Nurse Health Coach Career Overview
What Is a Nurse Health Coach?
Although health coaches may come from different backgrounds, a nurse health coach is a coaching professional who is a registered nurse and helps patients and clients work toward health-related goals.
The American Holistic Nurses Association (AHNA) describes nurse coaching as “a skilled, purposeful, results-oriented and structured client interaction that is provided by Registered Nurses for the purpose of promoting achievement of client goals.”
The National Society of Health Coaches (NSHC) describes health coaching as “the use of evidence-based skillful conversation, clinical strategies, and interventions to actively and safely engage patients/families/clients in health behavior change to better self-manage their health, health risk(s), and acute or chronic health conditions resulting in optimal wellness and recovery, improved health outcomes, lowered health risk and decreased healthcare costs.”
How Long to Become?
4-6 Years
Job Outlook
6% increase from 2022 to 2032
Average Salary
$94,480
What Does a Nurse Health Coach Do?
From a holistic nursing perspective, the AHNA says a nurse health coach promotes and facilitates “the growth, healing and wellbeing of the whole person by using coaching principles and healing modalities that integrate body-mind-emotion-spirit-environment.”
Noting that nurse health coaches can apply their coaching competencies to any type of setting or area of nursing practice, the organization says the primary aim is to “facilitate a process of change or development that assists individuals and/or groups to actualize their potential.”
The AHNA describes six steps that occur simultaneously within the nurse coaching process:
- Establish the relationship and assess the client’s readiness for change
- Identify client opportunities and issues
- Assist the client in establishing goals
- Structure the coaching interaction
- Empower the client to reach their goals
- Assist the client in determining the extent to which their goals were achieved
“Nurse coaches are supportive and encouraging, building on the client’s strengths rather than attempting to correct weaknesses,” the AHNA says. “Nurse coaches provide guidance and resources to the client who is the expert on their own needs and choices.”
Noting that patients and clients may be in various stages of health, the NSHC underscores the versatility of health coaches and says they can “safely guide the patient/client by virtue of their clinical license to practice in most all health and wellness settings.”
The NSHC says the “behavior change conversation” that health coaches have with their patients and clients typically include topics such as:
- medications
- pain control
- fall and injury prevention
- nutrition and diet
- exercise, physical activity, and rehabilitation
- tobacco or ETOH cessation
- weight loss and maintenance
- stress management
- health system navigation
- referrals to other services, etc.
How Much Does a Nurse Health Coach Make Per Year?
According to salary data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the median annual wage for registered nurses is $86,070, with half of nurses earning more than that amount and half earning less. Wages of nurses in the lowest 10 percent average $63,720. Wages of nurses in the highest 10 percent average $132,680.
The BLS does not provide a pay breakdown according to specialty but does provide median annual wages for registered nurses according to general categories of work location. The AHNA says that surveys indicate that the salary of a nurse health coach is similar to or more than that of nurses who work in hospital settings. According to the BLS, the median annual salary for nurses who work in general medical and surgical hospitals is $96,830, and in outpatient care centers $102,640. The salary of a nurse health coach will also be influenced by factors such as education, experience, and geographical region of the country.
Annual Mean Wage of Registered Nurses, by State
- $69,030 - $80,760
- $81,390 - $86,210
- $87,220 - $94,670
- $94,830 - $137,690
Blank areas indicate data not available
Where Do Nurse Health Coaches Work?
The AHNA says that nurse health coaches provide coaching services in a variety of frameworks. These may include working in:
- Private practice, in which the nurse health coach is an entrepreneur, providing services to individuals and/or organizations
- Group practice, in which the nurse health coach works with other nurse health coaches to provide health coaching services
- Various types of organizations—such as hospitals, insurance companies, and others
How Do I Become a Nurse Health Coach?
The path to becoming a nurse health coach depends upon the credentials involved. Nurse health coaches are registered nurses and must attend an accredited nursing program that leads to a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) or an Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN).
RNs must also be licensed in the state in which they work. Licensure can be obtained by passing the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX-RN) and meeting any additional requirements of the state’s board of nursing. The National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) offers a resource to determine state-based nursing licensure requirements.
Several organizations offer various types of specialty certifications for nurse health coaches.
The AHNA says the American Holistic Nurses Credentialing Corporation (AHNCC) provides “the only nationally accredited holistic nurse and nurse coach certification credentials in the USA.”
Two types of certifications are offered by the AHNCC: Nurse Coach (NC-BC) and Health and Wellness Nurse Coach (HWNC-BC). Although the same exam is used for both credentials, the HWNC-BC credential is for nurses who also hold a holistic nursing certification and the NC-BC is for those who don’t.
“With a board-certified nurse coach credential (as compared to a plain coach or health coach credential), nurses clearly identify themselves as registered nurses and are recognized as nurse specialists by many programs that are working to integrate holistic and complementary approaches into mainstream healthcare, such as the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) Magnet and Pathways to Excellence programs in hospitals,” the AHNA says.
The NSHC also offers specialty certification, awarding the Certified Health Coach (CHC) credential to those who qualify. The organization says it is “the only certifying body designed specifically for licensed health practitioners credentialed to coach those with moderate to high health risks, chronic conditions, and disease.”
“The NSHC offers health coach certification exclusively to licensed health practitioners/clinicians who within their clinical practice engage individuals in wellness, prevention, chronic condition and disease self-management, as well as those with moderate to high health risks,” the organization says.
What Are the Benefits of Being a Nurse Health Coach?
There are many benefits to being a nurse health coach, including the gratification associated with helping individuals who are struggling with various health issues to reach their goals and improve their quality of life.
The NSHC says the benefits of being a health coach include:
- Enjoying better work/life balance: “Whether you choose to escape the demanding, fast-paced hospital environment or start your own health coaching business, you will have more control over your time and life.”
- Embracing a “more satisfying” healthcare career: “Finally, feel like the Clinician that you always wanted to be!”
- Supporting improved patient outcomes: “Decrease patient/client noncompliance through health coaching. Reduce readmissions. Partner with your patients/clients to find their motivation to change.”
Additional Resources About Becoming a Nurse Health Coach
To learn more about becoming a nurse health coach, these additional resources may help:
