How group coaching contributes to organisational understanding among newly graduated doctors.

BACKGROUND: Practising medicine at an expert level requires skills beyond medical expert knowledge. Research shows that newly appointed consultants feel less prepared to deal with leadership issues compared to issues regarding medical expertice. Newly graduated (NG) doctors and residents in particular struggle with leadership and organisational issues. The purpose of this study was to explore the impact of group coaching on NG doctors' approach to organisational and leadership challenges in daily practice during the transition period from medical school to clinical work. METHODS: Newly graduated doctors participated in a group coaching course comprising three full-day sessions and five two-hour sessions. The purpose was to support NG doctors' professional development regarding organisational issues in the first years after graduation. The coaches were health professionals with certified coaching training. Data from the intervention were collected from open-ended questionnaires and observational notes. A thematic analysis was performed. RESULTS: Forty-five NG doctors participated in a total of six courses sharing experiences and problems reflected in their professional lives. The following themes emerged: Revelation of the hidden curriculum, importance of professional relations, inter-professional communication, conflict management and emerging leadership skills. Participants' communication skills improved due to an increased awareness of other peoples' perspectives and preferences. They realized the importance of good relations, saw how they could become active contributors in their departments and began to practice leadership skills through e.g. involvement of the team, delegation of work and negotiation of own obligations. CONCLUSION: Newly graduated doctors seemed to develop a growing awareness of organisational issues and a deeper understanding of the complexity of health care organisations through participation in a group coaching course. The study indicates that participation in a group coaching course probably contributes to improve practice among NG doctors. Further studies are needed to consolidate the findings and explore possible organisational effects.

Professional identity formation in the transition from medical school to working life: a qualitative study of group-coaching courses for junior doctors.

BACKGROUND: The transition from student to medical doctor is challenging and stressful to many junior doctors. To practice with confidence and professionalism the junior doctors have to develop a strong professional identity. Various suggestions on how to facilitate formation of professional identity have been offered including the possible positive effect of group-coaching courses. The purpose of this study was to explore how group-coaching might facilitate professional identity formation among junior doctors in the transition period. METHODS: Group-coaching courses comprising three whole-day sessions and five 2 h sessions during a period of 4 months were offered to junior doctors in the first years after graduation. The purpose was to support the participants' professional development, ability to relate to patients, relatives and staff and career development. The coaches in this study had a background as health professionals combined with coaching educations. Data was obtained through observations, open-ended questionnaires and interviews. A generic thematic analysis was applied. RESULTS: Forty-five doctors participated in six coaching groups. The three main themes emerging in the sessions were: Adoption to medical culture, career planning, and work/life-balance. The junior doctors found the coaching intervention highly useful in order to cope with these challenges. Furthermore, the group was a forum where the junior doctors could share thoughts and feelings with colleagues without being afraid that this would endanger their professional career. Many found new ways to respond to everyday challenges mainly through a new awareness of patterns of thinking and feeling. CONCLUSIONS: The participants found that the group-coaching course supported their professional identity formation (thinking, feeling and acting as a doctor), adoption to medical culture, career planning and managing a healthy work/life-balance. Further studies in different contexts are recommended as well as studies using other methods to test the results of this qualitative study.