Health Coach Program
Work alongside healthcare professionals, build meaningful patient relationships, and gain hands-on clinical experience while making a difference in your community.
Real Clinical Experience
Work directly with patients under the supervision of healthcare professionals.
Professional Mentorship
Learn from physicians, nurses, dietitians, social workers, and other members of an interdisciplinary healthcare team.
Community Impact
Help patients work toward healthier lifestyles while contributing to the Community Care Network's mission of promoting wellness and evidence-based care.
During the Health Coach Seminar, students:
- Learn from physicians, nurses, dietitians, social workers, and other healthcare professionals.
- Complete CPR certification.
- Build teamwork and diagnostic skills.
- Develop a strong understanding of diseases affected by lifestyle choices.
After completing the seminar, students are assigned their own patients and meet with them weekly throughout the semester.
Working closely with the Community Care Network team, Health Coaches:
- Support patients as they work toward measurable health goals.
- Report patient progress to healthcare professionals.
- Meet regularly with supervising nurses and the program's medical directors for guidance and feedback.
- Experience the collaborative nature of healthcare through ongoing interaction with an interdisciplinary medical team.
Hands-on patient experience is one of the most valuable ways students can prepare for graduate study in the health professions.
Graduates of The College of Wooster who have participated in the Health Coach Program have reported that the experience gave them a significant advantage as they entered medical school and other professional programs. According to the program's faculty, many medical schools actively seek applicants with this type of meaningful clinical experience.
The Health Coach Program helps students develop practical experience, confidence, and a deeper understanding of patient care long before they begin graduate or professional school.
“Rewarding and great learning experience”
"It's a great learning experience as far as intrinsic knowledge, learning about diseases, and medications. It's also just really rewarding. I get home every day, and I feel like I've really helped someone. I feel like I've really impacted someone's life and that's a great feeling."
— Scott Perkins '20
A Partnership That Strengthens the Community
The partnership between The College of Wooster and Wooster Community Hospital's Community Care Network supports two important goals:
- Providing students with meaningful clinical experience under professional supervision.
- Helping community members improve their health while promoting wellness, reducing potentially unnecessary procedures and hospitalizations, and supporting evidence-based care.
Students become part of a collaborative healthcare team while serving the broader Wooster community.
Interested in a Career in Healthcare?
| The Health Coach Program is one of the many experiential learning opportunities available through Wooster's Pre-Health Advising Program, which helps students prepare for careers in medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine, physician assistant studies, physical therapy, nursing, and many other health professions. |