Facebook-square Instagram Linkedin-in
nurse coach logo

Frequently Asked Questions

Search All FAQs
  • Medical Cannabis is not an FDA-approved drug, so it does not get prescribed. If you are an Advance Practice Nurse with current prescriptive authority, you may be able to recommend medical cannabis (or certify patients to use medical cannabis) depending on your practice jurisdiction. Please verify this with your state board of nursing or other certifying body before registering for this course.
  • You can also view state cannabis laws here.
Nurses can make a big difference in how people experience the end of their lives. Most people in our modern health care system still come unprepared into the end of life – their own, and those of their loved ones. Much of peoples’ suffering seems to come from this unfamiliarity with the journey at end of life – and their not knowing how to prepare. Preparation for the last part of our lives would ideally start long before people become hospice-appropriate. Nurses care for patients in their most vulnerable moments, from birth through death. They have the opportunity to ask open questions about what matters most to people all throughout the trajectory of illness. However, without opportunities for self-reflection, talking about end of life can be an uncomfortable conversation for most nurses and other health care professionals. This course will help you build skills and capacities for these important conversations – as well as give you a re-imagined perspective on what might be possible if we talked more openly about living and dying.
This program is appropriate for all nurses, whether or not you have experience in end of life care or coaching. It will help you gain greater insight into the value of conversations about the end of life for yourself, family, and the patients you serve. In addition, some nurse coaches might be intrigued by how to coach people related to serious illness and end of life – not areas we typically think of with coaching practices. Some nurses might be curious about working from a coaching perspective – particularly nurses who have worked in hospice and palliative care, ICUs, elder care, and oncology. These are areas where nurses routinely spend time with seriously ill patients – and their families – and may be intrigued by a different approach to their nursing practice.
This course is open to nurses with a valid license (LPN/ LVN, RN, APRN) from your state/ country of practice. It is important knowledge for all nurses since the endocannabinoid system is the master regulator of all other body systems. The National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) established the scope and standards of practice in 2018, which states, “Nurses need practical information to care for the increasing number of patients who utilize cannabis via an MMP as well as the larger population who self-administer cannabis as a treatment for various symptomatology or for recreational purposes.” In their 2018 National Nursing Guidelines for Medical Marijuana, the NCSBN listed the following Six Principles of Essential Knowledge for All Nurses:
    1. The nurse shall have a working knowledge of the current state of legalization of medical and recreational cannabis use. 
    2. The nurse shall have a working knowledge of the jurisdiction’s MMP. 
    3. The nurse shall have an understanding of the endocannabinoid system, cannabinoid receptors, cannabinoids, and the interactions between them. 
    4. The nurse shall have an understanding of cannabis pharmacology and the research associated with the medical use of cannabis. 
    5. The nurse shall be able to identify the safety considerations for patient use of cannabis. 
    6. The nurse shall approach the patient without judgment regarding the patient’s choice of treatment or preferences in managing pain and other distressing symptoms.
We use CanvasLMS as our learning platform, which is used by major universities such as Stanford, Harvard, Brown, Dartmouth and Yale. Navigating any new platform can be a bit intimidating at first, regardless of level of technological savvy, but after the first week or two, it all becomes second nature. We also offer tech support appointments where we can do a screen share and help you with anything you need. If you are signing up for the Integrative Nurse Coach™ Certificate Program, you’ll also receive a Google Workspace for Education @inursecoach.com email address to use indefinitely!
You will need to order the paperback book through Amazon as the book contains required readings.
This course is provided online, so internet access is required.
This program will give you a working understanding of the endocannabinoid system — the master regulating system of all the other systems in the body.1 It is built upon the scope and standards of practice for all nurses, set out by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing2 in 2018. Cannabis nurses are needed in all specialities since patients of all types are currently using cannabis (medicinally or otherwise). It has been estimated that 52% of American adults have tried cannabis at least once in their lives and 8,300 new people try cannabis daily. Those number is growing as more states move toward decriminalization/ legalization.  The main goal of this course is to prepare you for clinical practice (in any setting) with medical cannabis patients. You will gain a working understanding of the Endocannabinoid System (ECS), evidence-based practice with medical cannabis (including terpenes, cannabinoids including CBD/ THC and more, the evidence for specific conditions, current cannabis research, adverse reactions and contraindications, etc.), social issues relating to cannabis, and holistic and lifestyle medicine interventions to balance the ECS with or without cannabis. Upon successful completion, you may choose to call yourself a cannabis nurse and work in the practice setting of your choice. For some, this will be as a nurse coach/ consultant/ entrepreneur, for others this may be part of their bedside nursing or other clinical practice. Others may go forward in the fields of advocacy, education, or legislation. Cannabis nursing is not an either/or with regards to other specialty areas; all nurses should have a working knowledge of the ECS and cannabis. For nurses with a coaching, consulting, or other entrepreneurial practice, upon successful completion of the program, you may choose to become a CannyNurse™️ registered practitioner for an annual licensing fee.
  1. VanDolah, H. J., Bauer, B. A., & Mauck, K. F. (2019). Clinicians’ Guide to Cannabidiol and Hemp Oils. Mayo Clinic proceedings, 94(9), 1840–1851.
  2. The NCSBN National Nursing Guidelines for Medical Marijuana. (2018). Journal of Nursing Regulation, 9(2), S1–S60.
  • A valid nursing license (LPN/ LVN, RN, APRN) or graduation from an accredited nursing program. 
  • Classes will be conducted via pre-recorded training modules, reading assignments, reflective journaling, case studies, quizzes, and a final exam (timed, open book). This allows you the greatest flexibility in learning the materials on your own schedule. Your instructor (Ariana Ayu, RN, MSc) will be available via email and office hours (video conferencing) to answer questions and otherwise assist you in mastering the evidence-based materials presented.
  • Not yet. The American Cannabis Nurses Association is working towards this. Once a cannabis nursing specialty certification is established, we will ensure our program fits the criteria to take the specialty certification exam.
  • This program is 50 CEUs divided over the course of 12 weeks. This course was designed with working nurses in mind, so you should expect to spend around 4 hours per week on your coursework. Due dates for assignments will be clearly explained in each module, but you will not be required to attend any class at a specific time.
  • Beyond assignment due dates, your timed open book final exam will be open over a specific period of time (i.e. 72 hours), during which you may retake the test if you do not pass it the first time.
  • Yes, both!
  • Scholarships: As a recognition of the cultural implications and social justice issues surrounding medical cannabis, we are offering 3 partial scholarships to BIPOC Nurses each cohort. Please click here to learn more and apply.
  • Payment Plans: Split tuition in 4 payments.  Learn more by selecting this option when registering.
Yes, this program awards 50 contact hours and is approved by the American Holistic Nurses Association, an accredited approver of continuing education hours by the American Nurses Credentialing Corporation.
Each module is one week to give you the time needed to read, reflect, write and develop insights to create a plan of action.
There is one web conferencing session in the last module where we will meet online for discussion. The live session date/time will be decided in the first week of the course.
  • Yes. There is one required textbook which can be purchased as an ebook or paperback for $50-60.
  • Additionally, if, at the end of the program, you choose to become a registered CannyNurse™️, there will be an annual fee to license the CannyNurse™️ brand and use the done-for-you educational, marketing, and client materials. This is optional; more information on this will be shared during the course. If you choose not be become a registered practitioner, you will receive the same education, but you will not be able to call yourself a CannyNurse™️, use the CannyNurse™️ brand, be listed in the CannyNurse™️ practitioner directory, or use our proprietary forms and materials.

Don’t see your question? Ask us!

Integrative Nurse Coach™ Certificate Program

$3,095 5/5

Register Today Learn More
podcast banner
What does a Nurse Coach do? Hear directly from INCA Alumni on our exciting new podcast!
Listen now