175 - Faculty Development on Coaching in Graduate Medical Education

Publication Number: 175.4575

Daniel Kang, University of California, Irvine, School of Medicine, Mission Viejo, CA, United States; Behnoosh Afghani, University of California, Irvine, School of Medicine, Orange, CA, United States; Linda D. Gerson, Johns Hopkins University, Catonsville, MD, United States

Background: There is growing interest in adopting coaching principles within medical education, but limited resources are available in the literature to guide those efforts, particularly in Graduate Medical Education (GME). To address this gap, we developed a training workshop for faculty members involved in GME, with the goal of preparing and motivating faculty members to engage in coaching.

Objective: To develop a universal resource to introduce coaching to faculty educators in GME, and to apply different coaching skills and techniques within specific scenarios and contexts, through case-based learning and role play.

Design/Methods: Program leadership in the Department of Pediatrics helped identify faculty members, who directly supervise residents and fellows, to participate in a 90-minute workshop on coaching in medical education. The workshop involved a didactic lecture, case-based learning, and role play. A pre- and post-workshop anonymous questionnaire, validated by coaching experts, was provided to all participants.

Results: A total of 15 faculty members, with a diverse representation of faculty experience, participated in the workshop. As some faculty arrived late for the session, only 12 responses were available to analyze. For this study, the McNemar test was applied to determine the significance of difference in percentage of participants who responded agree or strongly agree to survey items. After the workshop, there was significant improvement in recognizing American Medical Association coaching goals and in applying coaching strategies reviewed, as seen in Table 1. Furthermore, based on the Wilcoxon signed rank test (Figure 1), it was noted that participants overall expressed a higher level of awareness and/or confidence in defining coaching goals and applying strategies, as well as in differentiating faculty roles in advising, mentoring, and coaching. Comparing pre- and post-workshop average data, participants reported a statistically significant increase in preparedness (p < 0.001) and motivation to coach GME trainees, as seen in Table 2.

Conclusion(s): Our preliminary findings demonstrate the effectiveness of a coaching workshop in preparing and motivating faculty to engage in coaching opportunities and provides an introductory resource to consider using when implementing a coaching curriculum and/or program. Given the small sample size in this pilot study, there is an opportunity to expand to other Departments to widen our sample pool, given the universality of the importance, yet paucity in resources, of coaching in GME. Further studies should also investigate sustainability and impact on trainees.

Table 1
Pre vs. post responses to survey items assessing whether learning objectives were met, n=12

Figure 1
Displays significant improvement in awareness/confidence across items, p<.05

Table 2
Pre vs. post average participant perceived motivation and preparedness to coach on a scale from 1-10 (1 being low, and 10 being high)

Table 1
Pre vs. post responses to survey items assessing whether learning objectives were met, n=12

Figure 1
Displays significant improvement in awareness/confidence across items, p<.05

Table 2
Pre vs. post average participant perceived motivation and preparedness to coach on a scale from 1-10 (1 being low, and 10 being high)