Background: Physician burnout is a persistent stress reaction which can include emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and feeling of decreased personal accomplishment. Burnout affects all specialties and all practices, but burnout rates are higher among women physicians as compared to men (56% vs 41%). Gender disparities in burnout have many causes, including inequities in recruitment, pay and academic advancement, higher rates of emotional exhaustion, and societal expectations for women balancing family and work life. Physician mothers, therefore, face unique challenges which compound their risk for burnout and career dissatisfaction. Reducing burnout is essential to maintain a physician workforce that can provide sustainable, high-quality patient care. Coaching is an inquiry-based discipline grounded in self-determination and aims to increase one’s locus of control. The coach helps the coachee to identify their values and strengths and to use these as the cornerstones of their decision-making.
Purpose: Recognizing the prevalence of burnout among women physicians, we designed and implemented a coaching intervention specifically for physician moms at an urban academic medical center.
Description: We utilized surveys and focus groups to understand the needs of physician moms at our institution. We identified common drivers of burnout among physician moms. We announced the pilot program and sent enrollment details via email. Six physicians signed up for the pilot program. We designed a six week group coaching program that addressed the identified drivers of burnout. At the conclusion of the program, participants completed an anonymous survey to evaluate the efficacy of the coaching intervention. 100% of participants strongly agreed or agreed the program was valuable and worth their time. 100% strongly agreed or agreed that they would recommend the program to other physician moms. 100% strongly agreed or agreed that they gained skills they can apply immediately in their professional life. 100% strongly agreed or agreed that they gained skills they can apply immediately in their personal life. 100% strongly agreed or agreed that the program has a positive impact on their life. 100% strongly agreed that the group coaching format was helpful and that the program helped them feel more connected to others.
Conclusions: Group coaching is an affordable and feasible intervention that can be implemented by healthcare organizations to improve wellbeing among physicians. Even short duration coaching interventions can have long-lasting positive impacts on participants. Proactive measures should be taken to ensure the wellness of physician mothers who are at a uniquely high risk of burnout.