I went back and forth on writing this post because I really don’t want it to seem like I am putting any other health coaches down. However, I think this is really important for people to be aware of, as a health coach’s scope of practice is often unfamiliar to people and this is a safety issue. So here it goes…

I was just on a Facebook group and saw someone post that their very young child had just been diagnosed with the flu and their doctor prescribed the medication Tamiflu. This person was asking a group of health coaches to weight in on whether or not she should give the medication to her child. I was absolutely appalled (though, unfortunately, not shocked) to see a number of health coaches jumping right in and telling this person NOT to give her child this medication prescribed by her physician. I’m not talking about suggesting she get a second opinion; I’m talking about statements like “NEVER!!!” or “never ever take medications unless it’s the very last resort.”

I’m not going to mince words here, for a health coach to offer this advice is not only irresponsible, it is dangerous and it is completely outside of a health coach’s scope of practice. These are individuals who are much less concerned about the well-being of others and more interested in pushing their own agenda. Health coaches, unless they are also a trained, licensed medical professional, are not qualified, certified, trained or licensed to offer medical advice. We are not trained in medicine, medical treatment, or the prescription of medications. Beyond the scope of practice issue, these commenters also had no familiarity with the patient in question beyond the fact that they have the flu. They could have been recommending that a child with a compromised immune system not take medication. In all honesty, the admin of this group should have taken this post down and warned those who participated in it to watch their scope.

Regardless of how suspicious you are of the medical community’s motives for prescribing drugs or your thoughts on the pharmaceutical industry, the fact is that the flu is a very dangerous illness, moreso for young children like this individual’s child. To vehemently insist that this parent go against her family physician’s advice is reckless at best and dangerous at worst.

If you ever see a health coach making recommendations about medical treatment or a health coach makes such recommendations to you, this is not a health coach you should be working with (again, unless they are also a medical doctor, etc.).

Again, I am not writing this post in order to expose, deride, or discredit any other health coaches. I’ve seen situations like the one described before and I truly believe that it is critically important for people to be aware of a health coach’s scope of practice and credentials before working with them and heeding their advice. Unfortunately, good intentions often mask poor judgment and personal agendas.