you become one? While the process requires additional study and practice, every nurse who has taken our training has told us that becoming a Nurse Coach was one of the most rewarding and transformative experiences of their life.

Education

The only prerequisite to becoming a Nurse Coach is that you have an active, unrestricted license as a registered nurse. It doesn’t matter what specialty or area of practice you’re in or how long you’ve been a nurse.

What ties us all together is that we are nurses. No one else in the world is more qualified to help others improve their health and life than you.

When you couple our Nurse Coach Program with your experience as a nurse, you’ll be part of an elite community of healers working to elevate our planet’s well-being, one conversation at a time.

Nurse Coach Certification

AHNCC currently offers two certification credentials: Nurse Coach Board Certified (NC-BC) and Holistic Nurse Board Certified (HN-BC). To earn these credentials, you’ll want to complete a training course (like the one at The Nurse Coach Collective) to obtain the education and practice to become a world-class, holistic healer.

At The Nurse Coach Collective, we believe in the benefits of Nurse Coaches, which is why we offer The Transformative Nurse Coach Certification Program.

This evidence-based learning journey is designed for nurses who want to do more for their patients and expand their careers. In just seven months, you’ll learn everything you need to know to become a successful Nurse Coach. Through online training modules, live support calls, and an incredible community of like-minded professionals, you’ll earn 120 CNEs and be eligible for Board Certification in either Nurse Coaching, Holistic Nursing, or both!

Best of all, the Transformative Nurse Coaching Certification Program is offered entirely online. In fact, the majority of our students work full time! So, no matter where you live or how busy your schedule gets, you can take this course and enhance your skill set to provide holistic, lasting, sustainable healing for all of your patients.

You can apply now to start your certification program and begin the journey to become a Nurse Coach today. If you have questions, sign up for a free call to speak directly with a Nurse Coach to get the clarity you need. Oh! You can also join our Free Community to meet fellow nurses who are as passionate about holistic health as you are.

Nurse Coach Frequently Asked Questions

Now, more than ever, there has never been a better time to become a Nurse Coach and to ride the wave of change. Are you ready to transform your career? Schedule your free call to speak directly with a Nurse Coach today.