Free NBHWC Coaching Foundations Questions and Answers — Questions and Answers
Question 1: About half way through your coaching agreement with a client, the coach notices that the client is arriving to the coaching calls late and has missed a couple of sessions without notifying you in advance. Which of the following approaches would be BEST to pursue with your client?
- Explore what's working, revisit client's strengths and create a plan for improvement
- Explore why coaching isn't working and get feedback on what specific things they don't like
- Share your observations, express empathy and inquire to ask what could make their vision and goals more of priority (Correct answer)
- Confront client, assess readiness for change, and discuss whether coaching is appropriate at this time
Correct answer: Share your observations, express empathy and inquire to ask what could make their vision and goals more of priority
The best MI-aligned approach is to share observations non-judgmentally, lead with empathy, and collaboratively explore what would help the client reconnect with their own vision and goals. Confronting the client or assessing whether coaching is 'appropriate' is too directive and risks damaging the alliance. Simply exploring strengths or asking what isn't working misses the core MI principle of reconnecting the client with their intrinsic motivation.
Question 2: Which of the following is recommended by my plate as part of healthy diet?
- Total carbohydrate consumption should be less than 20g per day
- Total carbohydrate should be less than 20% of daily caloric intake
- Eat a vegetarian diet 80% of the time
- Limiting trans and saturated fats (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Limiting trans and saturated fats
USDA MyPlate guidance recommends limiting trans and saturated fats as part of a balanced diet — this aligns with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. MyPlate does not recommend limiting carbohydrates to 20g per day (that is a ketogenic approach) or to 20% of calories. MyPlate also does not prescribe vegetarianism; it promotes variety across all food groups including lean proteins and dairy.
Question 3: At the beginning of each coaching session, before contacting the client, a coach rings a small bell three times. <br> This is an example of an activity to improve what coaching technique?
- Mindfulness (Correct answer)
- Perceptive Reflections
- Appreciate Inquires
- Affirmations
Correct answer: Mindfulness
Ringing a bell three times before each session is a deliberate sensory ritual designed to bring the coach into a present, focused, non-judgmental state — the hallmarks of mindfulness practice. Affirmations, appreciative inquiry, and perceptive reflections are all coaching techniques applied during the session with the client, not pre-session preparation practices aimed at the coach's own presence.
Question 4: What is the main purpose of familiarizing yourself with your client's health risk assessment?
- To offer education and insight into their current health status
- To provide empathy, trust and greater understanding of their present life (Correct answer)
- To assist making goals around any biometric numbers that may need work
- To offer immediate referrals for any high risk behaviors
Correct answer: To provide empathy, trust and greater understanding of their present life
From a health coaching perspective, reviewing a client's health risk assessment primarily serves to build empathy, trust, and a deeper understanding of where the client currently is in their life — it informs the relational foundation of coaching. Offering clinical education, prescribing goals around biometrics, or making immediate referrals are more clinical/medical roles; a coach uses HRA data to understand the whole person, not to diagnose or direct.
Question 5: A coach is a member of the exclusive group on Facebook for NBC-HWC coaches. Only those certified by the NBHWC are permitted in this group. <br> To help a friend who has developed a new software, the coach downloads the names of each person in the group and provides them to their friend so that they can implement a marketing campaign to sell this new software to coaches. <br> The above scenario is a violation of which part of the NBC-WHC code of ethics?
- Professional Conduct at Large (Correct answer)
- Conflict of Interest
- Professional Conduct with Clients
- Confidentiality/Privacy
Correct answer: Professional Conduct at Large
Sharing the names of certified colleagues from a professional group without their consent for a marketing campaign is a breach of Professional Conduct at Large — the ethical standard governing a coach's behavior in the broader professional community and public sphere. This did not involve a client relationship (ruling out client-conduct and confidentiality violations) and was not a financial conflict of interest in the coaching sense; it was a misuse of professional community access.
Question 6: A coach has his NBC-HWC and a degree in psychology. His client describes an ankle injury he recently got running. He says that his ankle is bruised and he can't really run on it anymore and it hurts to even walk, especially down some stairs. Which of the following should the coach recommend next?
- Recommended the client see a medical provider to get it checked out (Correct answer)
- Recommend the client use an ACE bandage to help keep it stable
- Recommend the client just walk for the next few days until if feels better and lay off of the running
- Recommend the client rest, ice, compress with a bandage and elevate his leg for the next week and then try to run again and see how it goes.
Correct answer: Recommended the client see a medical provider to get it checked out
Health coaches operate within a defined scope of practice that excludes diagnosing or treating physical injuries, regardless of additional academic degrees they hold. An ankle that is bruised, painful to walk on, and especially painful on stairs could indicate a fracture or serious ligament damage requiring medical imaging. Recommending RICE, an ACE bandage, or modified activity crosses into medical advice the coach is not licensed to give. The only appropriate action is referral to a qualified medical provider.
Question 7: If a health coach owns their own business and contracts with a third party to host their clients health information on their server, the coach must ensure that:
- A signed contract is in place
- The third party abides by HIPAA Security rules
- The third party abides by HIPAA Privacy rules
- All of the above (Correct answer)
Correct answer: All of the above
Under HIPAA, when a covered entity contracts with a third party (business associate) to store protected health information, all three obligations apply simultaneously: a signed Business Associate Agreement must be in place, and the vendor must comply with both HIPAA Privacy rules and HIPAA Security rules. Selecting only one or two of these requirements would leave the coach out of compliance. 'All of the above' is correct because each element is independently required by law.
Question 8: A coach discovers that the client is bisexual through a public post on Facebook before their first session. <br> The coach cancels their session as a result of this new information as they do not want to coach a bisexual. <br> Which of the following most accurately describes the coaches behavior? (Code of Ethics, 2)
- Unlawful discrimination (Correct answer)
- Unconscious bias
- Conflict of interest
- HIPAA violation
Correct answer: Unlawful discrimination
Deliberately canceling a session after learning a client is bisexual constitutes unlawful discrimination because sexual orientation is a protected characteristic. This is not unconscious bias — the coach made a conscious decision based on that information. It is not a conflict of interest, which involves competing personal or financial interests. It is not a HIPAA violation, which concerns improper disclosure of protected health information, not refusal of service.
Question 9: A coach is a NBC-HWC and is also a registered dietician (RD). The coach is helping a client change his diet to be more healthy. The coach also is analyzing his diet to make sure it includes enough protein and carbs given his frequent participation in weight training. <br> Which of the following is most accurate regarding the coach's scope of practice?
- The coach is operating within their scope of practice. (Correct answer)
- The coach is not operating within scope of practice.
- All NBC-HWC coaches are able to recommend specific grams of protein and carb intake for a variety of clientele with unique situations and conditions.
- None of the above
Correct answer: The coach is operating within their scope of practice.
Each professional credential a person holds independently authorizes the activities within that credential's scope. While an NBC-HWC alone cannot prescribe specific macronutrient targets, a Registered Dietician is specifically licensed to perform detailed nutritional analysis and make individualized dietary recommendations. Because the coach holds both credentials, analyzing protein and carbohydrate intake for a weight-training client falls squarely within the RD scope, making this fully within their combined scope of practice.
Question 10: Your client Stuart is a 42 year old male that came to wellness coaching to help reduce his stress. It is his second session and the coach notices that Stuart has a waist circumference of 38 inches. According to his last healthcare visit paperwork. Which classification of risk for heart attack or stroke is Stuart in?
- Low risk
- Intermediate risk (Correct answer)
- High risk
- Very high risk
Correct answer: Intermediate risk
For adult males, a waist circumference of 37–40 inches (approximately 94–102 cm) corresponds to intermediate cardiovascular risk. Stuart's measurement of 38 inches falls within this range, placing him at intermediate — not low — risk. High risk applies above 40 inches, and low risk applies below 37 inches; very high risk is not a standard classification in this framework.
Question 11: You've had a great client that has made tremendous progress. After working with her for the last 18 moths you have noticed she is seems to be no longer benefiting frim your coaching relationship. According to the ICF code of ethics, what should you consider doing?
- Refer her to another coach.
- Let her know what you are noticing and suggest you end the coaching relationship at this time. (Correct answer)
- Keep coaching her as there are always things to work on.
Correct answer: Let her know what you are noticing and suggest you end the coaching relationship at this time.
The ICF Code of Ethics requires coaches to act in the client's best interest, which includes recognizing when the coaching relationship is no longer producing benefit. After 18 months of progress, the ethical response is to be transparent with the client about what the coach is observing and collaboratively discuss ending the relationship. Continuing to coach solely for continuity or revenue would prioritize the coach's interests over the client's. Referring without first having that honest conversation skips the client's right to be informed.
Free NBHWC Coaching Foundations Questions and Answers
About half way through your coaching agreement with a client, the coach notices that the client is arriving to the coaching calls late and has missed a couple of sessions without notifying you in advance.
Which of the following approaches would be BEST to pursue with your client?