The Successful Nurse Coaches ™

What happens when you stop trying to figure out the entire path ahead and start following what you're passionate about?

In this episode of the Successful Nurse Coach Podcast, Laura interviews Fedline Lysius, a Board-Certified Nurse Coach who has built a career across integrative health, staff coaching, and nursing education. After six and a half years at the bedside, Fedline discovered nurse coaching through a simple Google search and found a way to combine her nursing background, business education, and passion for empowering others.

Fedline shares what it was like navigating imposter syndrome as a new coach, building confidence through practice, and discovering how nurse coaching can transform the way nurses support both patients and colleagues. From guiding bedside patients through meditation and breathing techniques to leading group coaching programs for nurses, her journey demonstrates the many ways this specialty can open doors within healthcare organizations.

In this episode:

• How Fedline discovered nurse coaching and found her passion
• Overcoming imposter syndrome and building confidence through practice
• Working in integrative health and bringing coaching to the bedside
• Using meditation, guided imagery, and coaching questions to support patients
• Creating group coaching programs for nurses and healthcare staff
• Why hands-on coaching experience matters more than theory alone
• How nurse coaching can change the way you communicate and practice nursing
• Expanding your vision to include private practice and organizational contracts
• Creating more time freedom and building a career around what matters most

Fedline's journey is a reminder that you don't need to have your entire future mapped out to get started. Stay open to possibilities, get experience, and take the next small step toward the work you want to do.

Sometimes, the career you're looking for starts with being willing to explore what's possible.

Connect with Fedline: https://carewithincoaching.com/

Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/0PU0yXpQn7U

Become a Board-Certified Nurse Life Coach

Mentioned in this episode:

NCR + Cohort 8

https://www.nurselifecoachacademy.com/

In today’s episode, Laura opens up the floor for a Q&A session in Part 2 of the most recent masterclass. With approximately 150 nurse coaches in attendance, many topics were discussed throughout the session, covering how to introduce nurse coaching to hospital leadership, approaching healthcare systems, building profitable staff wellbeing programs, choosing the right certification path, and finding community as an innovator in the nurse coaching field.

Topics Covered:

Introducing Nurse Coaching to Hospital Leadership: A nurse shares how she introduced nurse coaching to her CEO on orientation day. Discussion covers identifying organizational pain points (culture, turnover, employee satisfaction) and learning to speak leadership's language. Key insight: a 5–40% reduction in turnover from minimal nurse coaching can justify a coach's salary several times over.

Approaching Healthcare Systems vs. Standalone Hospitals: Best practices for finding partnership opportunities, starting with warm connections (former colleagues, LinkedIn, past CNOs), using AI tools like Claude for deep organizational research, and exploring grant-funded department startups. One system profiled has expanded from 1 hospital to 17, aiming for 35.

Making Staff Coaching Programs Profitable: Profitability comes from retention data via pilot studies (12–24 months) targeting high-turnover departments or new grad residencies. Four strategies to boost staff participation: (1) pay nurses to attend, (2) make it mandatory in specific programs, (3) offer CEUs, (4) strong leadership language and communication. Text reminders and pre/post evaluations help build publishable data.

Embedding Coaching into Existing Hospital Roles: Suggestion to train magnet champions, safety champions, super users, and technology educators in coaching skills to multiply impact across departments.

How This Academy Is Different: The lineage of nurse coach certifications and what sets our program apart: heavy emphasis on live coaching practice, supervision, and building the confidence to charge for services. The goal is producing paid, practicing coaches, not just certified ones.

Returning to Nursing After Years Away: A nurse who's been away from patient care for 13 years explores pathways to board certification. Holistic nursing hours can qualify (not just clinical), board petitions are rarely denied, and coaching without board certification is still viable while accumulating hours.

Community Testimonial: An impassioned reflection on the depth of the nurse coaching community, how nurses keep coming back even after setbacks, and how the shared experience creates a movement that can change nursing culture for innovators who feel like outsiders in their own organizations.

Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/Acq5E1RohZs

Mentioned in this episode:

NCR + Cohort 8

https://www.nurselifecoachacademy.com/

Today, in Part 1 from our most recent masterclass, Laura makes the case that nurse coaching is moving from an emerging specialty into a legitimate healthcare service line, and that the infrastructure needed to build nurse coach departments is already beginning to take shape.

She explores what happens when a role that already exists in practice gets named, credentialed, supported by evidence, and eventually built into the healthcare system.

Laura breaks down the current landscape of nurse coaching, including CPT codes, credentialing, federal language, health-system examples, reimbursement considerations, and what it takes to build a sustainable nurse coach department.

She also shares the experience that led her out of traditional nursing and toward nurse coaching, and why the relational side of nursing deserves more time, recognition, and structure.

Tune in next week for our Q&A segment to complete our discussion in Part 2.

Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/CuO763Fs0NE

Mentioned in this episode:

NCR + Cohort 8

https://www.nurselifecoachacademy.com/

In today’s episode, Laura tackles one of the most common questions she hears from new Nurse Life Coach Academy graduates: do you have to be on social media to build a successful coaching practice? The short answer is no, but the longer answer is that it will make your path easier.

This episode explores what's really behind the statement "I hate social media.” Whether it's about consumption, a fear of visibility, or something deeper. Laura offers a key reframe from a mentor: “you're either going to work for someone who isn't afraid to be visible, or you're going to have to learn to be visible yourself.” Visibility is a non-negotiable in business.

Laura encourages listeners to find two or three accounts they admire and use those as a template. The nurse coaching field is far from crowded, and every coach who chooses visibility makes it easier for the next person who needs one to find them.

The next residency cohort begins in November for those wanting support building their practice.

Watch full episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/_stwc21KdSk

Mentioned in this episode:

NCR + Cohort 8

https://www.nurselifecoachacademy.com/

In this special episode of The Successful Nurse Coach Podcast, Alana Beittel sits down with Nancy Thompson, a nurse with over three decades of experience who found her way to nurse coaching after feeling the weight of working inside two of the most broken systems in the U.S. - healthcare and education.

Nancy shares her journey from seeing NLCA pop up in her social media feed, to trusting her intuition and enrolling just two days before the cohort started, to launching her own coaching business before she even graduated. Along the way, she opens up about her breast cancer diagnosis, the pivotal moment with a radiation oncologist that changed her perspective, and how those experiences shaped her coaching philosophy: "I see you. I hear you. I've got you."

Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/qhCDjoex7k0

Connect with us:

Instagram: @successfulnursecoaches

Website: www.thesuccessfulnursecoaches.com

Mentioned in this episode:

NCR + Cohort 8

https://www.nurselifecoachacademy.com/

In part 2 of the Cognitive Distortions Masterclass, Laura shares a step-by-step business roadmap from certification to first paying client, covering the four-phase timeline: weeks 1–12 for certification training, week 12+ for the business course where you set up your LLC and legal foundation, weeks 12–20 to learn enrollment conversations, and weeks 20–6 months for pro bono clients. She notes that 40% of graduates who follow this path have a paying client by six months. She then covers scope of practice — nurse coaching is not clinical care, and the distinction is your protection — and confirms you can coach outside your licensed state by working with out-of-state clients as a certified life coach. Client acquisition, she explains, is built on service: 20% of free clients convert to paying, and your first $100K will likely come from word of mouth and referrals rather than marketing.

The episode pivots into the Nurse Coach Residency program — a 12–18 month, 3-trimester, 200-CEU business program. Trimester 1 covers business setup, visibility, 80 invitations, and your first 1–5 paying clients. Trimester 2 targets your first $10K through sales training and niche development. Trimester 3 is a capstone project with website, advanced marketing, and a community leadership component. Pricing is $5K per trimester or $12K total, and Laura confirms you can succeed without residency — the business course has all the information; residency just provides structure and accountability, like a personal trainer for your gym membership.

The Q&A portion covers investment fears and cognitive distortions around price, including Laura's story of a nurse on food stamps who built a thriving practice; a detailed explanation of the 80 invitations for a recently laid-off nurse pursuing her MBA; an LVN asking about success without RN credentials and Nancy's story of kayak coaching and a $10K client.

Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/znQS_bHuOfU

Connect with us:

Instagram: @successfulnursecoaches

Website: www.thesuccessfulnursecoaches.com

Mentioned in this episode:

Nurse Coach Residency

https://www.nurselifecoachacademy.com/nurse-coach-residency

In today’s episode, Laura teaches one of her favorite coaching concepts: cognitive distortions: the mental shortcuts and biased thought patterns that shape how we see ourselves and the world. Whether you're a brand-new nurse curious about coaching, a student in certification, or an established nurse coach, this episode breaks down the 10 most common cognitive distortions we see in ourselves and in the people around us.

The 10 Cognitive Distortions

• All-or-Nothing Thinking: "If I can't commit 100%, there's no point starting." Reframe: Progress doesn't require perfection.
• Overgeneralization: "I'll never get a paid client." Reframe: One experience does not establish a pattern.
• Minimizing & Magnifying (Catastrophizing): "If I invest and it doesn't work, I'll be homeless." Reframe: What's the most likely outcome?
• Shoulds: "I should have figured this out years ago." Reframe: The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second-best time is now.
• Labeling: "My client didn't renew — I'm not good at this." Reframe: One outcome doesn't define your worth. If you're going to label, label positive.
• Jumping to Conclusions (Mind Reading & Fortune Telling): "They're all judging me." Reframe: You're not a mind reader. Intuition is never fear-based; projection is.
• Discounting the Positive: "That client hiring me was just luck." Reframe: Stop systematically erasing evidence of your own competence.
• Blame & Personalization: "If she hadn't yelled at me, I wouldn't have been angry." Reframe: Clean up your side of the street. Take accountability for what's yours; release what isn't.
• Emotional Reasoning: "I feel like a fraud, so I must be one." Reframe: Feelings are data, not verdicts. Would your case hold up in court?
• Mental Filter: "Nine things went well but I said one awkward thing — that's all I can think about." Reframe: You're filtering out the 90% that worked. Widen the frame.

Tune in next week for part 2 of this amazing masterclass.

Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/g4pOyLyNVrw

Connect with us:

Instagram: @successfulnursecoaches

Website: www.thesuccessfulnursecoaches.com

Mentioned in this episode:

NCR + Cohort 8

https://www.nurselifecoachacademy.com/

In today’s episode, Laura continues with our series on the six human needs — this time focusing on how to use the model as a diagnostic tool in your coaching sessions to ask sharper questions and help clients get unstuck faster.

In this episode:

• When a client "isn't making progress," ask: What is this behavior doing for them? Often it's meeting a deep need in a negative way.
• A powerful case study of a chronically ill client whose need for love was being met through sickness — and how uncovering that became the seed of her recovery.
• Why certainty and identity keep people stuck: Who am I without this problem?
• How to listen for "I need…" language cues, interrupt, and go deeper.
• Finding a healthier vehicle to meet the same need — so the old pattern is no longer necessary.
• A candid look at how these patterns show up in the instructor's own life and business.

Nurse Coach Tip: Identify the top two human needs for each of your current clients. How are those needs being met — positively or negatively?

Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/oul1Z0jXr_0

Connect with us:

Instagram: @successfulnursecoaches

Website: www.thesuccessfulnursecoaches.com

Mentioned in this episode:

NCR + Cohort 8

https://www.nurselifecoachacademy.com/

In today’s episode of the Successful Nurse Coach Podcast, we kick off a series with Tony Robbins' framework of the six basic human needs. We explore what each need is, how they show up in our lives (both generatively and destructively), and why understanding your top two needs is essential for designing a life of intention and fulfillment.

The Six Basic Human Needs:

• Certainty: The need for stability, security, and predictability. Knowing where your next meal, paycheck, or home is coming from.
• Uncertainty / Variety: The need for novelty, stimulation, and change. Without it, life feels like Groundhog's Day.
• Growth: The need to expand, learn, and evolve. Everything alive is either growing or dying. Shadow side: Never feeling satisfied, compulsive achievement at the cost of relationships. Generative side: Rocket fuel for impact and purpose.
• Significance: The need to feel important, special, and recognized.
• Love & Connection: The need to feel close to others. We're social creatures.
• Contribution: The desire to give beyond oneself and leave a legacy. Only those who prioritize growth and contribution report lasting fulfillment.

Key Takeaways:

• Everyone has all six needs, but your top two are in the driver's seat — they shape your decisions, career path, and relationships.
• If your life doesn't satisfy your top two needs, you'll walk around in a "tolerable level of misery" and seek to get them met in either generative or destructive ways.
• The host's personal top two needs are growth and significance — and she shares how understanding this has explained patterns throughout her entire life.
• You don't need to change who you are; you need to understand who you are and harness your needs intentionally.
• Balance is a myth — we're always in motion. The goal is awareness and course-correction, not perfection.
• Growth + contribution are the two needs linked to lasting fulfillment. Without them, you'll eventually ask, "What's it all for?"

In Part 2 of this series we will dive into how to identify your own top two needs and how they're quietly running your life. Stay tuned.

Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/vlpFxrMSBwc

Connect with us:

Instagram: @successfulnursecoaches

Website: www.thesuccessfulnursecoaches.com

Mentioned in this episode:

NCR + Cohort 8

https://www.nurselifecoachacademy.com/

In today’s episode, Laura shares how her experiences with burnout, chronic illness, and the limitations of traditional healthcare led her from ICU nursing to nurse coaching. She introduces the concept of "soft nursing," a proactive, relationship-based approach that focuses on root causes and whole-person healing rather than crisis management.

Laura also challenges the idea of work-life balance, advocating instead for a life aligned with purpose and personal values. She offers an honest look at the realities of building a coaching practice and encourages nurses to explore new possibilities without feeling pressured to make an all-or-nothing leap.

Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/ps95nkxGOJM

Connect with us:

Instagram: @successfulnursecoaches

Website: www.thesuccessfulnursecoaches.com

Mentioned in this episode:

NCR + Cohort 8

https://www.nurselifecoachacademy.com/