Proven & recognized Healthcare Staff Training
The best healthcare organizations don't just treat patients, they engage them. Designed by clinicians for clinicians, the National Society of Health Coaches equips your entire care team with the evidence-based coaching skills patient self-management and health outcomes, strengthen staff confidence, and set your organization apart as a leader in patient-centered care.
Why Health Coaching Matters for Healthcare Organizations
Chronic disease is among the defining challenges of modern healthcare. According to the CDC, six in ten American adults live with at least one chronic condition. These are the patients who cycle most often through hospitals, urgent care, clinics, and private practices, driving up costs and straining resources.
Your clinicians already have the medical knowledge required to treat these patients. What they are missing is engagement, meeting patients where they are and helping them find their own motivation to make the changes that will improve their health.
When your medical staff is trained in evidence-based health coaching, they bring a new level of effectiveness to every patient encounter. The result is a workforce that feels more confident and purposeful, patients who feel genuinely heard, and outcomes your organization can measure.
Health Coaching Across Medical Care Settings
Health coaching skills translate across every major care setting. The skills your staff develop through NSHC will apply directly to the patients they see every day.
Hospitals & Health Systems
Reduce readmissions and improve discharge outcomes by giving bedside nurses the coaching skills to address non-compliance before it becomes a crisis.
Home Health & Home Care
In-home clinicians are already in the patient's world. NSHC training gives them the tools to leverage that proximity for lasting health behavior changes.
Primary Care Practices
Integrate health coaching into routine care visits to address lifestyle factors driving hypertension, diabetes, obesity, and other chronic conditions.
Occupational Health
Worksite health programs become measurably more effective when staff can coach employees through behavior change rather than simply providing information.
Outpatient & Rehabilitation
Patients who feel like active partners in their recovery stay engaged longer and achieve better functional outcomes.
Insurance & Managed Care
Health plans and managed care organizations use NSHC-trained staff to reduce high-cost utilization by proactively engaging patients with chronic disease.
Clinical Leadership
Built for the Leaders Who Drive Healthcare Organizations
From large health systems to single-specialty practices, NSHC’s staff training program is built for the organizational leaders who know that investing in their people is the highest-impact decision they can make.
- Chief Clinical Officers: Provide your staff with the engagement skills that drive positive clinical outcomes across your organization.
- Chief Nurse Executives: Give your nursing staff the tools to lead behavior-change conversations that improve patient satisfaction scores and reduce readmissions.
- VP/SVP of Patient Care Services: Build a patient care workforce that partners with patients to improve care quality and experience across your system.
- Directors of Clinical Operations: Standardize a health coaching across your departments and care teams.
- Directors of Health & Wellness: Strengthen your wellness and chronic disease programs with coaching skills grounded in behavior change science.
- Directors of Nursing: Elevate nurse-led patient engagement with a professional health certification that distinguishes your team and supports board certification pathways.
- Directors of Clinical Services: Equip your care teams with coordinated coaching skills that improve interdisciplinary collaboration and patient progress.
- Physician Practice Owners & Practice Managers: Bring evidence-based coaching skills to your clinical staff without disrupting the pace of a busy practice.
- Home Health Agency Directors: Give your in-home clinicians the tools to turn every patient visit into an opportunity for lasting behavior change.
- Medical Directors, Insurance & Managed Care: Reduce high-cost utilization by equipping your care management staff with proactive chronic disease health coaching skills.
One Program, Two Credential Tracks
Every member of your care team takes the same NSHC coursework. What distinguishes the tracks is licensure status and the credential earned upon completion of the program.
Licensed Clinicians
Registered Nurses, Registered Dietitians, Physical Therapists, Medical Doctors, and other licensed practitioners earn the Certified Health Coach (CHC) credential upon passing the health coach certification exam. Licensed clinicians also earn 42 continuing education credits upon passing. NSHC is an accredited CE provider through the ACSM, the CDR, and Scully Health Management, Inc.
Non-Licensed Staff
Care coordinators, medical assistants, community health workers, and other care team members earn an NSHC Certificate of Completion upon successfully completing the final assessment.
Two Ways to Train Your Team
Self-Paced Online Group Enrollment
Your staff completes the NSHC program independently, on their own schedules, with no mandatory class times or onsite requirements. You set the timeline, and we provide the organizational guidance to structure your rollout.
The CoachClinic®: One-Day Onsite Training
A hands-on, one-day motivational interviewing and health coaching workshop led by NSHC’s clinical coaches at your facility. Ideal for organizations looking to build momentum quickly or introduce health coaching concepts to their team.
Core Skills Covered in the NSHC Training Program
Motivational Interviewing (MI)
The cornerstone of health coaching. MI gives clinicians a structured, conversational approach to exploring patient ambivalence, surfacing the internal motivation to change rather than prescribing it from the outside.
Active Listening
Your staff will learn to go beyond hearing what patients say to understanding what they mean, building the kind of trust that makes patients honest about their barriers, fears, and goals
Positive Psychology
Coaching grounded in strengths, not deficits. Staff learn to identify and build on what's already working for the patient, creating momentum for sustained behavior change.
Goal Setting
Goal setting within a coaching framework helps patients define their own health goals. We give your staff the skills to guide that conversation effectively.
Stages of Change
Recognizing where a patient is in the behavior change cycle is what turns a good clinician into an effective coach. Staff learn to read the cues and meeting patients exactly where they are.
Outcomes Management
Clinicians learn systematic approaches to tracking patient progress, measuring impact, and adjusting their coaching strategy to stay on course toward meaningful patient stated health goals and outcomes.
Supporting Your Staff’s Professional Growth
Healthcare organizations that invest in professional development build stronger, more committed teams. NSHC’s program gives your staff a recognized credential and a skill set that creates real forward momentum in their careers, which translates directly into stronger retention and a more competitive hiring profile for your organization.
The NSHC Advantage: Why Healthcare Organizations Choose Our Coaching Program
NSHC’s health coaching certification program was built specifically for the realities of clinical practice, making it the right fit for healthcare organizations of every size and setting.
- Built for Clinical Practice: NSHC's curriculum builds directly on the knowledge your staff already brings from their clinical training, resulting in faster comprehension, more relevant application, and a stronger return on your training investment.
- Affordable by Design: Because our curriculum builds on existing clinical knowledge, our program is priced significantly lower than comparable options without compromising on rigor or accreditation
- The Nation's First Clinical Model of Health Coaching: NSHC developed the nation's first Clinical Model of Evidence-Based Health Coaching, setting the gold standard for health coach certification for licensed practitioners, grounded in peer-reviewed research and aligned with the standards of the AMA, ANA, and ICF.
- Led by Experienced Clinicians: Our Lead Coaches bring 75 years of combined clinical and executive leadership experience, providing meaningful guidance throughout your organization's training rollout.
Frequently Asked Questions
Organizations
How do I schedule a CoachClinic® for my organization?
What are some of the methods organizations use to keep staff on track?
What is the difference between the post-test and the certification exam?
What support does NSHC provide during our rollout?
Do licensed clinicians earn CE credits?
Can we enroll both licensed and non-licensed staff together?
What is the difference between the CHC and the Certificate of Completion?
Get Your Organization Started
Getting started is easy. Here’s how:
- Inquire about group pricing — Groups of 5 or more qualify for volume discount pricing. Reach out, and we’ll provide a custom proposal and onboarding guidance tailored to your organization.
- Enroll your staff — Each team member receives a registration ID by email and completes their own online registration. Licensed clinicians and non-licensed staff are enrolled in the same program.
- Set your timeline — You decide when your staff starts and when you’d like them to finish. We provide a Program Study Guide to help you structure group milestones if desired.
- Staff complete the program and test on their own schedule — No face-to-face time required. Licensed clinicians sit for the CHC Certification Exam; non-licensed staff complete the post-test for the Certificate of Completion.
Have questions before you’re ready to enroll? Our team is available for a complimentary 30-minute consultation to walk you through the program and help you plan your rollout.
