Cleveland Clinic supports physician resiliency through peer coaching program

In an attempt to boost resiliency and combat burnout among physicians, the Cleveland Clinic has implemented a peer coaching program. The Cleveland Clinic coaching network seeks to create great job satisfaction, engagement, and resilience among physicians. It links physicians and other faculty to peer coaches with whom they can discuss goals and concerns. Thus far, the program has been largely successful: 25% of coaches and 22% of coachees revealed that the program had a significant impact on their decisions to remain at the Cleveland Clinic. Furthermore, 64% of coaches and 71% of coachees state that their participation in the program has significantly impacted their goals.

Peer coaches undergo comprehensive four-day training to learn vital communication skills, how to better express empathy, and how to be an effective listener. Individuals are invited to participate in the program based on nominations from other faculty members. Coaches generally have 20–40 years of experience in medical practice and may recommend fellow physicians to be coaches.

Additionally, Andrea Sikon, MD, internal medicine physician at the Cleveland Clinic, notes another valuable effect of the program: “People are using these skills not just with one another. They are using them with their patients.”

Source: American Medical Association