By Barbara Pierce
Christina Henry is a nurse coach, specially trained and certified as a transformative, holistic, health and wellness coach, owner and operator of Vessel: Bodhi, Mind, and Soul, LLC in Boonville.
Q: What is a nurse coach?
A: I’m a registered nurse and I’ve had additional training in health and wellness coaching. It’s a brand-new specialty in nursing — just like Florence Nightingale! To become a nurse coach, you must first be a registered nurse; then become certified in health coaching. It combines the medical expertise of a nurse with the health and wellness knowledge of a health coach.
Q: What exactly do you do on a day-to-day basis?
A: I work with people individually, help them set goals, help them figure out the way that will work best for them so that they can reach those goals. Together, we form action plans, so that they can be successful — so that they can get from point A to point B. I offer many different holistic modalities, like guided meditation, sound vibration for healing, mediative art, book clubs. I help people make small gains every day.
I offer retreats for women; next year we’re going to Ireland. When the beautiful three days end, the women will take away tools and skills that will help them throughout their lifetime. I don’t treat medical conditions, but discuss any health concerns and come up with strategies to manage your health and wellness goals. I’m a nurse in the community to help you, to advocate for you, to help you get across the barriers you encounter.
Q: How did you become attracted to this specialty?
A: I started out as a barber; I cut hair. Many barbers and cosmetologists go into nursing. As a barber, I took care of people; I was their counselor, unofficially. After my son was born, several years ago, I ended up in the hospital. One of the nurses who took care of me told me: “Continue with what you feel in your gut!” That nurse, made me want to become a nurse. She helped me realize that I need to pursue what I’m passionate about.
I went to nursing school at Utica College, where I got a BS in nursing (and was an honor student). Following school, I worked at Rome Memorial Hospital, in the ICU, then inpatient oncology, where I worked with the sickest of the sick patients. I won the MVHS Caring Heart Award in 2021. I knew I wanted more; I wanted to expand my knowledge, to better meet patient needs. So I went for nurse coach.
Q: What training did you have to become certified?
A: My nurse training certification took about 10 months to complete. I completed it through the Nurse Coach Collective, an online evidence-based curriculum. I’m certified as a transformative, holistic, health and wellness nurse coach. After I became certified as a nurse coach, I worked for an insurance company as an infusion nurse, going to people’s homes to give them infusion — chemotherapy, hydration, antibiotic, special things people need; people who were in pain and couldn’t get to an infusion center. I taught them how to give themselves their therapy. Advocating for their needs was my biggest role, being a teacher and an advocate.
When I was laid off, I realized the door is open for me. I went to work for Trinity Health, one of top 10 healthcare systems in country. I helped people transition out of the hospital to home. The high-risk, the sickest patients; I helped them. I talked to them about every aspect of their health — emotional, sexual and mental. Together, we came up with a plan for them to set goals and achieve those goals. I assisted them to get the services they needed. I bridged the gap between patient care and the physician’s office.
Our medical system can’t handle the sickest patients. It’s set up for acute patients. As patients, we have a role to be equal participants in our wellness.
In June of this year, I transitioned into owning my own business.
Q: What are the rewards of being a nurse coach?
A: ‘Reward’ isn’t even a good enough word for it! It’s amazing to see people come in, transform their life, maybe fulfill their dreams. For example, maybe they lost someone and are stuck in grief; they need someone to help them figure out how to pick up and move on. Maybe they’re diabetic and need to lose weight or they’ll have a heart attack. I help them figure out what steps to take and I keep them to their goal.
Q: What are the challenges?
A: The challenges is that this is a relatively new field and not a lot of people know about it. There are currently only 2,000 nurse coaches in the U.S. Many nurses are finding this field of interest. Any nurse can call me for more details.