Health & Wellness Coaching

Health & Wellness Coaching students will increase their understanding of the role of different members of the health care team, gain perspective on the nature of chronic disease, and learn skills including motivational interviewing. Multiple physicians and health care administrators will speak to students about a variety of topics including the role of the health coach, population health, empathy, end of life care, cardiovascular screening, diabetes mellitus, motivating patients, and the changing face of medicine. This will prepare students to be Health Coaches Interns for Canton Potsdam Hospital and work with a chronically ill community member. Students will also learn more about topics that affect their own wellness and that of their peers including sleep, nutrition, building positive relationships, making health decisions, managing homesickness, setting health goals, physical activity, caffeine, stress management. Students will also learn about academic support, career exploration, and wellness resources on campus. This will prepare students to excel as Wellness Interns or Peer Wellness tutors on campus. This course includes an experiential learning component known as Community Based Learning (CBL). The CBL component will require students to participate in a community placement outside of class time on a weekly basis throughout the semester. On average students can expect to spend up to/at least two hours per week in the community. This will allow students the opportunity to practice the communication skills being discussed in class.