Hey, Nurse!
Are you looking for more freedom and flexibility?
Do you wish you could make a greater impact on people’s lives?
Are you wanting to feel passionate about your career again?
Launching your own online wellness practice may be the perfect path for you!
This highly rewarding career allows you the freedom to:
– Work less hours, from home
– Replace (or exceed) your income
– Leave the traditional healthcare model
– Help people on a deeper level
– Feel deeply fulfilled by your career
Sound like what you’re looking for?
If so, keep reading…
Whether this is the first time you’ve considered health coaching or becoming a functional health practitioner, or you’ve played around with the idea before, you probably have a ton of questions!
So today, we’re going to focus on your first step:
>> How to choose the best training program
Because while there are dozens of fantastic options out there, the fact is –
Not every program is the best option for YOU!
There are factors you need to consider.
For example, programs such as Institute of Integrative Nutrition (IIN) provide excellent health coaching education, but you graduate without any training in functional labs, which means you can’t dig deeper to get real answers for your clients.
As a nurse, you’re coming into this career path with a ton of healthcare experience, and a strong desire to help people:
- To understand the WHY behind people’s symptoms
- To find real answers, and
- To get transformative results
That’s why we’ve rounded up a list of programs that offer advanced clinical training, so you can achieve just that.
In this article, we’ll look at:
#1. Important questions to consider when choosing a program, and
#2. A comparison of advanced health coach training programs
But before we dive into all that, let’s take a step back and introduce ourselves…
We’re Functional Diagnostic Nutrition (FDN)
We offer a 12-month Holistic Health Practitioner Lab training program that gives nurses everything they need to replace their income while working from home and changing lives, using the power of at-home functional lab testing + personalized diet & lifestyle changes.
As pioneers in the field of at-home functional lab testing, we give you the expertise you need to determine which lab tests to order, and how to interpret the results, so you can help your clients overcome chronic health problems.
And, equally as important, we provide you access to order these functional tests upon graduation, even without a license. Yes, anybody (including you!) can order functional testing through our Medical Director Program upon graduating.
Last, but certainly not least, we teach you how to build a thriving online wellness practice, so you have the freedom to set your own schedule and make a living from home – doing what you love.
Here is the FDN Program, at-a-glance.
- Program Duration: 10-12 Months
- Estimated Time Commitment: 3-6 Hours / Week (depending on pace)
- Investment: $8,997
- Access to 60+ Functional Labs for Clients: Yes, anyone (even unlicensed graduates) can order functional tests for their clients through the Medical Director Program.
- Certificate Awarded / Title: Functional Diagnostic Nutrition Practitioner (FDNP) and Holistic Health Practitioner via AADP
- Mentorship: Yes, 3 Personal Results and Recommendation Sessions, 6 Sessions With a Program Mentor to Practice What You’ve Learned.
- Functional Labs: Receive (4) Functional Lab Test Kits for yourself which is included in the cost of the program: Stress & Hormones Profile, Mucosal Barrier Assessment, Metabolic Wellness Profile, GI Map (Value $1k+)
- Other Support: 8-10 Live Calls / Month (optional); Private Facebook Group; Access to Founder, Reed Davis, on 1 Call / Week & Post-Grad Community; Direct Access to Course Supervisor & Lead Mentor.
- Business Development: Learn essential skills to set up your practice. Unlock access to FDN Business School, a business training program for graduates.
Now that we’ve laid out the details of our program, let’s talk about important factors you need to consider before examining your options.
Important Questions to Ask Yourself
- What type of freedom do you want?
If you want to break away from the traditional healthcare model, work from home, and have total control over your days – starting your own online wellness practice is the right path for you!
This means, when you look for a program, take note of how much business development support is available to you as a graduate. It’s a lot of work to start & grow a wellness practice, so having someone to show you the ropes is a game-changing benefit.
FDN offers foundational business support inside the FDN Program, as well as a dedicated graduate program to master online business skills.
- How will you order at-home labs for your clients?
Being trained to interpret functional labs is one (important!) thing – but if you want to run your own wellness practice, you need to be able to access them for your clients, too.
For example, at FDN, graduates can easily order labs *and* consult with lab experts about the results through our Medical Director Program.
Other programs might provide the education, but graduates are disappointed when it’s challenging (or impossible) to order labs for clients as a solo practitioner.
- What type of support is provided?
Both while you’re inside the program, and once you graduate.
Remember, learning brand new skills isn’t easy! You’re embarking on a new career path that actually changes people’s lives.
Most programs provide a thorough curriculum that equips you with everything you need to know – but how much support do you need to implement those lessons successfully?
- Will you have direct access to a mentor?
- How often will you have LIVE calls?
- What about after you graduate and are actively working with clients?
- Is there a community you can reach out to?
These are important questions to consider!
Bonus Tip: Money isn’t everything, but it matters.
If you’re interested in a particular program, look up some of the graduates online. If they’re running their own businesses now, what are they charging? Also, don’t hesitate to ask program advisors what the income range is for graduates of their program. It’s going to vary by location, but they should be able to provide a general range for you.
Keep in mind that the ability to offer at-home functional testing to your future clients is going to massively increase the amount you can charge for your services.
Most of our graduates offer high-ticket transformational programs, many that equate to $150-$200+/hr.
Alternative Training Programs for Nurses
Now that you know about FDN’s training program, let’s look at a few alternatives to make sure you know what’s available.
1 | Integrative Health Practitioner (IHP)
Integrative Health Practitioner (IHP) offers a certification program with two phases: Level 1 and Level 2. Level 1 (must be completed first) takes a deep-dive on Dr. Stephen Cabral’s signature protocols – giving you the detailed processes and handouts he uses inside his own health practice. In Level 2, you’ll learn how to leverage functional lab testing and apply them in the protocols.
Like FDN, IHP takes a bio-individual approach to health. The program provides training on holistic topics like stress, exercise, supplement recommendations, and more.
Here’s IHP at-a-glance:
- Estimated Time Commitment: 40+ hours total for Level 1; 68+ hours total for Level 2
- Investment: Not listed
- Access to Functional Labs for Clients: Yes
- Certificate Awarded / Title: IHP (Integrative Health Practitioner)
- Mentorship: Not listed
- Functional Labs: Receive in-depth training on important functional lab tests, including Food Sensitivity Testing, Parasite & Bacteria Testing, Organic Acid Testing, Omega-3 Testing, Adrenal Hormone Testing, Thyroid Adrenal Hormone Testing, Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis (HTMA)
- Other Support: Not listed
Important Note: Mentorship and support is not visible for this program, so make sure to ask these questions when conducting your own research. Entrepreneurship can be a rocky road if you try to go at it alone. Access to support from mentors and a like-minded community is key to your success, which is why FDN makes this a priority, with 1:1 and group sessions.
2 | Restorative Wellness Solutions (RWS)
Restorative Wellness Solutions offers 4 levels of training, each of which focuses on mastering a specific area of functional health, including how to leverage lab testing to get results. Each “level” or course is offered 2x each year.
They include:
- GI Healing (Gastrointestinal Healing)
- Optimizing Hormones
- Blood Chemistry
- Clinical Mastery
Restorative Wellness Solutions, at-a-glance:
- Program Duration: 12 weeks per course; ~12 months total (all 4)
- Estimated Time Commitment: 6-8 Hours / Week (depending on pace)
- Investment: $3,500 for Level 1; $3,800 for Level 2; $4,000 for Level 3; $4,500 for Level 4; $15,850 all in
- Access to Functional Labs for Clients: Yes
- Certificate Awarded / Title: Restorative Wellness Practitioner (RWP)
- Graduate Community: None
- Mentorship: 1-1 relationship with a designated mentor, 10 coaching calls
Important Note: While this organization provides excellent mentorship and training inside its courses, something to consider is that they don’t mention graduate support. This could potentially be an issue, particularly if you’re a new health coach or practitioner who has never worked with clients or offered labs before. You will almost certainly have questions arise as you begin to actually apply what you learn in the world!
3 | Kresser Institute
The Kresser Institute’s flagship program, ADAPT Functional Medicine Practitioner Training & Certification Program, “provides practitioners with the training to integrate and apply real-time clinical insights, new diagnostic labs, Functional Medicine panels with interpretation, and up-to-date treatment protocols with ongoing faculty support and guidance.”
This advanced program combines training in functional medicine, ancestral nutrition and lifestyle, and practice management, and is for licensed healthcare practitioners only.
ADAPT Training & Certification program, at-a-glance:
- Program Duration: 6-12 Months
- Estimated Time Commitment: 2-4 Hours / Week (depending on pace)
- Investment: $11,000
- Access to Functional Labs for Clients: Yes, for licensed practitioners only
- Certificate Awarded / Title: ADAPT Certified Functional Medicine Practitioner (A-CFMP) – awarded at an additional cost
- Mentorship: Not mentioned
Important Note: While this program provides access to functional lab testing, it’s only available for licensed practitioners, which could potentially prevent you from being able to access labs for your clients inside your own practice. At FDN, all graduates receive access to the Medical Director Program, which gives even unlicensed practitioners access to 60+ lab tests and consults with clinical experts.
Still Have Questions?
We’re here to help!
We invite you to:
- Book a FREE Discovery Call with one of our program advisors
- Receive the first FDN Module for FREE and get an exclusive taste of the program
- Connect with us on Instagram to never miss a podcast or workshop
