What Is Nurse Coaching — And Why It’s the Future of Healthcare

Christina Gamez
Oct 5
6 min read

In healthcare, I’ve been both a patient and a nurse. Over 20+ years of these experiences, I’ve seen the system continue to change into something that shouldn’t even be called healthcare anymore. The system we have is structured to care for the sick. We should really call it sickcare! We get 15 minutes with a doctor and maybe there’s one or two issues are addressed, then there’s medication prescriptions, referrals, months of waiting. We often leave feeling unseen, unheard, and still stuck. We long for something that feels more whole: someone to listen, to explore options together, to empower us. Because the truth is, you know your body better than anyone. And healing — real healing — comes from within.

This is why Nurse Coaching is becoming the way forward in healthcare. Let me show you —through my personal story, what the evidence says and the standards that support it, and how you can integrate Nurse Coaching into your own healing journey.

What Is Nurse Coaching?

A Nurse Coach is a registered nurse—and a nationally recognized board-certified specialty—who supports healing through a whole-person lens. This means honoring each individual’s unique history, culture, beliefs, environment, and life story. Nurse Coaches combine evidence-based approaches such as Behavior Change Theory, Motivational Interviewing, and SMART goal setting with holistic principles that nurture the mind, body, spirit, emotions, and environment. Their role is to guide individuals or groups of people toward their highest health potential—whether that means creating lifestyle changes, managing or preventing disease, fostering emotional healing, or building resilience. Rather than telling clients what to do, Nurse Coaches walk alongside them as collaborative partners, helping illuminate possibilities, foster empowerment, and reconnect each person to their own inner wisdom and capacity for healing.

Key elements include:

Prioritizing you as the director of your health journey
Facilitating self‑awareness, self‑direction, and goal‑setting
Integrating emotional, spiritual, physical, and mental wellness in a safe space so that you feel heard, validated, supported

The Current Healthcare Model: Why It Falls Short

If you’ve ever felt frustrated with the healthcare system, you’re not alone. Appointments are often short—sometimes just 10 or 15 minutes—and only one or two concerns might be addressed. Referrals and follow-ups can take weeks or even months, leaving you stuck in limbo. You leave appointments wondering what is it that you can do in the meantime - while you wait. You may have been told that “nothing is wrong” even when your body and soul are clearly signaling otherwise. Emotional pain, grief, trauma, and life transitions are rarely part of the conversation. Meanwhile, side effects from medications, stress, anxiety, and discouragement keep adding up.

It’s no wonder so many people walk away from doctor's appointments feeling unseen and powerless, unsure of what to do next or who to trust with their whole self. This model can treat the illness, but not necessarily the person. True healing requires time, compassion, empowerment, and partnership—space to explore what’s really happening beneath the surface and support that honors your role in your own healing.

Evidence: What Research & Standards Tell Us

Nurse Coaches aren’t just good listeners—they’re highly trained professionals who meet rigorous national standards set by the American Holistic Nurses Association (AHNA) and credentialed through the American Holistic Nurses Credentialing Corporation (AHNCC). To become certified, they complete peer-reviewed training, supervised coaching hours, and ongoing education to maintain their competency. The American Nurses Association (ANA) also recognizes Nurse Coaching as a formal specialty, outlining its scope and standards in The Art and Science of Nurse Coaching: The Provider’s Guide to Coaching Scope and Competencies. This means Nurse Coaching is grounded in the same ethical and clinical principles that guide all of nursing—but expands the focus to include the whole person: mind, body, spirit, and environment.

Additionally, the research continues to affirm just how powerful this approach can be. Studies show that holistic Nurse Coaching not only supports emotional and spiritual well-being but also leads to measurable health improvements. For example, a 2025 study in BMC Nursing found that people with Type 2 diabetes who received nurse coaching had better blood sugar control, stronger self-management skills, and greater empowerment compared to those who only received standard education. Another trial published in JMIR mHealth and uHealth revealed that combining nurse coaching with mobile health technology further boosted self-efficacy, activity levels, and mood for individuals managing diabetes.

Beyond chronic disease management, nurse-led coaching has shown benefits in broader health settings. A study published on PubMed found that stroke survivors who received nurse coaching experienced higher self-efficacy, better quality of life, and fewer hospital readmissions compared to standard care. In Finland, patients who frequently visited primary care saw improvements in blood pressure, emotional fatigue, and energy through nurse-led health coaching.

Even more compelling, a systematic review of registered nurse coaching interventions showed consistent reductions in mental distress, improvements in pain and fatigue management, and enhanced overall well-being. While more research is always welcome, these findings together paint a clear picture: Nurse Coaching is a validated, evidence-based approach that blends clinical expertise with holistic care—and it works.

My Story: When I Knew Things Had to Change

I want to share part of my journey, because it’s exactly why I know this work matters. For months, I struggled with relentless physical symptoms—GI pain every time I ate, chest pain so crushing it sent me to the emergency room, and panic attacks that woke me in the middle of the night. I felt completely out of control of my emotions, and rage became a constant companion.

Despite countless labs and scans, several doctors told me nothing was wrong. But deep down, I knew something was. Beneath all the physical symptoms was a soul break. I had lost my 5½-month-old son, and not long after, my dad, followed by a grandmother and 2 cousins. Grief had piled up—unprocessed—and it began manifesting through my body in every way it could.

Doctor appointments, follow-ups, medications (followed by side effects) never even began to chip away at either my physical symptoms or my emotional pain. No one ever asked, “What do you think is going on? What do you want to try? What work do you need to do inside so your body can rest?” That absence became a turning point.

Out of deep frustration and a desperate need to find something that truly worked, I decided to become my own advocate. I started exploring emotional processing, holistic practices, listening to my body, and using my grief as a doorway rather than a prison. It became a healing journey—one that led me to discover multiple healing modalities including Nurse Coaching. These tools have resonated so deeply that it became part of how I now help others: guiding them to reconnect with their inner compass, reclaim their power, and walk a healing path where they feel seen, heard, and supported—not told what to believe, but encouraged to believe in themselves.

What I Offer as a Nurse Coach

When you work with me, you step into a space of safety and compassion—where there’s no judgment, only acceptance. This is a sacred space for your grief, anger, frustration, and hope. Every emotion you bring is welcome here.

I will listen deeply and give you time to feel, release, and explore what’s next. Together, we’ll uncover possibilities that align with your values and needs. You’ll be empowered to make your own choices—because you are the expert of your body and your inner knowing.

All healing is self-healing. My role isn’t to fix you—it’s to walk beside you, to witness, to guide, and to help you reconnect with the wisdom already within you.

A Call to Action

If you’re reading this and can related in any way—if you’ve ever felt unheard, rushed, or disheartened by a system that treats illness but overlooks the person—you’re not alone. Healing is possible. Change is possible. And Nurse Coaching is one of the ways forward.

I invite you to reach out. Find a Nurse Coach who aligns with your values. Ask questions: What is your training? What credentials do you hold? How will you support me?

You deserve to feel seen, respected, and supported on your journey back to wholeness.

Final Thoughts

The old model of healthcare—quick visits, symptom focus, medication first—was built for a different time. But we’ve evolved. Society, stress, and our understanding of healing have changed. It’s time our care evolves too.

The future of healthcare is one where you are a full partner—seen, heard, and honored as a whole person, not reduced to a diagnosis. Nurse Coaching is a bridge to that future.

I’m here to walk beside you—to help you process your experiences, reconnect with yourself, and step back into your power. Because true health begins when we heal from within.