Whole-Person Health for Healthcare Practitioners Micro-Certificate

Program Overview

The Whole-Person Health for Healthcare Practitioners Micro-Certificate of Graduate Study prepares healthcare professionals to cultivate resilience, lead with compassion, and apply evidence-based lifestyle and culinary medicine principles in clinical and professional settings. Grounded in service and leadership, whole-person health, and planetary health, this fully online program supports provider and patient well-being, improved patient outcomes, and equity-centered care.

Designed for working healthcare professionals and graduate students, the program combines leadership development, clinician well-being, culinary medicine, and lifestyle medicine in a flexible format that can be completed while participants balance professional responsibilities.

Program Highlights

• Fully online and asynchronous
• 8 graduate credits
• Three-course sequence completed over one academic year
• Ideal for graduate students entering public health or other health-related fields
• Designed for nurses and other healthcare professionals
• Focus on clinician resilience, leadership, and well-being
• Evidence-based curriculum grounded in whole-person and planetary health
  Interprofessional learning environment
• Applicable to clinical, academic, organizational, and community health settings

Why Whole-Person Health?

Healthcare professionals face increasing demands that contribute to burnout, workforce shortages, and challenges in delivering sustainable, high-quality care. This micro-certificate equips learners with practical tools to:

• Build resilience and prevent burnout
• Lead with compassion and integrity
• Support individual and organizational well-being
• Integrate lifestyle and culinary medicine into practice
• Foster healing relationships with patients and colleagues

Curriculum

Required Courses

HLTH 5001: Resilient Leader (2 Credits)

Explore burnout prevention, mindfulness, resilience, compassion, and servant leadership. Students develop strategies to strengthen professional well-being while cultivating meaningful and purpose-driven leadership.

OR

NH 3050: Resilience Beyond Burnout (3 Credits)

This spring break travel-study course examines how intentional mindfulness and compassion-centered practices support well-being, purpose, and resilience in the face of stress. Through immersive travel in Puerto Rico, students engage in daily mindfulness practices, reflective work, and service learning. Collaborating with agricultural and community partners, students explore how sustainable food systems, mindful engagement, and community connection foster recovery, flourishing, and a more grounded, sustainable relationship with themselves, others, and the environment.

Prerequisite: Instructor permission.

HLTH 5002: Culinary Medicine (3 Credits)

Examine the intersection of nutrition science, food systems, and healthcare. Students learn how to translate evidence-based nutrition into practical patient education and sustainable health strategies.

HLTH 5003: Lifestyle Medicine (3 Credits)

Apply the six pillars of lifestyle medicine to clinical and community practice, with an emphasis on behavior change, health promotion, and whole-person care. Students complete a culminating project demonstrating the integration of program concepts.

Admissions

Applicants must hold a bachelor's degree from an accredited institution and submit:

• Graduate College application
• Statement of intent
• Resume or curriculum vitae

Letters of recommendation are not required.

Who Should Apply?

This micro-certificate is ideal for:

• Graduate students in health-related fields
• Nurses and advanced practice nurses
• Healthcare professionals seeking leadership development
• Educators and healthcare leaders focused on workforce well-being and resilience
• Clinicians interested in lifestyle and culinary medicine

Outcomes

Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of the program, students will be able to:

• Demonstrate resilience and professional sustainability through evidence-based self-care and stress-management strategies.
• Apply leadership principles in healthcare and community settings.
• Integrate lifestyle and culinary medicine into patient-centered care.
• Employ compassionate communication and relational skills.
• Lead or contribute to initiatives that support healthcare workforce well-being.
• Incorporate equity-centered, whole-person, and planetary health perspectives into practice and leadership.
• Advance equitable and sustainable healthcare solutions

Career and Professional Benefits

This micro-certificate is designed to enhance professional practice rather than prepare graduates for a new clinical role. Participants gain skills that support:

• Leadership advancement
• Healthcare workforce retention and well-being initiatives
• Program development and quality improvement
• Patient-centered care delivery
• Professional sustainability and career longevity