Holistic Nurse Coaching in the Military Health System: A Pilot Study of Competency-Based Training for Disease Management.

Background and PurposeChronic disease management within contemporary health care systems increasingly relies on nurses functioning in roles analogous to holistic nurse coaches, emphasizing self-management, behavior change, and whole-person care (American Holistic Nurses Credentialing Corporation. (2023). Nurse coach role and competencies. https://www.ahncc.org). Within the Military Health System (MHS), chronic illness further affects readiness, resilience, and long-term force sustainability. Despite these demands, onboarding and continuing education for disease management (DM) nurses remain largely task-based and lack standardized, competency-driven preparation grounded in holistic nursing principles. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of a competency-based training module on nurses' knowledge of and self-efficacy to deliver holistic disease management services.MethodsA one-group pretest-posttest pre-experimental design was used with registered nurses and advanced practice registered nurses at a large military medical center. Participants completed a DM knowledge assessment and a self-efficacy questionnaire before and after an asynchronous training module grounded in holistic nursing, nurse coaching, and lifestyle medicine competencies.FindingsStatistically significant improvements were observed in both knowledge (p = .003) and self-efficacy (p = <.001) following the intervention.ConclusionsFindings support competency-based education as an effective strategy for strengthening holistic nurse coaching capacity, workforce readiness, and chronic disease care delivery.