By: Pedro Tanaka and Ann Dohn
Competency-Based Education (CBE) emphasizes the attainment of specific skills, behaviors, and attitudes essential for professional practice. A critical and often underappreciated component of CBE is coaching. Coaching, as a competency, not only complements CBE but also enhances its effectiveness by fostering continuous professional development and lifelong learning. [1]
Coaching is a process that involves guiding individuals at different stages in their career to improve their performance, develop new skills, and achieve their full potential. Coaching is aimed at enhancing the client’s leadership skills, decision-making abilities, and overall performance. It focuses on personal and professional development through a structured, goal-oriented process. In the context of medical education, coaching goes beyond mere instruction. Encourages trainees to reflect on their strengths, weaknesses, and areas for improvement.
To foster this coaching culture, models like the Competence by Design Coaching Model [2] offer a framework that acknowledges the complexity of coaching interactions and emphasizes attention to individual, relational, and systemic factors. While the model offers promise, its successful implementation requires sustained effort as it’s a new approach in medical education.
Building a coaching culture benefits learners in several ways:
- Facilitating Personalized Learning
- Promoting Reflective Practice
- Building Professionalism
- Supporting Lifelong Learning
Educators and mentors should receive training in coaching techniques and principles. This training ensures they can provide meaningful, effective guidance and support.
By developing these core coaching competencies, depicted in the figure, [3] educators can provide learners with more targeted support and guidance. This, in turn, strengthens the effectiveness of Competency-Based Education (CBE). Coaching empowers learners to not only acquire necessary skills but also develop the critical thinking and self-directed learning necessary for lifelong success in the medical field. As medical education continues to evolve, integrating coaching into CBE will be essential for developing competent, confident, and compassionate healthcare professionals. Coaching fosters self-awareness, helping learners gain a deeper understanding of their strengths, weaknesses, and impact on others.
The summary bellow highlights the key skills a coach needs to build trust, facilitate self-discovery, and empower clients to achieve their goals. [3]
I. Co-creating the relationship:
Building Rapport: Coaches establish trust through nonverbal cues, respectful communication, and alignment between words and actions.
Coaching presence: Coaches listen without judgment, encourage collaboration, and guide clients to overcome challenges.
Leveraging Diversity: Coaches value different perspectives, consider cultural factors, and adjust approaches as needed.
II. Making meaning with others:
Questioning: Coaches use a variety of question types to explore possibilities, clarify understanding, and help clients define goals and approaches.
Listening: Coaches actively listen, rephrase messages, and uncover underlying emotions behind the client’s words.
Testing Assumptions: Coaches verify interpretations, identify potential biases, and help clients recognize their strengths and weaknesses.
III. Helping Others Succeed:
Reframing: Coaches encourage clients to explore new perspectives, experiment with different approaches, and reflect on learnings.
Contributing: Coaches set clear objectives, provide concise feedback, and address inconsistencies in the client’s actions.
Organizational Acumen: Coaches stay informed about relevant trends and challenges, use industry language credibly, and focus on achieving positive outcomes.
About the Authors:
Ann Dohn is the Executive Director, Graduate Medical Education, and Designated Institutional Official at Stanford Health Care.
Pedro Tanaka is the Associate Designated Institutional Official, and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at Stanford University School of Medicine.
References
- Elster MJ, O’Sullivan PS, Muller-Juge V, Sheu L, Kaiser SV, Hauer KE. Does being a coach benefit clinician-educators? A mixed methods study of faculty self-efficacy, job satisfaction and burnout. Perspect Med Educ. 2022 Jan;11(1):45-52. doi: 10.1007/s40037-021-00676-7. Epub 2021 Aug 18. PMID: 34406613; PMCID: PMC8371581.
- Richardson D, Landreville JM, Trier J, Cheung WJ, Bhanji F, Hall AK, Frank JR, Oswald A. Coaching in Competence by Design: A New Model of Coaching in the Moment and Coaching Over Time to Support Large Scale Implementation. Perspectives on Medical Education. 2024; 13(1): 33–43. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5334/ pme.959
- https://www.tc.columbia.edu/coachingcertification/about-us/coaching-foundations/core-competencies/#:~:text=Making%20Meaning%20with%20Others—The,for%20taking%20informed%2C%20effective%20action..
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