Overview

Our clients are increasingly health savvy, and with direct-to-consumer biomarker testing growing rapidly around the world training in this area ensures you can meet the needs of these clients. This course supports wellness professionals in building practical confidence in understanding and discussing common biomarker laboratory reports, while staying firmly within professional scope.

You’ll explore key markers across areas such as metabolic health, hormone patterns, thyroid health, nutrient status, inflammatory indicators, cardiovascular risk, and liver and kidney health. Rather than focusing on diagnosis or treatment, the course teaches you how to support clients in understanding the importance of recognising patterns, in growing their health literacy and importantly their confidence to ask quality questions in health settings, and how to adopt the lifestyle recommendations from their reports. You'll craft quality questions, understand when results may need further investigation, and identify when referral to a medical or allied health professional is appropriate.

Designed for coaches, nutrition and wellness professionals, this course gives you a structured, scope-safe way to make sense of biomarker testing and support more informed, confident client conversations.

Details

HOW WILL YOU LEARN ​▼
WCGE12. Understand Biomarker Tests and Reports
Learning and teaching
Designed as a practical, self-paced professional development course of study. 
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Assessment methods
  • There are no formal exams or graded assessments. Instead, learning is supported through guided activities and practical scenarios and case studies that encourage you to apply concepts directly to your own wellness practice.
  • There are multiple choice topic quiz's that can be taken over, so each time you take the quiz you're supporting your learning .
COURSE STRUCTURE ​▼
The course is delivered in a clear, step-by-step format so learners can build confidence gradually, moving from the foundations of biomarker testing through to safe and practical client communication. The course is structured around the following key areas:
1. Introduction to biomarker testing
An introduction to what biomarkers are, why they’re used, common testing methods, an introduction to reference ranges, optimal ranges and the importance of viewing results in context rather than isolation.
2. Understanding the human body
A detailed exploration of human cell functioning, metabolic and biochemical pathways relevant to biomarkers, and a detailed review of the 11 body systems, setting a solid framework to layer biomarker understanding. 
3. Biomarker testing and reports
Unpacking standard reference intervals and sampling methods. And exploring the factors that can influence test outcomes, including timing, collection method, client preparation, diet, activity, alcohol, supplements, and medications.
4. Biomarker groups
Exploring key markers across metabolic health, cardiovascular health, liver function, kidney function, thyroid health, nutrient status, inflammation, oxidative stress and hormone-related patterns. 
5. Exploring reports with clients
A focused look at monitoring methods to support clients keen to monitor and track their change. Culminating with how to discuss reports with clients to avoid health-anxiety, as well as duty of care, and how to respond to red flags and work safely by employing the use of informed consent and relevant client agreements. 

UNIT CONTENT ​▼
This course introduces the practical foundations of biomarker testing and how client biomarker reports can support their health goals within a health, nutrition and lifestyle context.
Learners explore the purpose of biomarker testing, different testing methods, reference ranges, optimal ranges, result patterns, pre-test preparation and the importance of health history and lifestyle factors.
Key areas covered include:
  • The role of biomarker testing in health and wellness practice
  • Professional scope, ethical practice and referral responsibilities
  • Understanding reference ranges, optimal ranges and the importance of patterns
  • Pre-test preparation and factors that may influence results
  • Blood sugar, insulin and metabolic health markers
  • Cardiovascular markers, including lipids, ApoB and inflammatory risk patterns
  • Liver function markers, including ALT, AST, ALP and GGT
  • Kidney function markers, including urea, creatinine, eGFR, uric acid and albumin
  • Thyroid markers, including TSH, free T4, free T3 and thyroid antibodies
  • Hormone-related markers relevant to women’s health, stress and reproductive patterns
  • Nutrient status markers, including iron, B12, folate, vitamin D and omega-3 status
  • Inflammation, oxidative stress and immune-related markers
  • Recognising when referral and further investigation is required
  • Communicating biomarker reporting clearly, safely and professionally collaboratively with clients
Throughout the course, learners are encouraged to look beyond isolated numbers and consider how biomarker indices may align within the broader picture of a client’s health, lifestyle and wellbeing goals.
LEARNING OUTCOMES ​▼
By the end of this course, learners will be able to:
  1. Explain the role of biomarker testing in health, nutrition, wellness and lifestyle contexts.
  2. Identify common biomarkers used to assess areas such as metabolic health, cardiovascular risk, liver and kidney function, thyroid health, hormone patterns, nutrient status and inflammation.
  3. Understand reference ranges, optimal ranges and result patterns, including why a single marker should rarely be viewed in isolation.
  4. Recognise key pre-test factors that may influence results, including timing, fasting, exercise, alcohol, supplements, medications and collection method.
  5. Explore biomarker reports in a scope-safe way, without diagnosing, prescribing or treating medical conditions.
  6. Ask informed client questions that help the client build context around lifestyle, history, health goals and test reports.
  7. Identify markers that may require referral to a GP, medical specialist, allied health professional or pathology provider.
  8. Communicate biomarker information clearly and professionally, collaborating with clients to better understand their reports and the next appropriate steps.

“I had the results, but I didn’t know what they meant. My coach helped me make sense of them.”
Janine, AU

Fees

This unit is $365 AUD.
​There are no additional fee's.

Who is the course for?

While this is course is available to anyone interested in biomarker testing. However, to use the course professionally and gain insurance (where needed) you should hold as a minimum an accredited health coaching qualification. 

Insurance considerations

Many insurers deemed that where the professional is not carrying out the testing themselves, completion of this training therefore falls under Continuing Professional Development (CPD) (not as a separate modality). You should speak with your insurer to confirm their position in relation to this course, or chat with BGi UK/EU. Other insurance options are offered via the International Institute of Complementary Therapists (IICT) who offer membership and insurance bundles in 35 countries. 

Case studies? Blog post? Why we wrote this course?

More and more of our coaches signalled to us that their clients were coming along with amazing biomarker reports, and they wanted to be able to empower clients to take an even deep step into their health literacy and agency by supporting their clients with getting the best from their reports.