What occurs when a Ph.D. with a ardour for conduct change, a knack for curriculum design, and a present for connection leads your well being coach coaching? You get Dr. Shana Walsh—AFPA’s Director of Training and Curriculum, and the chief of our Grasp Licensed Well being and Wellness Coach program.
With a Ph.D. in Kinesiology, Train Diet, and Well being Promotion, in addition to credentials as a Nationwide Board-Licensed Well being and Wellness Coach, Grasp Licensed Well being Training Specialist, and Licensed Private Coach, Dr. Walsh brings a long time of expertise to each course she touches. From shaping what you be taught behind the scenes to guiding dwell Zoom classes with power and empathy, she’s each the architect and advocate in your teaching journey.
On this interview, Shana shares her method to constructing student-centered applications, what makes AFPA’s dwell cohort expertise so distinctive, and some enjoyable info, just like the time she did a pull-up whereas hula-hooping.
The Secrets and techniques Behind AFPA’s Curriculum
As AFPA’s Training & Curriculum Director, how do you form the scholar studying expertise?
My function encompasses your entire course growth lifecycle. This ranges from the strategy planning stage, the place we strategize new course choices and subjects that align with scholar wants, to creating written and video studying supplies, and securing top-tier instructors which might be consultants of their respective areas. I’m additionally concerned in helping present college students all through their AFPA studying journey. In each stage, I prioritize the standard of the training we offer, guaranteeing essentially the most precious and relevant content material for our college students. It’s extraordinarily rewarding to see one thing go from an concept scribbled on a notepad in pencil to a certification college students can earn to vary the trajectory of their profession and their lives.
What’s one thing most individuals won’t understand about how AFPA develops its curriculum?
Most individuals won’t understand that we all the time begin by asking, ‘What’s finest for the scholar?’ The reply to that single query drives each choice we make, from the subjects we train, the instructing strategies we make use of, the instructors we choose, and even the little particulars, just like the on-screen colours in our programs (nay for orange, yay for blue).
Past course growth, what usually goes unseen is how a lot we rejoice alongside our college students. After they earn their certificates and discover success within the subject, we’re completely ecstatic. In spite of everything, that’s our final purpose: to offer the training they should really propel them into the skilled roles they search.
How do you guarantee AFPA’s applications keep present with analysis, tendencies, and finest practices?
Within the well being trade, new analysis is continually rising, offering new info and redefining finest practices. At AFPA, we perceive that offering our college students with outdated info is solely not an possibility, so we take a proactive method as an alternative. We make it part of our routine to observe the most recent problems with main educational and trade journals, attend trade conferences, tune into webinars, and community with different skilled organizations and consultants within the subject. We’ve even been identified to edit a dwell course to tweak a reality or two primarily based on newly gleaned data. We do that to ensure that when our college students graduate, they’ve essentially the most present info attainable to excel of their careers.
What do you see as among the most useful abilities college students acquire from AFPA applications?
A few of the most useful abilities college students acquire from AFPA applications embrace:
- Complete Data: Each single considered one of our programs supplies a wealth of information on the subject of research. For college kids actually looking for to realize experience in a selected space, AFPA is the final word useful resource.
- Holistic Views: At AFPA, we deeply perceive how intertwined all areas of well being are. For that cause, we infuse holistic views into the whole lot we train, supporting our college students to see the larger image.
- Sensible Utility and Teaching Abilities: It’s one factor to know what to do, but it surely’s one other to have the ability to do it successfully. We don’t simply train the talents, we additionally present ample follow alternatives to use them to actual world eventualities.
- Skilled Confidence and Profession Readiness: Our applications are designed to construct college students’ confidence of their talents, getting ready them to excel on their chosen profession journey.
What makes the dwell cohort expertise particular at AFPA?
The Superior Well being Teaching Intensive is the dynamic, dwell element of our Licensed Grasp Well being and Wellness Coach program, and it’s AFPA’s solely dwell course. In a single Zoom room, we unite folks from throughout the nation and across the globe. Whereas all of us come from vastly totally different walks of life, we share a profound commonality: a deep want to empower others to change into the perfect model of themselves. There’s magic in bringing collectively adults of all ages, with their numerous backgrounds and wealthy life experiences, watching them be taught and develop collectively. It’s really transformative.
Be taught How you can Set Your self Aside as a Board-Licensed Well being Coach
Attending to Know Dr. Walsh Outdoors the Classroom
What are a number of quirky or stunning issues about you that your college students won’t know?
I’ve efficiently accomplished one pull up whereas hula-hooping.
Additionally, I’ve scored within the 99th percentile for extroversion on a number of persona assessments. After I was in first grade, my trainer moved my seat for speaking so many occasions, I ended up sitting subsequent to each single child in school.
I didn’t be taught to journey a motorcycle till I used to be an grownup, as a result of as a child I wished to focus all my power on rollerblading.
Once you’re not engaged on curriculum, instructing, or teaching, how do you recharge?
As a quintessential extrovert, I recharge by spending time with others. Whether or not it’s from good dialog with my neighbors sitting across the firepit, some pleasant competitors in rec pickleball, or absorbing high quality time at dwelling with my household, the power I get from social connectedness fills my cup.
Should you needed to sum up your philosophy on conduct change in a single sentence, what wouldn’t it be?
Should you change your well being, you modify your life.
Her Recommendation for Aspiring Coaches
What recommendation would you give to somebody who’s on the fence about becoming a member of the following dwell well being teaching session?
Should you’re on the fence about becoming a member of the following dwell course, remind your self that this is without doubt one of the best and reasonably priced methods to change into a Nationwide Board Licensed Well being and Wellness Coach. As an NBHWC-Accredited program, AFPA affords a direct and supportive path to board certification with out pointless delays or bills.
In case your purpose is to offer a significant service to others by means of the ability of well being and wellness teaching, whereas incomes a dwelling doing work that makes a distinction, that is your alternative. You’ll acquire the talents to assist folks make actual, lasting modifications of their lives—and be compensated for the worth you present. Well being and wellness teaching remains to be an rising subject, which suggests there’s room to develop, contribute, and set up your self in an rising career.
On the similar time, this isn’t nearly your shoppers—it’s a transformative expertise for you, too. By means of this coaching, you’ll deepen your individual self-awareness, develop important teaching abilities, and construct the boldness wanted to not solely move the board examination however to really be an excellent coach.
If that sounds just like the type of profession and private development you’ve been on the lookout for, cease hesitating and join at the moment!
📆 The following AFPA dwell well being teaching session begins quickly.
Be part of a worldwide group of aspiring coaches and be taught from among the subject’s main educators.
