Ohio State and the College of Nursing have partnered with Wellness and Prevention, Inc. to launch a new program to help refocus professionals’ lives.
The program, Nurse/Health Athlete, was originally started by Wellness and Prevention, Inc. and was designed for people in business. OSU is licensing the program so it can adopt it and use it for other professionals in health care.
The two-week program focuses on building emotional, physical, and spiritual health through different daily lessons on things like exercise and diet.
There have been a number of problems with health care professionals taking care of themselves, said David Hrabe, associate professor of clinical nursing and executive director of academic innovations and partnerships, and that was the main reason the program was brought to OSU.
“We want to help nurses focus on leading a healthy life,” Hrabe said.
The cost of participating in the program have yet to be determined, but Hrabe said special pricing is being worked out and costs should be relatively low.
The program focuses on three separate areas: ways to increase energy levels, how to manage nutrition and how to incorporate exercise into daily life.
The main goal is not a temporary change but a change in behavior, said Bernadette Melnyk, dean of the college of nursing and associate vice president for health promotion, in an email.
“Behavior change is tough and people usually don’t change with just information,” Melnyk said. “What is powerful about this program is that it raises your emotions, which motivates healthy lifestyle behavior change. In the program, you face your true story and rewrite a new one.”
A goal of the program is to teach participants to help others learn how to exercise, eat right and increase productivity.
Students might be able to participate in the program and get course credit for it.
“We are looking at doing special sessions for students,” Hrabe said. “It would be a one-credit course that students could take as an elective.”
A course that improves health and wellness could be appealing to some students.
“I think it would go over well,” said Eric Spoltman, a fourth-year in consumer and family financial services. “There are a lot of healthy students on campus who are interested in staying healthy.”