Workplace coaching: a meta-analysis and recommendations for advancing the science of coaching.

Workplace coaching has experienced a dramatic rise in popularity over the past decade and is one of the fastest growing performance-enhancing interventions used by modern organizations. Yet, despite its popularity, workplace coaching has not been the subject of much empirical research and a true science of coaching has yet to be developed. The purpose of this research was to update prior meta-analyzes that investigated the impact of coaching on organizational outcomes and to provide recommendations for how the field needs to evolve. Results indicated that, consistent with prior meta-analyzes, workplace coaching is effective in achieving positive organizational outcomes. The effects of several moderators were also investigated. Finally, we discuss the results in terms of recommendations for future directions that we believe will establish and advance the science of coaching.

Challenges in Creating a Mobile Digital Tutor for Clinical Communications Training.

Doctor-patient communication is a crucial element in effective medical care, and the striking health disparities evident in patients with Type II Diabetes may in part be caused by physicians' difficulties in establishing effective communication with patients who differ from them racially, culturally, and economically. REPEAT (Realizing Enhanced Patient Encounters through Aiding and Training) is a digital tutor developed to help solve this problem. REPEAT teaches and coaches learners to improve their general and disparities-focused clinical communication skills using simulated encounters with computer-generated Synthetic Standardized Patients (SSPs) and augments experiential learning in virtual encounters by applying customized, context-sensitive, learner-focused scaffolding. REPEAT authoring tools enable rapid development of learning content, allowing economical transferability to other domains. Key human factors challenges and their design solution in REPEAT are discussed.

Recent advances in scenario-based training for medical education.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: To summarize recent thinking about how to best design simulations and other virtual environments in medical education and training. RECENT FINDINGS: On the basis of work done in a military context, I describe an approach to scenario-based training and provide a conceptual framework in which developmental activities can be organized. This approach emphasizes the linkages among learning objectives, scenario events, performance measures, instructional strategies and feedback in creating effective scenario-based training. SUMMARY: In presenting this framework, I hope that medical educators and practitioners can have a deeper appreciation for how to best design and implement scenario-based training.

Team Resilience as a Second-Order Emergent State: A Theoretical Model and Research Directions.

Resilience has been recognized as an important phenomenon for understanding how individuals overcome difficult situations. However, it is not only individuals who face difficulties; it is not uncommon for teams to experience adversity. When they do, they must be able to overcome these challenges without performance decrements.This manuscript represents a theoretical model that might be helpful in conceptualizing this important construct. Specifically, it describes team resilience as a second-order emergent state. We also include research propositions that follow from the model.

Evaluation of Physicians' Cognitive Styles.

BACKGROUND: Patient outcomes critically depend on accuracy of physicians' judgment, yet little is known about individual differences in cognitive styles that underlie physicians' judgments. The objective of this study was to assess physicians' individual differences in cognitive styles relative to age, experience, and degree and type of training. METHODS: Physicians at different levels of training and career completed a web-based survey of 6 scales measuring individual differences in cognitive styles (maximizing v. satisficing, analytical v. intuitive reasoning, need for cognition, intolerance toward ambiguity, objectivism, and cognitive reflection). We measured psychometric properties (Cronbach's α) of scales; relationship of age, experience, degree, and type of training; responses to scales; and accuracy on conditional inference task. RESULTS: The study included 165 trainees and 56 attending physicians (median age 31 years; range 25-69 years). All 6 constructs showed acceptable psychometric properties. Surprisingly, we found significant negative correlation between age and satisficing (r = -0.239; P = 0.017). Maximizing (willingness to engage in alternative search strategy) also decreased with age (r = -0.220; P = 0.047). Number of incorrect inferences negatively correlated with satisficing (r = -0.246; P = 0.014). Disposition to suppress intuitive responses was associated with correct responses on 3 of 4 inferential tasks. Trainees showed a tendency to engage in analytical thinking (r = 0.265; P = 0.025), while attendings displayed inclination toward intuitive-experiential thinking (r = 0.427; P = 0.046). However, trainees performed worse on conditional inference task. CONCLUSION: Physicians capable of suppressing an immediate intuitive response to questions and those scoring higher on rational thinking made fewer inferential mistakes. We found a negative correlation between age and maximizing: Physicians who were more advanced in their careers were less willing to spend time and effort in an exhaustive search for solutions. However, they appeared to have maintained their "mindware" for effective problem solving.

Machinima and Video-Based Soft-Skills Training for Frontline Healthcare Workers.

Multimedia training methods have traditionally relied heavily on video-based technologies, and significant research has shown these to be very effective training tools. However, production of video is time and resource intensive. Machinima technologies are based on videogaming technology. Machinima technology allows videogame technology to be manipulated into unique scenarios based on entertainment or training and practice applications. Machinima is the converting of these unique scenarios into video vignettes that tell a story. These vignettes can be interconnected with branching points in much the same way that education videos are interconnected as vignettes between decision points. This study addressed the effectiveness of machinima-based soft-skills education using avatar actors versus the traditional video teaching application using human actors in the training of frontline healthcare workers. This research also investigated the difference between presence reactions when using avatar actor-produced video vignettes as compared with human actor-produced video vignettes. Results indicated that the difference in training and/or practice effectiveness is statistically insignificant for presence, interactivity, quality, and the skill of assertiveness. The skill of active listening presented a mixed result indicating the need for careful attention to detail in situations where body language and facial expressions are critical to communication. This study demonstrates that a significant opportunity exists for the exploitation of avatar actors in video-based instruction.

Optimizing learning in surgical simulations: guidelines from the science of learning and human performance.

Simulation-based training is rapidly becoming an integral part of surgical training. However, the effectiveness of this type of training is as dependent on the manner in which it is implemented and delivered as it is on the simulator itself. In this article, the authors identify specific elements from the science of learning and human performance that may assist educators in optimizing the effects of simulation-based training. These elements include scenario design, feedback, conditions of practice, and others. Specific guidelines for simulation-based surgical training are provided.

Do familiar teammates request and accept more backup? Transactive memory in air traffic control.

OBJECTIVE: The present study investigated factors that explain when and why different groups of teammates are more likely to request and accept backup from one another when needed in an environment characterized by extreme time pressure and severe consequences of error: commercial air traffic control (ATC). BACKGROUND: Transactive memory theory states that teammates develop consensus regarding the distribution of their relative expertise as well as confidence in that expertise over time and that this facilitates coordination processes. The present study investigated whether this theory could help to explain between-team differences in requesting and accepting backup when needed. METHOD: The present study used cross-sectional data collected from 51 commercial ATC teams. Hypotheses were tested using multiple regression analysis. RESULTS: Teammates with greater experience working together requested and accepted backup from one another more than those with lesser experience working together. Teammate knowledge consensus and perceived team efficacy appear to have mediated this relationship. CONCLUSION: Transactive memory theory extends to high-stress environments in which members' expertise is highly overlapping. Teammates' shared mental models about one another increase the likelihood that they will request and accept backup. APPLICATION: Teammate familiarity should be considered when choosing among potential replacement team members. Training strategies that accelerate the development of teammate knowledge consensus and team efficacy are warranted.