Why I Call Myself a Nurse Coach (And Why It Matters to You)
I’ll admit: I sometimes hesitate to introduce myself as a nurse coach.
Not because I’m not proud of being one. I am.
It’s because when I say “nurse coach,” people sometimes assume I only coach nurses.
I don’t.
I work with women who are navigating busy lives, changing priorities, health challenges, and the desire to feel better in a way that actually fits into their lives.
Maybe you've spent so much time taking care of everyone else that your own health has become something you keep putting off.
Maybe your health has changed, and the things that used to work for you don't anymore.
Maybe you've been given plenty of advice but still find yourself wondering:
“Okay...but how am I actually supposed to make this work in my life?”
So why call myself a nurse coach?
Because the nursing part matters.
So, What Exactly Is a Nurse Coach?
Nurse coaching is a specialty practice within nursing that brings together the science of healthcare and the art of human connection.
As a Registered Nurse and Board Certified Nurse Coach (NC-BC), I bring nursing knowledge, evidence-based practices, coaching skills, and a holistic understanding of health into our work together.
Rather than simply telling someone what they should do, nurse coaching helps people recognize their strengths, clarify what matters to them, identify their own goals, and determine how they want to move forward.
And that distinction is important because knowing what to do and being able to actually do it are two very different things.
You can know that movement is important and still struggle to find time for it.
You can know that sleep matters and still have a life that makes consistent sleep difficult.
You can know what foods are considered nourishing and still feel overwhelmed by meal planning.
You can receive excellent medical advice and still leave an appointment unsure how to make those recommendations fit into your life.
Nurse coaching helps bridge that gap between knowing and doing.
Why Does the “Nurse” Matter?
There's a reason the word nurse matters to me.
People invite nurses into some of the most vulnerable moments of their lives.
We care for people when they're scared, overwhelmed, uncertain, celebrating, grieving, healing, and trying to make sense of what comes next.
My nursing career taught me that health is never just about a diagnosis, a lab value, or a treatment plan.
There's always a person behind the health concern.
A person with responsibilities.
A person with fears.
A person with strengths.
A person with a life that has to continue after the appointment ends.
That's the perspective I bring into coaching.
My nursing experience gave me a foundation in health, illness, healthcare systems, and evidence-based practice. But it also taught me that health doesn't happen in a vacuum.
Your health is influenced by your experiences, relationships, environment, access to resources, responsibilities, stress, work, family, and the realities of your everyday life.
That's why advice that sounds simple on paper can be incredibly difficult in practice.
“Just exercise more.”
“Get more sleep.”
“Eat healthier.”
“Reduce your stress.”
The advice might make sense.
But what happens when you're working, raising children, caring for aging parents, managing a chronic health condition, navigating a major life transition, or simply exhausted?
What happens when the life you're living doesn't leave much room for the perfect wellness plan?
That's where context matters.
Nurse coaching creates space to step back and look at the whole picture.
I help provide clarity as we explore how your health goals fit into the life you're actually living.
What Does “Board Certified Nurse Coach” Mean?
You may have noticed the letters NC-BC after my name.
NC-BC stands for Board Certified Nurse Coach. It is a specialty board certification for registered nurses through the American Holistic Nurses Credentialing Corporation (AHNCC).
Board certification represents specialized preparation and demonstrated competency in nurse coaching.
That distinction matters to me because the wellness industry is broad. People offering wellness, health, lifestyle, nutrition, mindset, and accountability coaching can have very different educational and professional backgrounds.
For me, being a Board Certified Nurse Coach means bringing together two areas of expertise:
The science of health and the skills of coaching.
I can bring nursing knowledge and evidence-based information to the conversation when it's helpful, while you remain the expert on your own experiences, priorities, and goals.
My role isn't to have all the answers.
It's to help you discover the answers that work for you.
Nurse Coaching Isn't About Giving You More Information
One of the biggest misconceptions about health is that if we just knew more, we'd make better choices.
But most people don't need another list of things they should be doing.
They already know.
The challenge is figuring out how to translate information into real life.
That's where nurse coaching takes a different approach.
Instead of:
“Here's what you need to do.”
The conversation might become:
“What matters most to you right now?”
“What's getting in the way?”
“What have you already tried?”
“What feels realistic in this season of your life?”
“What would make this change sustainable?”
These questions aren't about lowering the bar.
They're about creating a plan that actually belongs to you.
Because the most effective plan isn't necessarily the one that looks best on paper.
It's the one you can actually live.
Why I Chose Nurse Coaching
My nursing career taught me a lot about what happens inside the healthcare system. But more importantly, it taught me what that experience can feel like for the person living it.
People are so much more than their symptoms, diagnoses, lab values, or treatment plans.
Over time, I found myself drawn to the space beyond clinical care—the conversations about what happens after the appointment, how someone is actually feeling, what matters to them, and what they need to move forward.
I wanted a way to support people that went beyond giving information or following a treatment plan.
I wanted to create space for people to pause, get curious, and explore what was possible for them.
That's what drew me to nurse coaching.
It gives me a way to bring the nursing knowledge and healthcare perspective I've spent years developing into work that sees the person behind the health concern.
It's where my nursing expertise and my belief in the potential of each person come together.
And that's why, even though I don't only coach nurses, I'm proud to call myself a Nurse Coach.
Because the “nurse” isn't there to tell you how to live your life.
It's there to bring a deeper understanding of health into a relationship centered around you.
You may not need another person telling you what to do.
You may just need the right support to discover what a healthier life looks like for you.
Curious if nurse coaching could be right for you?
You don't have to have a specific diagnosis, a perfect goal, or a complete plan before reaching out.
If you're feeling stuck, overwhelmed, or simply ready to make a change that feels sustainable, I'd love to help you explore what that could look like.
Schedule a complimentary discovery call with me.
We'll talk about where you are, what you're hoping to change, and whether working together feels like the right fit.