The Functional Nursing  Program™

The Functional Nursing Program™ provides a total of 152 contact hours, earned across two semesters. CE certificates are issued twice—once at the end of each semester—after completing the final quiz and course evaluation.

Upon finishing both semesters, graduates receive a Certificate of Completion from the Institute for Functional Nursing™.

While this is not a formal board certification, the program does qualify you to sit for the Holistic Nursing Board Certification (if you meet all other eligibility criteria). Learn more here.

Yes—the Functional Nursing Program is designed to support nurses pursuing holistic nursing board certification, as long as you meet the certifying body’s other eligibility requirements (license, practice hours, etc.).

Our curriculum is built and taught by nurses, with a strong focus on whole-person assessment, systems thinking, therapeutic relationship, ethics, and scope-aligned clinical application. These foundations map well to the knowledge and practice expectations common in holistic nursing certification.

Important note: We can’t guarantee eligibility or certification. Board certification requirements can vary and may change over time, so you’re responsible for confirming your specific eligibility directly with the certifying organization and reviewing their most current requirements. Read more about the Holistic Nursing Board Certification here.

What about IFM certification?

Our program is uniquely designed to teach to IFM's published functional medicine clinical competencies and helps nurses build nursing-specific application skills within scope. While we’re hopeful that functional nursing education will continue to gain wider recognition over time, IFM sets its own certification requirements and approved education pathways. If IFM certification is your goal, you should review IFM’s current requirements directly and plan accordingly.

At this time if your goal is to pursue IFM's own certification, you will still need to complete their AFMCP course and six Advanced Practice Modules. Through IFN’s interprofessional membership with IFM, our Functional Nursing Membership™  provides exclusive discounts on IFM programs, which many students find offsets the entire cost of membership while providing the mentorship and community support often lacking in online programs.

Tuition is $6,499 and it's $5999 if paid in full. Several payment options are available at checkout.

Those who join early receive a bonus of immediate additional access to our community and MeetUps and $3,500 in added value, including:

• Functional Nursing Membership™ for one year ($1499 value)

• Full IFM Membership (a $395 value) with access to the Clinical Toolkit, Natural Medicines Database (a $180 value), and discounts on IFM courses and events

• Early-access sessions and resources — immediate access to live sessions, mentorship, and all recordings dated back to early 2025 to help you start learning and connecting right away (up to a $2998 value).

Payment plans are available at checkout, making it easy to secure your place today!

Yes. Beginning in 2027, students can choose from two scheduled start dates for Semester Two.

For the January 2027 cohort, you may either:

• Continue directly into Semester Two on May 10, 2027, after a one-week break; or

• Take the summer off and begin Semester Two on September 6, 2027.

We will contact you during Semester One to confirm which option you prefer.

Both semesters must be completed within the one-year program period that begins on your Semester One start date. This ensures that your coursework, contact-hour requirements, Functional Nursing Membership™, faculty mentorship, and community support remain aligned throughout your program experience.

After that one-year period, you will continue to have lifetime access to the recorded course content, but your included membership and live faculty support will end unless you choose to renew your membership.

The Functional Nursing Program™ is a two-semester experience designed to balance depth with flexibility.

Each semester is 16 weeks long and includes 10 modules, some lasting one week and others two weeks, depending on the complexity of the topic.

This pacing allows nurses to integrate the material meaningfully without feeling rushed, while earning CE credit at the end of each semester.

The program includes built-in flexibility between semesters. Beginning with our January 2027 cohort, students may choose from two scheduled Semester Two start dates, allowing you either to continue after a short break or take additional time between semesters.

However, both semesters must be completed within the one-year program period beginning on your Semester One start date in order to receive the available nursing contact hours and complete the program with your included membership and faculty support.

If life circumstances prevent you from completing the program during that period, you will still retain lifetime access to all recorded course content and resources. You may also renew your Functional Nursing Membership™ if you would like to reconnect with future cohorts, live faculty sessions, and the community. Contact hours cannot be awarded outside the applicable completion window.

Yes, this program was designed for working nursing professionals. You can learn at your own pace with recorded lectures, readings, and resources. All of our live peer and faculty sessions are made available as recordings for you to review when your schedule permits, and our interactive community is there for you to participate in as much as you would like.

Yes. Once enrolled, you’ll have lifetime access to all Functional Nursing Program™ modules, videos, and resources. You can return anytime to review lessons and refresh your learning.

Your included annual Functional Nursing Membership™ provides live mentorship, faculty discussions, and community connection for one year from the Semester 1 start date (and can be renewed annually). Even after your membership ends, your program access remains open for continued learning at your own pace.

Absolutely. The Functional Nursing Program™ is built for nurses in all settings—acute care, primary care, community health, and education. You’ll learn to apply functional principles ethically and effectively within your nursing scope, wherever you work.

No — and that’s intentional.

Although we discuss business topics frequently in our live MeetUps and many of our students choose to become entrepreneurs, we believe functional nursing belongs in all areas of healthcare! Our Functional Nursing Program™ is a clinical education program, not a business program. Our focus is on helping nurses and NPs confidently apply functional medicine within their scope, strengthen their assessment skills, understand systems biology, and integrate root-cause care responsibly and ethically in any practice setting. We provide detailed guidance on this throughout the curriculum, including a full module devoted to clinical integration and another that supports you in clarifying your future direction as a functional RN or NP—whether that means deepening your work in your current role, shaping a new service within an existing practice, or carving a niche for the kind of patient impact you want to create.

We do not cover:

• how to set up a private practice

• business licensing, legal structure, or insurance

• marketing, pricing, or client acquisition

• workflow, systems, or entrepreneurship strategy

We keep these topics separate so the FNP can remain fully focused on clinical excellence, patient outcomes, scope-aligned care, and professional integrity. Not every student would be interested in this additional content.

If you’re interested in starting or growing your own holistic or functional nursing practice, we strongly recommend bundling the Holistic Nursing Entrepreneur Program™ (HNEP) — our self-paced business and practice-building program created specifically for nurses that includes an additional bonus monthly MeetUp to connect with our faculty and other RNs and NPs working on their own business ventures as well.

→ Learn more about the Holistic Nursing Entrepreneur Program™ by clicking here.

HNEP is self-paced and can be completed before, during, or after the Functional Nursing Program™ and is the ideal companion for RNs and NPs planning to build a private practice or offer independent services.

Many employers and health systems reimburse for accredited continuing education. The program will provide 152 contact hours- 76 after completion of Semester One and 76 after completion of Semester Two. We are happy to provide you with a contact hours verification upon completion of each semester for employer reimbursement.

TERMS & CONDITIONS — FUNCTIONAL NURSING PROGRAM™

By enrolling in the Functional Nursing Program™, you agree to the following Terms and Conditions in addition to the Functional Nursing Membership™ Terms and Community Guidelines listed below.

Program Terms & Conditions

Effective Date: November 1, 2024

1. Program Access

Enrollment in the Functional Nursing Program™ includes access to:

• Two semesters of educational content (152 approved contact hours)
• One year of Functional Nursing Membership™
• A full year of IFM Full Membership beginning the same month as semester one start date
• Lifetime access to all course materials after enrollment

Functional Nursing Membership access is granted immediately upon registration to allow early learning and integration into the IFN community.

2. Continuing Education (CE) Requirements

Contact hours are awarded at the end of each semester after completing the final quiz and course evaluation.

CE certificates cannot be issued outside the active semester window in order to maintain accreditation compliance.

3. Refund Policy

Tuition includes immediate access to the Functional Nursing Membership™ as well IFM Full Membership activation closer to program start date; both are nonrefundable once activated.

Partial refunds for semester one or two may be available only if withdrawing before a semester begins.

Refund requests submitted after a semester has begun are not eligible for reimbursement.

For all qualifying refunds, the original payment processing fees are not returned to us by our payment partners. Because of this, any refund will be issued minus those non refundable processing fees. These fees are usually a small percentage of the original payment and vary slightly depending on the payment method used. Please note, payment plan fees are higher than other payment options.

If a customer uses a third party payment plan provider like Klarna, we will process the refund on our end and the provider will return any payments already made. Their processing fees are not refundable under any circumstances.

4. Deferrals & Program Completion

Because registration and support through the program occurs within the membership as well as the FNP program itself, formal deferrals to future cohorts are not offered.

Students retain lifetime access to all course content, and may re-engage with future cohorts by renewing their Functional Nursing Membership™ for continued mentorship and community support. By doing so, students may continue their learning with a future cohort, but no contact hours will be available for the deferred participation. This is a requirement for our institution to maintain its accreditation and offer contact hours for our programs and courses.

5. Intellectual Property & Use of Materials

All program content—including videos, PDFs, frameworks, templates, and discussion audio/video components — is the intellectual property of the Institute for Functional Nursing™.

Distribution, duplication, or sharing of any materials is strictly prohibited without written permission.

You are not authorized to distribute ANY course material under any circumstances without written consent from the Institute for Functional Nursing™ leadership.

6. Professional Scope & Responsibility

The Functional Nursing Program™ provides education for professional development only.

It does not authorize or encourage nurses to practice outside their license or scope.

Students are responsible for complying with state regulations, employer policies, and professional standards.

7. Technology Requirements

Students are responsible for maintaining the necessary technology to access program materials, join live calls, view replays, and complete modules.

8. Communications & Updates

By enrolling, you consent to receive program-related emails, updates, and notifications relevant to coursework, membership access, and cohort timelines.

9. Acceptance of Terms

By proceeding with your enrollment, you confirm that you have read, understood, and agreed to these Functional Nursing Program™ Terms & Conditions in addition to the Functional Nursing Membership™ Terms and Community Guidelines below.