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The Functional Nursing Blog
Published by the Institute for Functional Nursing (IFN) — advancing the role of nurses in functional medicine through education, leadership, and innovation.


Holistic Practice, Real Income: How Nurses are Thriving with Functional Medicine
For nurses passionate about healthcare, integrating functional and holistic practices into their work can be transformative, offering an approach that not only enhances patient outcomes but revitalizes their career path. Functional medicine allows nurses to explore the root causes of health issues, which resonates with many seeking a more meaningful impact for their patients' lives. Beyond the emotional and professional rewards, this approach can also opens doors to financial

Brigitte Sager
4 min read


Top Five Signs You're Ready to Start Incorporating Functional Medicine into Your Nursing Practice
Nursing is more than a profession – it’s a deeply rooted calling to bring healing and care to others. But if you’ve been feeling like the traditional healthcare model isn’t giving you the freedom to fully embrace that calling, you’re not alone. More and more nurses are discovering the power of functional medicine and holistic nursing, and how it can reignite their passion while empowering them to offer true, lasting healing to their patients. Functional medicine is about addr

Brigitte Sager
4 min read


A Nurse's Blueprint to Mastering Functional Medicine: Getting the Foundations, Deep Dives, and Continuing Education
As nurses, we are on the front lines of healthcare, witnessing daily the effects of chronic diseases on our patients. With more and more patients seeking personalized care, our roles are expanding, and with this, our need for comprehensive, integrative approaches to health and healing. Functional medicine offers a promising path forward, aligning closely with the principles of holistic nursing by emphasizing personalized care and treating the individual, not just the symptoms

Brigitte Sager
6 min read


The Stress-Glucose Connection: Exploring the Impact of Stress on Blood Glucose Levels
In functional medicine, we talk about wellness being on a continuum. Although ideally, we would all be able to achieve "perfect health," we do not live in a vacuum. We can choose to adopt a healthier lifestyle, but life is complicated. Even when we do our best to care for ourselves, we will be exposed to a multitude of challenges in life that impact our health. A great example is stress! Of course, not all stress is bad, and stress is unavoidable. From a functional medicine

Brigitte Sager
5 min read


Turning the Tide on GERD Treatment: Why It's Time to Move Away from PPIs
In this evolving landscape of healthcare, where the focus increasingly shifts towards personalized and preventive care, a critical area requiring our attention is the management of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and the judicious use of proton pump inhibitors (PPIs). As I complete my final semester of my post-MSN to DNP doctorate program, I've been wrapping up a quality improvement project aimed at addressing the challenges of deprescribing PPIs in a gastroenterology

Brigitte Sager
6 min read


Embracing a Food-First Approach: The Benefits of Food Over Supplementation
In the realms of holistic nursing and functional medicine, the philosophy of treating the whole person—rather than isolated symptoms—guides our approach to patient care. As a family nurse practitioner specializing in nutrition and functional medicine, I have observed the transformative power of food as medicine. After years of counseling my patients in the use of supplements and dietary modification, I can easily say the latter has a more transformative effect in the majority

Brigitte Sager
5 min read


Insulin Resistance Explained: What It Is and Why It Matters
In the realm of metabolic health, insulin resistance stands as a pivotal factor that can herald the onset of prediabetes and type 2...

Brigitte Sager
6 min read


Bridging the Gap: How Functional Medicine Complements Conventional Care in Chronic Disease Prevention
The Complementary Roles of Allopathic and Functional Medicine In the realm of healthcare, the comparison often drawn between allopathic...

Brigitte Sager
4 min read


Slowing Down to Heal: The Nurse's Role in Addressing the Speed of Life
I truly adore the late Wayne Dyer (a renowned American self-help author and motivational speaker), and I listen to him often. I have...

Brigitte Sager
6 min read


You Probably Shouldn't Be Your Mom's Nurse: When Functional Nursing Expertise Meets Personal Relationships
Let's get into a topic that’s both fun and challenging: applying functional medicine principles in our personal lives. My journey as a...

Brigitte Sager
4 min read


Functional Medicine Isn't for Everyone: Beyond the Quick Fix
Quite often, I will have someone say something similar to the following, "I wish I could get my mom to come see you. She has so much...

Brigitte Sager
5 min read


Eating Well Made Simple: Smart Meal Prepping for a Busy Lifestyle
The Transformative Benefits of Meal Prep In my years as a holistic nurse practitioner, I've come to recognize the major impact meal...

Brigitte Sager
5 min read
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