The Sharpest Tool in the OR: Three Ways Coaching Strengthens Mental Fitness in Orthopaedists

The life of an orthopaedist today is a busy one, filled with demands and self-sacrifice. Why make time for coaching?

Over the last decade, numerous studies (including this randomized clinical trial from Stanford) have demonstrated the power of coaching to strengthen the mental fitness and overall well-being of physicians and surgeons. What is so special about the coaching relationship that it empowers surgeons to move from “just holding on” to loving their work and lives again? Let’s draw back the curtain and take a brief look at three reasons why coaching can do just that.

A Judgment-Free Zone

A central feature of coaching is that it provides a safe space to set down the weight of expectations and put aside entrenched patterns of thinking and acting. It allows physicians to come to the coaching conversation without pretense.

Common topics physicians may bring for discussion include burnout, work and life satisfaction, and difficulties around conflict resolution, to name a few. Coaching provides a judgment-free, confidential space that allows physicians to openly explore and address these issues. These conversations provide a springboard for effective problem-solving, increased physician satisfaction, and elevated personal and work efficacy.

A Space for Identifying Needs and Creative Ways to Address Them

In the authors’ experiences, physicians and surgeons - whether by nature or training, or both - are much quicker to take note of others' needs over their own. They jump to fill those needs, even when they have reached their mental and physical capacity. This personal observation is aligned with research demonstrating that physicians tend toward “low self-valuation,” meaning they underestimate their value as human beings and therefore, underestimate the value of meeting their own needs. This pattern can lead to burnout, which is helpful when recognized and addressed, but is detrimental to physicians and patients alike when not. Thankfully, the same research demonstrates that coaching can help shift that perspective.

When a physician chooses to engage in coaching, he/she actively sets time aside to focus on identifying his/her needs. This use of time is not selfish. In fact, it promotes a physician’s overall well-being and, by extension, his/her personal and professional longevity. It’s a win for everyone.

Ideally, physicians use this process of identifying needs and ways to address them as preventive maintenance. However, coaching is not solely helpful in prevention; it can be powerful in a crisis as well.

Coaching as a Port in the Storm

As personally related by two surgeons in a piece recently published in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, challenges and hardships are inherent to the nature of surgical practice, just as successes and joys will be. The authors highlight the dangers of “a silent surgical culture,” noting that many surgeons end up feeling isolated and alone when confronted with a difficult patient outcome or surgical error. After describing a wide range of methods for coping, the authors point to the support physicians and surgeons need in the face of the stressors inevitably embedded in their work.

Physician-to-physician coaching can be a powerful way to alleviate profound feelings of isolation. Within the highly individualized coaching relationship, a surgeon can openly and confidentially acknowledge the thoughts and emotions related to a stressful situation. They can then choose to examine their current approach to managing a stressor and explore and experiment with new approaches for coping and experiencing growth.

These are just three of the many benefits of physician coaching. When considering the broader impact, support of individuals translates into system-wide benefits including higher quality patient care, more effective teams, and enhanced leadership development. These outcomes further enhance the reputation of the healthcare system as a whole and reduce turnover costs while increasing revenues.  

Contact SurgeonMasters to learn more about how Physician Coaching supports wellness.

About the Authors:

Stacia Dearmin, MD, ACC is a nationally recognized speaker, educator, and ICF-certified coach who seeks to support and inspire physicians facing adverse patient outcomes and malpractice litigation.

Charity Hix, MD, ACC is a burnout and career wellness coach helping physicians escape feelings of apathy, irritability, and resentment brought on by the increasing demands and decreasing rewards of their medical careers.

Mindy Ho, MD is a board-certified General Surgeon with over 20 years of experience in medicine, working in private practice and hospital-employed settings.  She helps physicians navigate the challenges of having a demanding career and a busy family. 

Jeffrey M. Smith, MD is a practicing Orthopaedic Traumatologist with over 25 years of experience in academic and private practice settings. He is an ICF-certified coach who works with quality and performance-driven surgeons to help them achieve their goals while nurturing their health and well-being and the relationships most important to them.