Friday, August 23, 2013

Board Certified Nurse Coaches: A New Reality

This week, dear Readers, I'm writing this brief post to share with you the exciting news that I am now a Board Certified Nurse Coach (NC-BC)!

The American Holistic Nurse Credentialing Corporation (AHNCC) is the certifying organization of Holistic Nursing. The American Holistic Nurses Association and the AHNCC are two separate and distinct organizations who work together to further Holistic Nursing as a professional role for nurses.

In 2013, a new designation was created to recognize the new professional role of nurse coaching. This designation has been many years in the making, and the competencies of the Board Certified Nurse Coach are based on the precepts of Holistic Nursing. The language we use is the Holistic Caring Process, which is significantly different from the Nursing Process.

At this juncture, there are 83 Board Certified Nurse Coaches in the United States, and more nurses are scheduled to sit for the exam in November of this year, as well as in 2014. 

I'm delighted and honored to be among the vanguard of this new designation that is recognized by the majority of major nursing organizations, including the ANA and Sigma Theta Tau. I have no doubt that nurse coaches will eventually permeate health care, from hospitals and factories to Fortune 500 companies and private practices.

Nurse coaches will be one of the essential ingredients to delivering the gospel of preventive health and wellness to more and more individuals, and some nurse coaches will bring their skills to many non-medical venues as well. That said, nurses can't help but encourage their clients and patients to live in a more healthy manner, so no matter where nurse coaches are employed, they will certainly be raising the bar for everyone who encounters them. Nurses are the most trusted profession in the United States--and probably the world--so who better to use the power of coaching for the common good?

If you're interested in becoming a Board Certified Nurse Coach yourself, visit the AHNCC website for more information.

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