Unemployed nurses are switching to RN health coach careers

Oct 20 2009

Although the contagious economic epidemic is killing off nursing jobs, the thriving RN health coach sector appears to be immune. Many underpaid or unemployed nurses are transitioning into the booming health coach field with help from L.I.T.E. Therapeutics -- a leading provider of health coaches with nursing backgrounds. The company operates two web sites, HealthCoachNursingJobs.com and RNHealthCoach.com, where nurses can discover exciting RN health coach careers that are personally, professionally, and financially rewarding.

Unemployment remains historically high, even within the nursing profession. But the recession is also inspiring consumers to take more responsibility for their own health and well-being in order to avoid costly visits to the doctor, especially since many Americans have lost their health insurance due to recent layoffs. That unique trend is creating a greater reliance upon professional health coaches as an alternative to doctors, clinics, and hospitals -- but has also created a shortage of qualified health coaches. Because nurses offer specialized health care knowledge, experience, and credentials that other coaches do not have, RN health coaches are suddenly in high demand.

Nursing jobs have historically been resilient during economic downturns. But as the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, and other business news sources have reported, this recession is different. Less health insurance money is in the system and cash-strapped Americans are having fewer elective medical procedures, which translates into dramatically lower health care industry revenues. A recent feature in USA Today, for instance, described how hospitals are delaying expansion projects and implementing hiring freezes. The American Hospital Association reports that nearly half of the hospitals it surveyed have postponed the expansion of medical wards, diagnostic equipment purchases, and planned staff increases in emergency departments. Meanwhile agencies have slashed student loan relief to recent nursing school graduates, leaving new nurses with fewer job prospects, lower pay, and bigger debt.

But RNs can become health coaches to easily avoid the problems facing their profession, says Dwayne Adams, RN, MS. The company he started, L.I.T.E. Therapeutics, offers an integrated health coaching system that was designed by nurses and for nurses. As Adams explains, "Our turn-key approach provides nurses with all the tools necessary to effectively manage both their patients and their businesses, to successfully transition into this growing field even during the nursing industry recession."

Coaches typically lack the medical training necessary to guide clients toward sustainable weight loss or improved health, for instance, but RNs are the best possible weight loss partners and personal trainers. Not only do they have advanced knowledge about diet, nutrition, and the accurate diagnosis of health challenges, but they also know how to keep clients safe, motivated, and effectively focused on essential health issues.

That makes them perfect candidates to excel within the burgeoning RN health coaching arena, where they can enjoy successful careers that are truly recession resistant.