When Coaching Meets Mentoring: Impact of Incorporating Coaching into an Existing Mentoring Program at a Community Hospital

Introduction One in two physicians experiences professional burnout. Resident coaching is a novel method to provide emotional support and professional development to residents. The feasibility of implementing coaching at a community hospital has not been reported. This curricular innovation examined the feasibility and impact of integrating positive psychology coaching at a community hospital. Methods The Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Professional Development Coaching Program (PDCP) curriculum was used to train faculty coaches and for the informal pre-coaching session refreshers. Participants were paired and expected to participate in four 1:1 coaching sessions. The impact of the PDCP was assessed through pre- and post-PDCP online surveys. Results Twelve interns and nine faculty coaches were included in the program and surveyed. Survey completion was 10/12 (83%) and 6/9 (67%) at baseline and 9/12 (75%) and 7/9 (78%) at end of year (EOY) for interns and coaches, respectively. For interns, Emotional Exhaustion (EE) using the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) was high or medium for 60% of respondents at baseline, and 56% at EOY. Fifty percent of coaches scored medium on EE at baseline, compared to only 14.3% at EOY. Seventy-five percent of respondents rated their PDCP experience as excellent or good. Nearly all interns rated the quality of communication with their coaches highly on a five-point Likert Scale. Conclusions Implementation of a coaching program in a community hospital residency program is feasible. Burnout using the MBI was stable from beginning to EOY for interns, but improved for coaches. Interns and coaches rated their professional development coaching program experience highly, and would recommend it to others.