A Win Win Opportunity? A Model Health and Wellness Coaching Program to Support Employee Health and Student Experience.

Abstract

PurposeThe National Board of Health and Wellness Coaches (NBHWC) requires 50 practice sessions for board exam eligibility, which can be challenging for students. The purpose of this report is to present a supervised practicum model to meet this need while supporting an employee health program.DesignMixed Methods Observational.SettingAcademic.Subjects22 students, 6 faculty, and 50 employees participated in Employee Coaching Connection (ECC).InterventionECC is a 12-week health and wellness coaching program for employees delivered by students.MeasuresSurveys were developed and data collected for students, faculty, and employee participants.ResultsStatistics included descriptive and thematic analyses. On average students conducted 5.6 group, and 14.9 individual coaching sessions. Student confidence providing individual and group coaching increased 17.27% and 22.38% (P < .001) respectively. Faculty mentors were unanimously "very satisfied" with student learning. Seventy percent of employees reported the program as "very beneficial" in helping reach health goals, and 88% would recommend the program to a colleague.ConclusionsThis was an observational study of the ECC program. Future studies are needed to evaluate efficacy and cost effectiveness. Data from this study support HWC curricula as a tool to address the need for student clinical experiences while also supporting employee health.