FAQ

Who is this training program for?

Nutrition professionals and healthcare practitioners with a background in nutrition who are looking to implement functional nutrition and functional medicine modalities into their practice.

Self-motivated critical thinkers who are looking to move beyond cookie-cutter template protocols (that don’t work) to build a thriving practice by getting people results.

FNA students and graduates include Registered Dietitians (RD), Certified Nutrition Specialists (CNS) and other nutrition professionals, Registered Nurses (RN), Nurse Practitioners (NP), Physician Assistants (PA), Chiropractors, Acupuncturists, Psychologists and other mental health professionals.

IS FNA CATERED TO RDS, OR CAN OTHER HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS FIND SUCCESS THROUGH THIS PROGRAM?

Over a third of FNA students and graduates are other medical professionals, like:

Registered Nurses (RN), Nurse Practitioners (NP), Physician Assistants (PA), Chiropractors, Acupuncturists, Psychologists and other mental health professionals.

For your greatest understanding of course content, we recommend that our Chiropractors, Acupuncturists, Registered Nurses, Nurse Practitioners & Physician Assistants have some nutrition coaching training, certifications, or deep self-study as this is not a nutrition 101 course.

WHAT ARE THE ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR HEALTH COACHES?

For your greatest success and outcome, we require that our health coaches also hold at minimum a Bachelor’s of Science in Nutrition, Dietetics, or Health Sciences and/or 1000 hours in clinical practice before enrolling in FNA.

We are happy to review applications from health coaches, NTPs (Nutritional Therapy Practitioners) and FDNs (Functional Diagnostic Nutrition) on a case-by-case basis. 

We do find that those with clinical hours have a better time with the FNA course curriculum. When in doubt, we suggest that you apply!

Note: Those with a high level of interest but no formal training are not eligible to enroll.

Is FNA appropriate for practitioners who are not RDs?

While the majority of our students in the Funk'tional Nutrition Academy have always been nutrition professionals and RDs, we're seeing more chiropractors, acupuncturists, registered nurses and nurse practitioners join FNA with great success. Over a third of our current students are other medical professionals!

These students who join FNA typically do so for the implementation work that Master's programs and many trainings don't really offer. FNA is tailored not only to deepen clinical understanding of complex topics — but also to address practical challenges in applying that knowledge.

FNA also provides valuable insights into business topics and personal development that be translated into private practice and other settings. This multi-faceted approach to growing as a clinician makes FNA a worthwhile investment for health professionals with varying specialties.

Hear from FNA Grad, Nurse Practitioner Alise Greenfield

Do you offer a payment plan?

Yes! We have multiple options for tuition: pay in full fee of $20,000, payment plan of $1,599 per month for 14 months, or $5,000 down payment followed by $749 per month for 23 months. Additional extended financing is available upon request. We’re happy to report that many of our grads recoup their investment in under a year!

How do I enroll?

While open enrollment periods are only offered twice per year, you can apply to the Funk’tional Nutrition Academy anytime!

STEP 1

The first step to enrolling in FNA is to fill out our application form. This application process allows Erin and our team to learn about your background and goals, and assess if you’d be a good fit for FNA.

STEP 2

Within 48 business hours after completing your application, you’ll receive an email from us letting you know whether or not you’ve been accepted into FNA.

Is there a shorter program or a course I could sign up for?

What we are seeing is that the clinicians who are taking a compartmentalized & piecemeal approach to functional medicine trainings end up taking a compartmentalized & piecemeal approach to their practice.

Because of this, Erin set out to create a different approach - FNA is the comprehensive program that was missing from this space, and the way that the curriculum is designed reflects this comprehensive root-cause approach to health and healing.

Just as systems in the body are connected and integrated, so is the curriculum within FNA.

Modules built on one another and the live classes reinforce what is being taught in the modules.

Within FNA, there is a deep recognition and reverence for the fact that healing extends BEYOND just the physical body, so we also include education on energy medicine, mindset & the emotional body. Specific ways to help your clients navigate this are infused throughout the 14 months.

For these reasons, we do not sell or create a la carte trainings on specific health issues as it's out of alignment with our healing philosophy. At this time, the only way to learn, study and receive mentorship from Erin is within the Funk'tional Nutrition Academy.

If you are looking for courses specific to entrepreneurship, you can find those on our Courses page.

Does this program offer CEUs?

FNA does not offer CEUs and has no plan to at this time. This is an intentional decision our faculty has made to best serve our students.

Schools and programs that offer CEUs are typically limited or restricted in what they are able to cover and teach within their curriculum. When providing CEUs, trainings are unable to show bias or preference towards any brands, lab tests, or supplement companies. This can limit student insight regarding clinical application.

As a clinician you’re left to wonder how best to implement what you’re learning with clients, which can often lead to feelings of frustration with complicated cases or nervousness about tackling certain clinical presentations.

Because FNA isn’t bound by CEU limitations, we’re able to offer hours and hours of modules to help YOU as a clinician understand lab test interpretation, including tests like DUTCH, Wheat Zoomer, and GI MAP. FNA shines in being able to provide you with the exact brand recommendation for supplements, products we use with our own clients and patients, and how you’d implement that into a protocol with actual clients — allowing you to feel more confident in meeting your clients’ needs more deeply and completely.

What is the time commitment of this program?

We recommend you plan to spend about 10 hours engaging with learning material each month.

There is on average 8-9 hours of core curriculum (video/audio modules) each month. We also host 3 live calls per month: two Q+A & coaching calls and one live taught Masterclass. (These are all recorded in the event that your schedule doesn't permit live attendance!)

Depending on your personal learning style, you might invest more time in the optional supplemental reading resources provided.

Does Erin teach all the modules?

As the Founder and Director of FNA, Erin designs, teaches and oversees the majority of the curriculum. If you vibe with her teaching style on the Funk’tional Nutrition Podcast, you will love FNA’s more in-depth curriculum!

To offer diversity of thought leadership and expertise, we also bring in visiting faculty to teach certain classes or class series.

Our visiting faculty include MDs, NDs, PhDs, licensed mental health professionals, business strategists and more.

FNA's Lead Clinical Mentor, Rachel Mistry MS, RDN, IFMCP also contributes to our modules and live classes.

When can I start to order labs & see clients as an FNA student? Do I need to have clients already?

It is not required that you are seeing functional clients & ordering labs prior to starting FNA. However, real world application is a major component of the program.

The expectation is that you plan to begin practicing functional nutrition with 1:1 clients — including lab analysis — throughout the 14 months. Your Case Study Final will require you to work 1:1 with a client.

Can I order labs through FNA?

Lab companies vary in their provider qualifications, and FNA outlines different companies we have experience working with. Some practitioners will be able to immediately set up provider accounts with these companies based on their licensure and credentials, while other practitioners can create an account with a provided cosigner for ordering labs.

FNA partners with a third-party lab company that allows you to create an account and order labs for your clients. Basically—if you qualify for FNA, you qualify to set up an account with this company. 

Ultimately, your scope of practice and full ability to order labs depends on the state and country where you practice and the credentialing body for your profession. FNA cannot and does not override these factors.

Why is this program 14 months?

FNA actually started out as a 12 month program. As the curriculum grew, it became clear that a longer time frame would allow for not just a deeper understanding of lab testing and the science of nutrition, but also the opportunity for providers to practice putting all the pieces together in a protocol, integrating these concepts into their practice to help more people with their services, and creating an environment where they can show up fully and authentically, attracting steady growth, and feel more purposeful and fulfilled.

But just giving you information doesn’t make you a great clinician. 

You actually have to IMPLEMENT what you’re learning in order to expand your skill set, your clientele and your business!

If you want to learn MORE about the best way to DO things, if you want to create new offers or programs within your practice, if you want to provide your clients with more comprehensive coaching, you must create mental white space for this.

That’s why FNA places such heavy emphasis on implementation—moments of pause are built into the program by design so you can focus solely on implementation. 

FNA is not “just another certification program” or “just another functional program.” It’s the most comprehensive program in functional medicine nutrition. And comprehension takes time. It is the mission and goal of FNA to support you in becoming a phenomenal clinician. That cannot be accomplished in 12 weeks, 6 months, or even 1 year. It takes time. FNA is the container that provides that time.

Is there a final exam?

Yes! You do need to complete a case study in order to graduate from FNA.

Remember, the goal of FNA is to get you confident working in a clinical setting with actual humans. Our final exam reflects this.

Acing a multiple choice test tells us one thing only: that you’re great at taking tests. But great test-takers don’t necessarily make great clinicians. So we want to see how you fly in a real world setting.

You will have 2 months to complete & submit your final exam case study. You will also have the option to go over the case study with a clinical mentor before you submit. We are not looking for “all the right answers”, but instead assessing your critical thinking tools since this is how we learn, grow & hone our clinical skills IRL.

How does FNA compare to other functional nutrition/medicine training programs?

While we can’t speak to every single training out there, we can share some insight from those who have gone through this program to help you make the best decision for you.