Being a certified health coach will help you advance your RD career while also improving your efficacy with clients and patients.
Health coaching has developed as an intriguing new possibility for dietitians in recent years. Sadly, many of them are either unaware of this potential career path or are unaware that their talents qualify them for such a position. Some of that lack of knowledge could be attributed to the fact that the discipline of health coaching is still developing and evolving, with no definite definition. Nevertheless, at its core, health coaching is about providing individuals with the information they need to make informed decisions about how to live healthy lives. Dietetics experts, as the recognised authority on food and nutrition, have the expertise and training to do precisely that.
The term “coaching” is no longer limited to sports. Coaching is becoming an integral aspect of health care in general. A health coach works with customers to improve not only their eating habits but also their general health. This can involve encouraging clients to exercise more frequently, quit smoking or other unhealthy habits, eat a nutritious diet, and even focus on their spiritual well-being.
A health coach is not a regulated term with governing body-specified and established standards. As a result, many RDs dislike the word since it is viewed as a credential for a group of unqualified health professionals who provide nutrition advice to the public. People are having difficulty discerning between all of these people offering nutrition services. That can be concerning as an RD since people can provide nutrition advice that isn’t always based on strong science.”
Dietitians will love it!
There is no doubt that dietitians are an excellent choice for health coaching. They already have many of the abilities that make a health coach helpful, and the additional training that comes with health coach certification may help them be more effective with clients.
Registered dietitians can become a more thorough resource for customers as health coach. Combined with the certification, one can become the entire package, and health coaching may appear to be a natural progression from what they are presently doing.
The structure of training programmes can vary greatly, and this is a continuously expanding industry and profession. Some programmes solely provide live instruction. Others are learning through online courses. Some are workbook and telephone-based, while others are self-study with an online test administered by a third party. Currently, Weljii is providing health coaching credential that has been accredited by a third party and that is Healthcare Sector Skill Council (HSSC) & NBHWC (National Board of Health & Wellness Coaching).
When dietitians decide to pursue formal health coach training, they should consider how they will market the certification to clients and how it will help the type of work they conduct. A dietician in private practise, for example, might benefit more from health coach certification than one working in a hospital. Even if RDs do not pursue training. It is believed that all dietitians can benefit from focusing more on entire body wellness.
