Why have a Health Coach?
It can be overwhelming trying to figure it all out by yourself with the abundance of conflicting information on health and fitness. Often, your Doctor may tell you, you need to lose weight and exercise, without telling you how to do that. Eat less and exercise more is not a prescription for health. Having a Health Coach can help you be a healthier you. You set the goals and we help you attain those goals. You set the agenda and we motivate and explore the options with you.
Why do I need a Nurse Health Coach?
A Professional Nurse Coach is a Registered Nurse who incorporates and integrates nursing and coaching competencies to facilitate a process of change to help people realize their own potential. A Nurse Coach works with the whole person using principles that incorporate the "bio - psycho - social - spiritual - cultural dimensions toward human flourishing". (Nurse Coaching - Barbara Montgomery Dossey ‘et al’). We take the holistic viewpoint of the person/people we work with. We see the whole person not just the part that isn't working right. And with that person comes their family, community, culture, work identity, all of that person.
For these reasons, a Nurse Coach can help the whole of you visualize and attain your personal health goals.
Benefits of Having a Health Coach
Your Doctor tells you you need to make some changes in your life to start getting healthy. Your cholesterol is getting a little high, your blood sugar is borderline, your blood pressure is getting up there. The numbers on the scale aren’t as good as they used to be. How are your stress levels? What do you do? How do you find the information to start making the changes you need to make? Often, your Doctor doesn’t have the time or the knowledge to assist you or to even point you in the right direction. That’s where a health coach comes in. A health coach can fill the gaps in the health care system to provide support for self managed care. At present there is very little within our health care system to assist those needing what their family doctor can’t give them.
Coaching for health, just like any other coaching, encourages and helps sustain behaviour change in order to help people reach their goals. Coaching can provide the tools to empower clients and to help them help themselves in their journey to a healthier life. Together, you and your coach will develop a personalized plan that takes into account you, your family and loved ones, your responsibilities. It includes all areas of your life, including your stress levels, your sleep patterns. With all the available information on the internet, and listening to family and friends who have their own ideas about health, it can be a daunting venture trying to find reliable, sensible practices you can adapt into your life. A health coach helps you to bypass that search. A trained, professional health coach has done the research for you and uses evidence based practices to help you help yourself.
Behaviour change takes time and perseverance. Together, we monitor your behaviour and the changes you’d like to make. Together, we make changes to the plan as necessary to help you meet your goals. We help you deal with any blocks you may have. We help you identify the cause of any issues you may be having. Are you dealing with anxiety or depression? Does loneliness get in the way of you being able to follow through on your daily tasks? Health coaching skills include counselling and behaviour modification. We also have knowledge of chronic disease and the complexities this can entail in your life.
Changing negative behaviours, beliefs and attitudes that we’ve had for years can be overwhelming at times and challenging at best. Having someone there for you, to support you, assist you, and to hold you accountable when necessary, makes the day to day flow a little better. A health coach can do all that for you. A health coach who is also a nurse can do that and more. As a nurse I have a more in-depth knowledge of chronic disease, the medications used for chronic disease. I can talk to your doctor - only with your permission - to discuss your care. (I need your permission to talk to your doctor and your doctor needs your permission to talk to me). I also understand the implications of your tests and results.
Health Coaching is a sustainable and affordable approach for prevention and management of chronic health conditions and to assist the average person to become a healthier version of themselves. Enlisting a professional to help you on you journey gets you to your destination sooner and with more confidence.
Jane Ramage is a Registered Nurse, Rapid Transformational Therapy certified and Health Coach In Toronto, Mississauga, North York, and Acton who brings Results. Let’s chat
