This is a mixed-methods study designed to develop and evaluate an innovative coaching program for physician trainee mothers. Approximately 48 participants will be recruited from informational flyers posted in resident work areas and distributed by program directors and GME. Interested participants will email study staff. Participants will be randomized to the control or intervention arm. Intervention participants will meet monthly with a novice physician coach of their choice (one-on-one) and a certified physician coach (with an assigned group of 6 peers through video-conferencing).
Participants in both arms of the study will respond to surveys at three points: enrollment (baseline), 4 months, and 7 months. At each point, they will spend approximately 10 minutes filling the survey. The survey will query demographics, burnout, professional fulfillment, imposter phenomenon, self-valuation, self-efficacy, resilience, quality of life, and impact of work on professional relationships. The coaching intervention will last 4 months, and the 7 month survey will be used only to assess long-term effects of the intervention. At the conclusion of the study (7 months after enrollment), participants will be interviewed over video communication (secure Partners or Harvard Zoom) for approximately 30 minutes.
Age 18 or older
English fluency and literacy
Resident or fellow level MD or DO trainee
Pregnant or up to 3 months post-partum
Unable to provide consent.
Unable to complete electronic surveys and video calls.
Parallel
Coaching Program
BehavioralNovel, 4-month coaching program tailored to the childbearing trainees. This consists of 4 1:1 coaching sessions with a novice faculty coach and 4 group sessions with a certified coach.
Burnout
8-item Emotional Exhaustion (EE) and Depersonalization (DP) subscales in the Stanford Professional Fulfillment Index (SPFI). Higher scores are associated with more feelings of burnout while lower scores are associated with lower levels of burnout.
Burnout
Six item abbreviated version of the Maslach Burnout Inventory, including the Emotional Exhaustion (EE) and Depersonalization (DP) subscales. Higher scores are associated with higher levels of burnout while lower scores are associated with lower levels of burnout.
Professional fulfillment
Four item Stanford Professional Fulfillment Index subscale. Higher scores are associated with higher measures of professional fulfillment, and lower scores are associated with lower levels of professional fulfillment.
Imposter Phenomenon
20-question Clance Imposter Phenomenon Scale. Imposter phenomenon - associated with work-life integration challenges, burnout, and low professional fulfillment - is more common in high-achieving women during times of life transition and causes self-doubt despite objective evidence of achievement. Higher scores are associated with high feelings of imposter phenomenon and low scores are associated with less imposter phenomenon.
Self-valuation
Four item Clinician Self-Valuation scale. Low self-valuation - associated with burnout - is more common in women. It includes a harsh response to perceived personal shortcomings and deferral of personal needs to meet others' needs to meet others' needs. High scores are associated with low self-valuation while low scores are associated with high self-valuation.
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