Are you a Clinical Instructor or Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine?
Would you like 6-months of Professional Coaching for $250?
Would you like to enroll in a RCT of professional coaching at Mayo Clinic?
Please complete the Interest in Enrollment Form.
What is our research question?
How does professional coaching impact early career academic physician goal attainment, leadership strengths, well-being, burnout, and adult level of development?
Has coaching been shown to be helpful?
A recent systematic review and meta-analysis found coaching to have significant positive effects on goal attainment, well-being, coping skills, work attitudes, and goal-directed self-regulation [1]. Coaching is an integral part of the leadership development process for Department Chairs at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. However, to our knowledge, this is the first randomized controlled trial examining the effect of professional coaching on academic physicians.
Who is eligible?
Emergency physicians with an academic appointment of Instructor or Assistant Professor who work greater than 80% of their time in a residency and/or fellowship program approved by the Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), the American Osteopathic Association (AOA), or the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC).
How many participants will be coached?
Ninety academic physicians will receive 6-months of professional coaching: thirty receive one-to-one coaching, and sixty receive group coaching.
How much time will this take?
One-to-One Coaching participants meet with a professional coach for 8-sessions over a 6-month period. The initial coaching session is 2 hours, while the subsequent 7-sessions occur every 3 weeks for 1 hour in duration.
Group Coaching participants meet with a group of 5 to 8 academic peers from other institutions and a professional coach for six 90-minute sessions over a 6-month period.
If you don’t have the time. Don’t participate.
How are participants chosen?
We use dynamic randomization based upon gender identity and academic institution to choose eligible participants. If you are interested, please complete the Interest in Enrollment Form. You then receive enrollment and consent documents, and have any questions answered. Our study coordinator, Renee, will contact you if you have been selected.
Over what period of time does the study occur?
We are enrolling participants in small groups (e.g. not all 90 participants at once) at intervals over a 1.5-year period. If chosen to participate, you spend 12-months in the study, six of those months include active coaching.
Besides coaching, what does this study involve for participants?
Each participant performs the following at study onset, 6-months, and 12-months:
- Complete a 25-minute self-assessment survey that measures well-being, burnout, and leadership strengths.
- Identify two professional goals and estimate goal attainment.
Each participant also:
- Takes the VIA survey of Character Strengths prior to coaching and receives a 24-page report that identifies overuse/underuse of 24 character strengths and potential “hot buttons” which may affect goal attainment, relationships, and self-efficacy.
- Participates in a debriefing call with a co-investigator (not the coach) following completion of coaching.
Group coaching participants also participate in a 75-minute interview to better understand decision-making and sense-making.
What is group coaching?
Group coaching involves meeting with 5 to 8 colleagues and a professional coach to discuss professional experience, goals, and effectiveness. Randomized trials have shown that facilitated meetings with small groups of physician colleagues to discuss topics related to professional efficacy leads to increased meaning at work and decreased burnout. [2,3] Think of it as being similar to a professionally facilitated Mastermind group.
How are participants being coached?
Using Zoom video conferencing. You need a webcam with a microphone, a great internet connection, and a private location. And the time to dedicate to coaching.
What is the cost?
Study participants pay a one-time $250 coaching fee prior to their initial coaching session. This a significantly discounted rate for professional coaching. According to Kauffman and Coutu in the Harvard Business Review, the median per hour cost of coaching is $500 (low: $200, high:$3500). This research is funded by the James H. and Helen F. Crossingham Emergency Medicine Award.
Who is the professional coach?
Richard Winters, MD, MBA, coaches physician, administrative, and nursing leaders throughout Mayo Clinic. Outside of Mayo Clinic his clients are senior executives, department chairs, managing partners, medical directors, and chiefs of staff from virtually every specialty and practice setting. He is Chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine (Midwest) Finance Committee for Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota and Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine. Prior to returning to Mayo Clinic in March of 2015, Richard served as the President of an 800-physician medical staff, President/CEO/Founder of an Independent Practice Association in the Central Valley of California with 450-physician members, and Managing Partner of a large democratic emergency medicine group. Dr. Winters attended Mayo Medical School and holds a Healthcare Management Executive MBA from the University of Texas at Dallas and UT Southwestern Medical Center. Dr. Winters is a graduate of the University of Texas at Dallas Executive and Professional Coaching Program and is an International Coaching Federation certified coach.
Was this study IRB approved?
On March 30, 2017, the Mayo Clinic IRB reviewed and approved (IRB:16-010192) and noted that all requirements for approval of research (45CFR46.111) were met. Title: The Impact of Professional Coaching on Early Career Academic Emergency Physician Well-Being, Burnout, Leadership Strengths, and Goal Attainment: A Pilot Randomized, Controlled Trial.
Is the study registered at ClinicalTrials.gov?
Yep. https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03125330
How do I consent to participate?
Potential participants receive a packet of information that includes informed consent.
How do I enroll to be coached?
Please complete the Interest in Enrollment Form.
Some references to read?
[1] Theeboom, T., B. Beersma, and A.E.M. van Vianen, Does coaching work? A meta-analysis on the effects of coaching on individual level outcomes in an organizational context. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 2013. 9(1): p. 1-18.
[2] West CP, Dyrbye LN, Rabatin JT, et al. Intervention to promote physician well-being, job satisfaction, and professionalism: a randomized clinical trial. JAMA Intern Med. 2014;174(4):527-533.
[3] West CP, Dyrbye LN, Satele D, Shanafelt TD. A randomized controlled trial evaluating the effect of COMPASS (COlleagues Meeting to Promote and Sustain Satisfaction) small group sessions on physician well-being, meaning, and job satisfaction. J Gen Intern Med. 2015;30:S89.