Role of a coach in medical education

  1. Encourages the development of self-directed, lifelong learning skills
  2. Guides the learner through a process of self-reflection leveraging assessment data
  3. Supports the learner's development of professional and personal learning goals
  4. Assists the learner with identifying practical next steps and measurable outcomes
  5. Normalizes generic struggles and identifies at-risk students and residents

Lesson 1: Introduction to Coaching in Medical Education

Learning Objectives:

  1. Describe the differences between the role of coach, advisor and mentor.
  2. Describe how these roles relate, overlap and conflict in graduate medical education.
  3. Describe visioning exercises and how they can be used to scaffold learner's efforts to make goals and set priorities.

Readings:

  1. Chapter 1: “Defining Coaching” in Rogers, Jenny. Coaching skills: A handbook: A handbook. McGraw-Hill Education (UK), 2012.
  2. AMA Coaching in Medical Education: A Faculty Handbook, https://www.ama-assn.org/media/52126/download; Chapter 8 “Coaching in graduate medical education”
  3. WOOP goals video (5 minutes) explaining this framework for working from hopes to concrete goals
  4. Optional Supplementary Reading: Gawande, Atul. "Personal best." The New Yorker (2011):44-53. - https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2011/10/03/personal-best

Small Group Workshop Lesson 1a: Introduction to Coaching

Pre-Work: In addition to the above readings and watching Lesson 1, coaches should complete one of the visioning exercises described (Wheel of Life , 3-Month Visioning Exercise or Life-Map ) and watch a short video on formulating goals based on wishes and hopes.

Workshop: One member of the group should serve as coach, and another as the observer. The person being coached should share their visioning exercise, and the coach should help this person work to identify values or priorities that are reflected in what they shared. Then, coach should support the coachee in developing a specific goal (the "P" in "WOOP") based on the ideas discussed. The observer should provide feedback on the interaction. If time permits, change roles and coach another member of the group.

With 10 minutes remaining, take time to discuss any current learner interactions where it might help to take a step back and set the stage for setting goals by having them reflect in this way on their values and priorities.

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