Thank you for considering becoming a National Board Certified Health & Wellness Coach. Coaches who hold this highly regarded credential (NBC-HWC) have attended an approved health & wellness coach training program, and have passed the board certification exam (HWC Certifying Examination) offered through the NBHWC three times per year.

The opportunity to sit for the board certification exam first became available for health & wellness coaches in September of 2017. The exam is provided in partnership with the National Board of Medical Examiners, and to date, more than 9,400 health & wellness coaches have become National Board Certified.

Because some coaches ask why they should become National Board Certified, we thought it would be helpful to share information with you about the development and purpose of the credential, and the benefits of becoming a National Board Certified Health & Wellness Coach.

The NBC-HWC Credential

The first step towards developing the NBC-HWC credential occured in 2014 when 60 HWC subject matter experts collaborated to create a job task analysis (JTA) for the profession. A JTA is a formal process to determine what people do, and what knowledge and skills they should possess to be effective in their role as a health & wellness coach. The JTA was validated by over 1,300 practicing health & wellness coaches, and became the basis for creating criteria to evaluate health & wellness coach training programs. This criteria combined with faculty and practical skills assessment standards formed the foundation for approving health & wellness coach training programs beginning in 2015.

Once the program approval process was underway, the NBHWC began developing the board certification exam with the National Board of Medical Examiners. To create this exam, based on information taught in approved health & wellness coach training programs, the NBHWC and NBME formed a test development committee composed of subject matter experts for the industry. This committee is ongoing and is responsible for continual exam support and development.

The first exam launched in September of 2017 and is a reflection of years of work that has resulted in a credential that represents training, education and assessment standards for an industry that needed professional criteria to move forward in a respectable way.

Benefits of Becoming an NBC-HWC

Health & wellness coaches who become National Board Certified receive the following benefits from the NBHWC:

• Directory
  All NBC-HWCs have the opportunity to receive a complimentary listing in the National Directory of Board Certified Health & Wellness Coaches. The NBHWC consistently promotes this directory on social media platforms to consumers to draw awareness about this respected credential. Coaches can be searched by state, city or zip code.
• Jobs
  All NBC-HWCs have access to an exclusive job board. The NBHWC Job Board connects qualified, well-trained health coaches to job openings. Many organizations prefer to hire coaches who hold the NBC-HWC credential.
• Community
  Each month coaches have the opportunity to regionally connect with each other through NBHWC “Meet & Greets.” The NBHWC provides an online calendar for coaches to promote these events that are exclusively for National Board Certified Health & Wellness Coaches throughout the country.
• Social Media Connections
  Every day coaches have the opportunity to network with each other on the private Facebook page. This community consists of more than 3,800 NBC-HWCs who regularly connect with each other to share or ask useful information regarding health & wellness coaching.
• Learning
  Every quarter the NBHWC hosts “Quarterly Connects” which feature industry experts. These events are exclusively for NBC-HWCs and provide the opportunity for free continuing education, growth and connection.

In addition to the benefits above, in 2019 the NBHWC actively worked with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to secure Category III CPT Codes for health & wellness coaching. CPT codes are overseen by the American Medical Association and the NBHWC is currently coordinating the efforts to move from category III codes to category I codes within the next couple of years. The approved Health and Well-Being Coaching Category III CPT codes will be in effect for five years but are renewable. These temporary codes are intended to support the wide utilization and data collection, with and without reimbursement, required for AMA approval of Category 1 codes.

Reimbursement by payers of Category III codes became optional starting January 1, 2020. Payers typically wait until codes have Category I approval to begin reimbursement. To learn more about the codes please click here.

The NBHWC is actively working to promote job growth in the industry, create awareness about the NBC-HWC credential and convey the message to all healthcare organizations and the public that credentialing and standards in the health & wellness coaching profession are necessary for the proper growth of the profession.

We invite you to become a National Board Certified Health & Wellness Coach (NBC-HWC). For details on upcoming exam dates and how to apply, please click here.

Our Best,

Leigh-Ann Webster
Executive Director
Leighann@nbhwc.org

Nicole Pope
Director of Operations
Nicole@nbhwc.org