The Effects of Coaching Pediatric Residents on Faculty Coaches’ Relationships, Learning, and Professional Identity Formation

Abstract

Purpose Coaching programs have been implemented in medical education to improve skill development and feedback for trainees. As more faculty take on coaching roles, it is critical to understand how being a coach affects faculty as well as trainees. This study examined the effects of coaching residents on faculty members’ relationships, learning, and professional identity formation (PIF), as they move through intersecting communities across landscapes of practice. Method From July 2020 to January 2021, the authors conducted a mixed-methods study of current and former coaches at 2 institutions with longitudinal pediatric resident coaching programs. They used a concurrent triangulation design in which qualitative and quantitative data were collected simultaneously and integrated during data analysis. A survey explored the impact of coaching on faculty members’ learning, relationships, and PIF, and semistructured interviews further examined coaches’ experiences. The interview transcripts were analyzed inductively guided by the sensitizing principles of PIF and landscapes of practice. Results Of 43 eligible coaches, 32 (74%) completed the survey, and 18 completed interviews. Four themes emerged from the interviews. (1) Coaches’ relationships supported belonging in multiple communities. (2) Coaching enabled multidimensional learning. (3) Relationships served as mechanisms of learning for coaches. (4) Coaches’ relationships and learning catalyzed PIF. Furthermore, there was a significant difference in the effects of coaching on career growth by faculty rank (P = .02). Coaches’ strengthened PIF increased a sense of purpose, meaning, and professional fulfillment, and inspired new career directions. Survey data further supported these findings. Conclusions Being a coach deepened faculty members’ professional identities through their varied relationships, multidimensional learning, and sense of belonging in intersecting communities. This study introduces a framework to understand the factors mediating coaches’ PIF and highlights how investing in coaching leads to important benefits for coaches.

Tips for developing a coaching program in medical education

“…In addition to learner and patient outcomes, consider evaluating the impact of the program on faculty in the coaching role. Prior research in coaching has found that being a coach increases faculty’s professional fulfillment and their sense of purpose and community [ 43 , 56 ]. Specifically, coaches learn new clinical and academic skills, grow in relationships and sense of belonging within medical and academic communities, and deepen their professional identities as educators, leading to increased professional fulfillment [ 56 ].…”