Decreasing Physician Burnout With Professional Coaching

University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)

Status: Completed

Conditions: Burnout, Professional

Treatments: Behavioral: One-on-one professional coaching; Behavioral: Small-group professional coaching

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT05583435

22-001542

Details and patient eligibility

About

The goal of this randomized control trial is to learn if professional coaching can help reduce physician burnout among physicians at UCLA. The main aims of the study are:

• To reduce burnout among physicians with professional coaching
• Improve work satisfaction and engagement, sense of self-efficacy and social support with professional coaching
• Determine the efficacy of one-on-one professional coaching and small group professional coaching combined with behavioral interventions/activities in reducing physician burnout and comparing these groups to one another and to a delayed-entry (control) group

Participants will be randomly assigned into one of three groups:

• Intervention Group 1: One-on-one coaching (N=30). Six one-on-one coaching sessions via Zoom with one of two private professional coaches every other week for 3-4 months.
• Intervention Group 2: Coach-facilitated group sessions and coach-guided activities/behavioral interventions (N=30). Six small-group coaching sessions via Zoom with one of two private professional coaches and three physician participants in each group, every other week for 3-4 months.
• Delayed-Entry Group 3 (N=30): No intervention during duration of study period. Note: once participation in the pilot study has been completed for Groups 1 and 2, physicians participating in Group 3 will be offered to participate in six one-on-one sessions with a private professional coach over a 3-4 month period.

Participants will complete several surveys that assess for burnout, work engagement and satisfaction, sense of social support and isolation, and areas of worklife) before the start, upon completion of the intervention and again at 6 months upon completion of the sessions for the delayed-entry group.

Each group also received coach-guided activities/behavioral interventions during coaching sessions. These activities will be sent by coaches to participates throughout the 3 month period and include, but are not limited to: Wheel of Life, visioning exercise, one page miracle: core values, purpose, and goals, buckets and mental models.

Enrollment: 79 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Actively practicing UCLA department of medicine physicians who had at least two years of employment at UCLA

Exclusion criteria

• Current or anticipated (in the next 6 months) participation in one-on-one or group coaching provided by a professional coach

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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79 participants in 3 patient groups

One-on-one professional coaching

Experimental group

Description:

One-on-one professional coaching (N=30). Six one-on-one coaching sessions via Zoom with one of two private professional coaches every other week for 3-4 months. The professional coaching method includes (but will not be limited to) the following themes: optimizing meaning and engagement in work, building social support and community, improving work efficiency, addressing workload and boundary setting, enhancing communication, and building leadership skills, pursuing hobbies and creation/innovation, and promoting self-compassion and self-care (with a focus on physical and mental health). Coach-guided activities/behavioral interventions are included with coaching sessions. These activities are reviewed with participants throughout the 3-4 month period and include, but are not limited to: Wheel of Life, visioning exercise, one page miracle: core values, purpose, and goals, buckets and mental models.

Treatment:

Behavioral: One-on-one professional coaching

Small-group professional coaching with coach-guided activities/behavioral internventions

Experimental group

Description:

Coach-facilitated small group professional coaching sessions and coach-guided activities/behavioral interventions (N=30). Six small-group coaching sessions via Zoom with one of two private professional coaches and three physician participants in each group, every other week for 3-4 months. The professional coaching method is similar to those receiving 1:1 professional coaching. The primary difference in this intervention group is that coaching sessions will be group-based with 3 physician participants.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Small-group professional coaching

Delayed-entry group (placebo then one-on-one professional coaching)

Experimental group

Description:

Delayed-Entry Group 3 (N=30). No intervention during the 90 day study period. Note: once participation in the pilot study has been completed for Groups 1 and 2, physicians participating in Group 3 will be offered to participate in six one-on-one sessions with a private professional coach over a 3 month period. The professional coaching method includes (but will not be limited to) the following themes: optimizing meaning and engagement in work, building social support and community, improving work efficiency, addressing workload and boundary setting, enhancing communication, and building leadership skills, pursuing hobbies and creation/innovation, and promoting self-compassion and self-care (with a focus on physical and mental health).

Treatment:

Behavioral: One-on-one professional coaching