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

Abstract

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