My vision is that every surgeon is working with a coach.
I recently hit a career milestone, surpassing 500 surgeon client coaching hours since I started diligently tracking hours in 2018. I have witnessed first-hand how valuable coaching can be for those with whom I have worked. I have also benefited from coaching myself on the receiving end.
For the last couple years, SurgeonMasters has offered our own physician coach training program. “See one, do one, teach one,” as we say in surgical culture. Except we are very aware that repetition or the deliberate practice of doing is the key to getting better at anything. Coaching has been very gratifying work, and a lot of progress has been made, yet there’s so much work still to be done. We have to educate different audiences about coaching, train coaches to fill the future demand, and do more internal research to prove the results that I have already witnessed in our coaching clients.
Why a surgeon coach matters.
If every surgeon had a coach, each of us would have a supportive guide that understood the complexities of balancing career aspirations, family, and the myriad of challenges thrown at us along the way. We have worked with clients to:
- Maintain or restore well-being
- Grow their clinical practices
- Learn the business of medicine
- Create clinical or practice efficiencies
- Improve communication with colleagues and staff
- Balance priorities
- Achieve career milestones, such as a first year in practice, achieving leadership positions, and transitioning out of clinical practice or into retirement
A surgeon coach understands the life of a surgeon.
Why being a surgeon matters.
Unlike many other professions, surgeons enter their careers with the reasonable expectation that they will be sued at some point. Medical malpractice speaks to the specialized nature of the surgeon experience and is just one reason to work with a surgeon coach. Instances of moral injury occur more often in the life of a surgeon than one would think, and understanding the unique perspective we have after pledging to do no harm can be critical. It’s often a compilation of instances that leads to the stress fracture, and not always the isolated traumatic event that harms us the most. We have also worked with clients dealing with malpractice litigation, job termination, adverse outcomes, and all sorts of adversity.
Having someone who has been there and done it is invaluable.
How a surgeon coach matters.
We are all in charge of our own surgical careers, whether we operate in an employed hospital model or own a private practice. Our lives move very fast with many inflection points and choices to make while often on our own to weigh the pros and cons. In these cases, a surgeon coach is a trusted confidante to bounce ideas off of, develop deeper insight, and lean on when we need to make critical decisions to obtain the most favorable outcome.
A surgeon coach brings out our best when it matters most.
My vision is that every surgeon will eventually be working with a coach to achieve their career and life aspirations. I look forward to working with my coach, eager to be my best. There are many stakeholders we have to get on board, including other surgeons, administrators, and the decision makers. This is my latest career aspiration.
What career milestones do you want to achieve?