Functional Medicine: the True Art of Healing for Nurses
Nurses already know functional medicine! We learned so much of it in our initial nursing training, but we weren’t given the tools to act. With
This is a comprehensive continuing education course for all registered nurses, advanced practice nurses, and nurse coaches interested in integrating functional medicine into their practice.
Explore the core fundamentals of functional medicine and learn practical applications that can be done at the RN licensure level and above. Nurses will have a robust understanding of functional approaches within their scope of practice.
Implementing these practices can have a life altering, and potentially life saving, impact for patients and clients.
$2,199.00
Functional Medicine for Nurses™ provides a detailed overview of functional medicine that is comprehensive enough to fully incorporate interventions into current practice without the time commitment and cost of a two or more year program. You will learn specifically how to become a functional medicine nurse.
Additionally, other programs include health coaches, dietitians, chiropractors, pharmacists, physicians, nurses, etc. This course has customized content exclusively for the nursing professional and provides you with all you need to know to practice as functional medicine nurse.
It also pairs well with nurse coaching modalities, and many functional medicine practitioners have very successful practices incorporating fundamental functional medicine practices with their coaching skills.
Graduates of this course will have a broad understanding of available functional medicine nurse practices and be equipped with practical knowledge and interventions to incorporate these into their current practice.
They will also gain an understanding of their own scope of practice and potential future as a functional medicine nurse.
12 Weeks - 84 Contact Hours*
100% online
We will explore biochemistry from a functional medicine perspective including discussing health on a cellular level, apply this knowledge to common labs used in functional medicine evaluations, and how to obtain these labs depending on scope of practice. We will compare and contrast the normal reference range versus the optimal reference ranges, and their ability to reveal powerful insights into the root cause of a patient’s symptoms. We will review a case study from a functional medicine perspective.
We will thoroughly explore stress and sleep, the impact they have on our health, nursing interventions for restoring balance, and testing opportunities for evaluating the HPATG axis. We will review a case study from the functional medicine perspective.
MSN, ARNP, FNP-C, NCMP, NC-BC, AFMC
Functional Medicine for Nurses™ Course Creator and Lead Faculty
I am an experienced functional nurse practitioner and also hold board certifications as a menopause practitioner and as a nurse coach. I have been focused on improving the healthcare of my community since 2005. I have over eight years of hospital experience helping to put a band aid on our healthcare crisis. As a primary care provider of almost four years, I have worked with my patients to improve their health outcomes, but have come to learn that change is hard even in the face of real dire risk to health and happiness.
I have also found that current mainstream treatments are not the answer, in most cases. My patients using prescription drugs have continued to suffer and have developed new adverse health concerns from the drug side effects. This reality motivated me to seek new solutions, which I have found in functional medicine and nurse coaching. I currently combine my training in functional medicine with my nurse coaching skills to help clients make real, positive changes towards a happier and healthier life.
Nurses already know functional medicine! We learned so much of it in our initial nursing training, but we weren’t given the tools to act. With
I became a nurse almost 15 years ago. Like many of us who are deeply dedicated to the profession, I started out as an associate’s
What is the role of the nurse in functional medicine? One of the most common questions I get asked regarding practicing functional medicine as a
You will be notified of books to purchase for the course prior to the course start date. You can expect to pay less than $40 for instant access to digital copies of these books, and a bit more for print copies available to order online.
Yes, 84 contact hours
Integrative Nurse Coach® Academy is accredited as a provider of nursing continuing professional development by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation.
Provider approved by the California Board of Registered Nursing, Provider Number 17700 for 84 contact hours.
This program is 84 contact hours divided over the course of 12 weeks. This course was designed with working nurses in mind, so you should expect to spend 6-8 hours per week on your coursework. Weekly 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.
Not yet. Once a functional medicine nursing specialty certification is established, we will ensure our program fits the criteria to take the specialty certification exam.
This course is open to registered nurses and advanced practice nurses with a valid license (e.g., RN, APRN) from your state/ country of practice.
This program will give you a working understanding of functional medicine principles, and how to apply them within a nursing framework. Functional medicine interventions are equally nursing interventions. The most powerful methods used in functional medicine are fully within the scope of an RN, and can be applied in their current work setting. For advanced practice nurses (APNs), there is the added scope of prescriptive authority, but a large percentage of functional medicine practitioners (including nurses) use no prescriptive therapies.
Additionally, some providers choose to provide safe, effective care with no lab data (or they have patients bring them recent labs for review). We will explore methods for RNs and APNs to heal and promote wellness using powerful methodologies in a safe, effective manner in a broad spectrum of settings and with a variety of resources at their disposal.
The program includes content on clinical implementation of skills. We will explore case studies throughout the program to help solidify your learning and practice applying your new knowledge. The main goal of this course is to prepare you to apply healing functional medicine practice in any healthcare setting. Upon successful completion of the program, you may choose to call yourself a functional medicine 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. We will explore avenues for specializing in a specific niche of functional medicine that you are passionate about.
A valid registered nursing or advanced practice nursing license. If you are an international nurse (non-US), you must have the equivalent to RN or APRN.
Classes will be conducted via pre-recorded training modules, reading assignments, asynchronous discussions, 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 (Brigitte Sager, MSN RN ARNP FNP-C NCMP NC-BC) will be available via email and Zoom office hours (video conferencing) to answer questions and otherwise assist you in mastering the evidence-based materials presented.
$2,199.00
Early registration pricing ends 30 days before each cohort’s start date.
Payment plans available. See below for more details.
NEW!
For Immediate Release
MIAMI, Florida. – September 23, 2022 –
The Integrative Nurse Coach® Academy | International Nurse Coach Association (INCA), the global leaders in nurse coaching training and holistic nursing continuing education courses, and the Institute for Functional Medicine (IFM), the leading voice for functional medicine, announce a new partnership designed to enhance and elevate the role of nurses and nurse practitioners in the field of functional medicine.
As the most trusted profession for over 20 years, IFM recognizes the key role nurses should play in using a root cause approach to healthcare. That’s why the organization has chosen to partner with INCA to support the growing number of nursing professionals seeking options for a respected, comprehensive functional medicine educational program exclusively for nurses.
With over 100 nurses enrolled since the course launched in 2022, Functional Medicine for Nurses™provides registered nurses and nurse practitioners with a robust foundation for implementing functional medicine practices within both the registered nurse and nurse practitioner scopes of practice.
To further enhance learning and implementation, IFM is providing INCA’s Functional Medicine for Nurses™ students with access to valuable resources that coincide with each learning module within the course.
“Our partnership gives students access to a wealth of resources and support from the most respected source in functional medicine- the Institute for Functional Medicine,” states Functional Medicine for Nurses™ Course Creator and lead faculty, Brigitte Sager, MSN, ARNP, FNP-C, NCMP, NC-BC, AFMC. “It also lends credibility to this exciting education opportunity for nurses seeking to learn functional medicine from a respected source.”
IFM is also providing INCA students with a complimentary one-year student membership, which features numerous discounts for IFM programs for nurses who wish to expand their functional medicine knowledge. Additionally, INCA is extending a tuition discount to all IFM nurse members on INCA programs.
“IFM recognizes the critical role of nursing professionals in advancing the transformation of healthcare through a functional medicine approach,” states Amy R. Mack, MSES/MPA, IFM chief executive officer. “INCA, which is founded and managed by nurses, is well positioned to support the work in this space.”
As the practice of functional medicine continues to proliferate globally, it is imperative that nurses are highly trained in functional and integrative medicine practices to ensure safe and effective interventions for patients and clients. This partnership formally recognizes and emphasizes the pivotal role of the nurse in functional medicine practice.
About INCA
The Integrative Nurse Coach® Academy | International Nurse Coach Association is the global leader in nurse coach training and offers a variety of holistic nursing continuing education programs. Founded in 2010 by innovative nurse leaders Barbara Dossey and Susan Luck, INCA expanded its global reach in 2019 by converting its leading Integrative Nurse Coach® Certificate Program to an online format with the assistance of new partners Karen Avino & Ronald Kanka. INCA offers a variety of online integrative & holistic specialty nursing programs, including:
About IFM
The Institute for Functional Medicine (IFM) is the leading voice for functional medicine and advancing the transformation of health care for patients and practitioners worldwide. IFM is a 501 (C)(3) nonprofit organization that believes functional medicine can help every individual reach their full potential for health and well-being. Founded in 1991 and dedicated to the widespread adoption of functional medicine, IFM works to advance education and training, clinical patient care, research, and outcomes in functional medicine worldwide. For more information, please visit IFM.org.
About Functional Medicine
Functional medicine determines how and why illness occurs and restores health by addressing the root causes of disease for each individual. The functional medicine model is an individualized, patient-centered, science-based approach that empowers patients and practitioners to work together to address the underlying causes of disease and promote optimal wellness.
