Professional Coaching and Surgeon Well-being: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

OBJECTIVE: To determine if individualized professional coaching reduces burnout, improves quality of life, and increases resilience among surgeons. BACKGROUND: Burnout is common among surgeons and associated with suboptimal patient care and personal consequences. METHODS: A randomized controlled trial of 80 surgeons evaluating the impact of 6 monthly professional coaching sessions on burnout (Maslach Burnout Inventory), quality of life (single-item linear analog scale), and resilience (Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale) immediately postintervention and 6 months later. Participants randomized to the control group subsequently received 6 professional coaching sessions during months 6 to 12 (delayed intervention). RESULTS: At the conclusion of professional coaching in the immediate intervention group, the rate of overall burnout decreased by 2.5% in the intervention arm compared with an increase of 2.5% in the control arm [delta: -5.0%, 95% confidence interval (CI): -8.6%, -1.4%; P =0.007]. Resilience scores improved by 1.9 points in the intervention arm compared with a decrease of 0.2 points in the control arm (delta: 2.2 points; 95% CI: 0.07, 4.30; P =0.04). Six months after completion of the coaching period, burnout had returned to near baseline levels while resilience continued to improve among the immediate intervention group. The delayed intervention group experienced improvements in burnout during their coaching experience relative to the immediate intervention group during their postintervention period (18.2% decrease vs 2.9% increase, delta: -21.1%, 95% CI: -24.9%, -17.3%; P <0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Professional coaching over 6 months improved burnout and resilience among surgeons, with reductions in improvement over the ensuing 6 months.

Effect of a Professional Coaching Intervention on the Well-being and Distress of Physicians: A Pilot Randomized Clinical Trial.

IMPORTANCE: Burnout symptoms among physicians are common and have potentially serious ramifications for physicians and their patients. Randomized studies testing interventions to address burnout have been uncommon. OBJECTIVE: To explore the effect of individualized coaching on the well-being of physicians. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: A pilot randomized clinical trial involving 88 practicing physicians in the departments of medicine, family medicine, and pediatrics who volunteered for coaching was conducted between October 9, 2017, and March 27, 2018, at Mayo Clinic sites in Arizona, Florida, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. Statistical analysis was conducted from August 24, 2018, to March 25, 2019. INTERVENTIONS: A total of 6 coaching sessions facilitated by a professional coach. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Burnout, quality of life, resilience, job satisfaction, engagement, and meaning at work using established metrics. Analysis was performed on an intent-to-treat basis. RESULTS: Among the 88 physicians in the study (48 women and 40 men), after 6 months of professional coaching, emotional exhaustion decreased by a mean (SD) of 5.2 (8.7) points in the intervention group compared with an increase of 1.5 (7.7) points in the control group by the end of the study (P < .001). Absolute rates of high emotional exhaustion at 5 months decreased by 19.5% in the intervention group and increased by 9.8% in the control group (-29.3% [95% CI, -34.0% to -24.6%]) (P < .001). Absolute rates of overall burnout at 5 months also decreased by 17.1% in the intervention group and increased by 4.9% in the control group (-22.0% [95% CI, -25.2% to -18.7%]) (P < .001). Quality of life improved by a mean (SD) of 1.2 (2.5) points in the intervention group compared with 0.1 (1.7) points in the control group (1.1 points [95% CI, 0.04-2.1 points]) (P = .005), and resilience scores improved by a mean (SD) of 1.3 (5.2) points in the intervention group compared with 0.6 (4.0) points in the control group (0.7 points [95% CI, 0.0-3.0 points]) (P = .04). No statistically significant differences in depersonalization, job satisfaction, engagement, or meaning in work were observed. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Professional coaching may be an effective way to reduce emotional exhaustion and overall burnout as well as improve quality of life and resilience for some physicians. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT03207581.