Goal co‐construction and dialogue in an internal medicine longitudinal coaching programme

Abstract

Background Longitudinal coaching in residency programmes is becoming commonplace and requires iterative and collaborative discussions between coach and resident, with the shared development of goals. However, little is known about how goal development unfolds within coaching conversations over time and the effects these conversations have. We therefore built on current coaching theory by analysing goal development dialogues within resident and faculty coaching relationships. Methods This was a qualitative study using interpretive description methodology. Eight internal medicine coach–resident dyads consented to audiotaping coaching meetings over a 1‐year period. Transcripts from meetings and individual exit interviews were analysed thematically using goal co‐construction as a sensitising concept. Results Two themes were developed: (i) The content of goals discussed in coaching meetings focused on how to be a resident, with little discussion around challenges in direct patient care, and (ii) co‐construction mainly occurred in how to meet goals, rather than in prioritising goals or co‐constructing new goals. Conclusions In analysing goal development in the coach–resident relationships, conversations focused mainly around how to manage as a resident rather than how to improve direct patient care. This may be because academic coaching provides space separate from clinical work to focus on the stage‐specific professional identity development of a resident. Going forward, focus should be on how to optimise longitudinal coaching conversations to ensure co‐regulation and reflection on both clinical competencies and professional identity formation.

“Experiential training course on spirituality for multidisciplinary palliative care teams in a hospital setting: a mixed-method evaluation”

“…Practical training was always advocated, with a good alternative to using patients in training courses identi ed as the practice of spiritual interactions between peers (10). Coaching was found to be an effective method in the education of HPs (11) (12), as well as re exivity (13) in groups and among peers, in particular for the development of non-technical skills (14), with long-term supervision (15). Finally, to our knowledge, Italy has not yet produced any training programs of this nature.…”

The power of stories: Supporting professional identity transitions through longitudinal coaching

“…Given this overlapping finding, we could not help but consider how longitudinal coaching programmes, now increasingly common with the implementation of Competency Based Medical Education (CBME), 4 are positioned to support professional identity transitions. We go to coaching as recent work suggests that it can create space for dialogue, with the potential of supporting identity formation at different stages of training 5 . However, this opens up challenges for coaches as there is firstly a need to come to a shared (and operational) conceptualisation of identity, and secondly, coaches must be willing to cede control of the discussion to allow for the emergence of creative and open conversations about liminality and ambiguity.…”

Using fairness to reconcile tensions between coaching and assessment

“…There are varied methods of coaching, 3 but a core component includes coach and learner collaborating on setting individual goals based on assessment and feedback 4 . The research study ‘ Goal co‐construction and dialogue in an internal medicine longitudinal coaching program ’, Farell et al 2022 focuses on how goal developments unfolded between coach and learner 5 . This research followed eight coach‐resident dyads over a 12‐month period and noted that co‐construction mainly occurred on how to meet goals, rather than prioritising of goals or co‐constructing new goals.…”

“…4 The research study 'Goal co-construction and dialogue in an internal medicine longitudinal coaching program', Farell et al 2022 focuses on how goal developments unfolded between coach and learner. 5 This research followed eight coach-resident dyads over a 12-month period and noted that co-construction mainly occurred on how to meet goals, rather than prioritising of goals or co-constructing new goals. This appears to be a clash between an assessment of and an assessment for learning purpose in the coaching context.…”

“…The authors found that frequent use was associated with attention-deficit symptoms, addictive behaviours, lower emotional and social intelligence, and greater social isolation. 5 Rathakrishnan and colleagues found that electronic device addiction increased the risk of poor…”