Coaching 101 Course
Interested in learning the straight story about coaching from other physician coaches?
Have questions about coach training but unsure where to start?
Wondering, “Should I get certified?”
What about malpractice insurance?
Confused on how to navigate the coach training space, spending thousand of dollars and feeling fearful about making the wrong decision?
All these questions are answered in our Coaching 101 Training Course
What is a coach?
Broadly, a coach supports his or her clients as they work through a problem or issue. More specifically, a coach creates time and space for an individual or group to increase awareness and clarity around their habits and strengths to move towards a more idealized vision of themselves.
The International Coaching Federation (ICF) defines coaching as "a partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential, which is particularly important in today's uncertain and complex environment."
Is a coach the same as a mentor or a therapist?
A coach is different than a counselor, mentor or therapist. A coach guides a client through a process of self-discovery. However, the client, not the coach, is the expert in the area to being coached on. The coach is there to act as a mirror for the client.
Understanding the differences
Coaching
Resides in the person being coached.
Assumes the person being coached is healthy functioning.
Orientation of the conversation is on the present to the future.
Anticipated results are new awareness and intentional action by the person being coached.
Counseling
Resides in the counselor.
Assumes some pathology in the person being counseled.
Orientation of the conversations is from the past to the present.
Anticipated results are acceptance and understanding of the person being counseled.
Mentoring
Resides in the mentor.
Assumes similar experience between mentor and mentee.
Orientation is on the mentor’s past and the mentee’s future.
Anticipated results are for the mentee to apply the mentor’s advice for greater success.
How do I become a coach?
Like any other field, becoming a coach starts with a training program. Training programs should have both didactic and experiential components introducing you to the practice of coaching. There are various options with most being similar in the core fundamentals. Differences often relate to factors like target audience, areas of focus, and coaching techniques. Upon completion of your coaching training, you can become certified through your program.
Some coaches choose to pursue formal coach credentialing. For example, the International Coach Federation offers pathways to different levels of credentialing. Unlike medicine, credentialing is not required to practice. There are many successful coaches who have not pursued a formal credentialing program.
What else do I need to know?
Maybe the most important question for you to ask yourself is why do you want to become a coach?
Do you have a specific group of people that you want to help or a specific area of interest that you would like to coach in? Physicians are uniquely positioned to coach colleagues through issues such as burnout or leadership development. However, you might be interested in incorporating coaching into your practice helping patients to optimize their health-related behaviors. Perhaps you want to coach women balance the demands of their personal and professional lives. The options are as endless as you can imagine.
Coaching can be an immensely satisfying addition to your current career or an entirely separate professional pursuit. With the ever- increasing levels of stress and dissatisfaction in our culture and, in particular in medicine, professional coaches are likely to become an integral part of supporting mental, physical, and emotional well-being of clinicians!
FAQs
Still have questions and concerns. Check out this blog post where several members of the PCA answer their most frequently asked questions surrounding being a Physician Coach.