A Simple Guide to Building Your Nurse Coaching Toolbox

You are a nurse leader who guides and empowers people to realize their inner strengths, set attainable goals, and achieve their greatest potential for health and well-being through positive change.

That’s a powerful statement! So, how are you doing that?  

You most likely went through a top-notch Nurse Coaching program, gained a lot of insight, had a few AHA moments, and practiced hours upon hours of coaching while utilizing some amazing tools.

That means you already have what you need to start building and growing your toolbox specific to your niche.

Let’s talk about how to easily build a toolbox that can grow with you as you build your coaching practice.

Take Time to Envision Your Practice

Whether you are a nurse care entrepreneur or an innovator of holistic leadership in your current place of employment, your practice is structured by the holistic nursing process. Your practice is guided by your creativity and intuition, and more importantly, the clients you partner with.

Take a few moments to visualize all aspects of your practice. Perhaps you are a  Functional Medicine nurse coach, or a Cannabis nurse coach, or an End of Life coach…. What does that look like? Is it a group or individual based practice, or both? What can you offer?

Helpful tip: Journaling is a great way explore your vision…. And it gives you an idea what you might need in your toolbox.

Start with Self-development tools

It goes without saying that self-development tools are essential for continued growth and expertise. Here are a few items to include in this part of your toolbox:

• The Nurse Coaching, Integrative Approach for Health and Wellbeing book for nurse coaching is essential for lifelong learning and development. It provides an evidence-based approach to nurse coaching and includes many resources you can use in your practice with the appropriate permissions.

• Network: Staying connected with mentors and colleagues that you can share thoughts and ideas, practice coaching, and getting feedback is important in your development as a nurse coach. You might partner with another coach and work through a great practice workbook by Tony Stoltzfus to help you master powerful asking skills and then incorporate this in a nurse coaching perspective.

• Journal: This is a great way to allow yourself to self-reflect, organize thoughts, set & achieve goals, and inspire creativity.

• Self-care: Authentic self-care is making the commitment to nurture your body, mind, and spirit through honest reflection and awareness. It’s what helps us care for ourselves long term and create wholeness within. Applying self-care everyday allows you to feel alive and present and enables you to better help others.

• Podcasts: Yes! Listening to podcasts about nurse coaches like yourself provide insight and inspiration. You can keep all your favorite ones in one location through your Apple app or Audible app and listen whenever you need inspiration.

This is the largest “compartment” in your toolbox. You may already have some of these or maybe you have different ones not mentioned here. As you continue to evolve your nurse coaching skills and techniques, this will only continue to grow.

Consider the Beginning, Middle, and End of the Nurse Coach/Client Session

When you think about a coaching session, what do you offer?

Maybe you have a potential client seeking your services because she was diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder. She booked a discovery call with you and was so impressed with your knowledge and expertise, she wanted to join your program.

So, what are some physical tools you would need to make all this happen? Let’s some ideas  of what you might need at the beginning, the middle, and the end of the coach/client interactions.

Beginning of the nurse coach/client session

• Contract
• Confidentiality agreement

Middle of the nurse coach/client session

• Educational materials
• Guide imageries
• Meditations
• Object to denote a sacred space

End of the nurse coach/client session

• Session Summary

Continue to build and grow

Every nurse coach needs a toolbox filled with forms and various information to enhance client’s experience when the time and circumstances are appropriate, but it’s truly nurse coaches embracing the nurse coaching process and her/his own intuition that makes for an authentic relationship.