What is a Nurse Health Coach?

There are various types of lifestyle, wellness and health coaches out there, so let's explore how a nurse coach operates.

Karen Bennett, BSN, RN Nurse Health Coach

A licensed nurse coach has gone through years of training

A nurse health coach is a licensed, clinically trained nurse. They have gone through 3-4 years of nursing college, earned a Bachelors of Science in Nursing, gone through a rigorous exam obtained a license to practice as a nurse from the state board of nursing. They then work actively as a nurse for at least 2 or 3 years, or in most cases, have many more years of hands-on experience.

Nursing specialties

In the hospital and outpatient setting, like providers, nurses specialize in one or more areas of healthcare, such as cardiology, primary care, neurology, adults over 65, pediatrics, hospice care, or any number of other areas. The same applies to nurse health coaches.

Nurses' role in your health care

Nurses do not diagnose disease - only providers do that.

However, a licensed registered nurse can assess objective clinical progress and changes, and with your permission, they can collaborate with your physician. In a nurse health coach role, that means an RN health coach can review your labs and blood pressure results to give them an idea of where you stand and what may be your priority goals based on your doctor's recommendations.

Nurses are the primary care managers for patient recovery and preventive care, creating a recovery plan that identifies nursing diagnoses based on the physician's disease diagnosis and treatment plan. Nurses are the ones who organize, implement the nursing care plan, observe for improvement or changes, and adapt the care plan accordingly.

Here is an example of what that looks like in a hospital or rehab center:

Doctor Disease Diagnosis	Treatment Plan	Nursing Diagnosis	Care Plan
Type II Diabetes	Insulin shots; diabetic diet, lose weight; exercise; follow up 3 months, A1C and labs before appointment	Blood sugar regulation; Preventative skin care; Weight loss plan;	x4 daily POC tests education on: diabetes, how to give shots, blood sugar monitoring, diet education, how to adapt lifestyle; referral to dietician, athletic trainer; coaching on recovery, best practice, priority goals and assessing and measuring results, reporting to provider on progress, reporting changes and adapting care according to treatment plan.

What does a nurse health coach do?

A nurse health coach, like myself, is a private advocate for individuals and/or families, providing evidence-based health support, guidance, and education to help them achieve their serious health condition goals. They work with a patient to create a personalized plan that adapts lifestyle changes to help achieve health goals.

The most significant difference between a nurse health coach and a general health and wellness coach who is not clinically trained is that a registered nurse coach can assess your progress. They can educate you on the disease, what constitutes clinical best practice, and provide evidence-based coaching and support that has been proven to work.

Here is an example of how a nurse coach may work with you on the same sample as above, but when you are at home trying to make those life-changing decisions on a week-to-week basis. Because, much as we would love to be able to ask questions and collaborate more with your doctor, and just as your doctor wants to help you further, they simply do not have the time in the day to do so. This is where a supportive nurse health coach helps fill the care gap after the doctor's visit. It goes, a little bit like this:

Nurse health coaching role at home in the same example as above:

Doctor Disease Diagnosis	Treatment plan	Nurse Coaching: VISION and SMART goals	Health Coaching Support Plan
Type II Diabetes	Insulin shots; diabetic diet, lose weight; exercise; follow up 3 months, A1C and labs before appointment. They provide you with a basic information sheet as you leave the doctor's office.	VISION: Setting a clear vision of what life will look and feel like when you have achieved your goals. Example To not need insulin anymore, lose 20lbs in weight in 6 months, have the energy to walk on a 3 mile hike without being short of breath Priority goals: lifestyle adjustments - walking 3 times a week for 30 minutes; resistance training and weights with a personal trainer x 2 week; cutting out 2 sodas a day; etc	Weekly sessions: week review of goals, successes, challenges; education on disease, the why behind the change, reinforcing the vision, maintaining focus. Reviewing what's working, overcoming self-inflicted assumptions and challenges, making adjustments, positive non-judgmental accountability, review of any labs, blood sugar results, preparing for doctor visits, priority symptoms and reporting progress at your doctor's visit; celebrating successes, having a positive support person and cheerleader in your corner

In summary, a nurse health and wellness coach helps you achieve your best health for the following:

• Chronic disease management and improvement

• Disease reversal

• Disease and family history risk prevention

• Serious medical condition recovery and prevention of recurrence

• Nursing care planning and decision making for you or a loved one

I hope this helps you understand what a nurse coach does and how they help clients achieve better, sustainable health improvement results that their doctors will be very happy to see at their follow-up appointment.

Oh, and of course - this is what I do.

Have you got questions about your health challenges? Please give me a call, and I may be able to help answer them for you. I offer a complimentary 30-minute Q&A session to anyone in need of assistance.

Let's just chat (970) 317 7235