Can physician burnout be reduced through professional coaching without imposing high costs on the healthcare system? And can group coaching be as effective as individual coaching, thereby offering a broader solution to the physician burnout crisis?
This study was conducted between 2023 and 2024 among 79 attending physicians in internal medicine. Participants were randomly assigned to three groups: individual coaching, small-group coaching, or a wait-list control group. Both intervention groups participated in six one-hour virtual coaching sessions, based on principles of positive psychology and delivered over a four-month period. The aim of the study was to examine the effects of coaching on burnout, work engagement, work environment, self-efficacy, and social support, as well as to determine whether the effects of the intervention were maintained six months after its completion.
The findings showed that small-group coaching significantly reduced the rate of burnout among physicians. The proportion of physicians experiencing burnout decreased by 29.6%, while the control group experienced an increase of 11.1%. In the individual coaching group, burnout decreased by 13.4%, but the difference compared with the control group did not reach statistical significance.
Both forms of coaching led to a significant reduction in the proportion of participants experiencing high emotional exhaustion compared with the control group. The group coaching group also showed improvement in the workload measure, while the individual coaching group showed improvement in work vigor.
At the six-month follow-up after the intervention ended, the reduction in burnout was maintained even without additional coaching sessions. In the group coaching group, the burnout rate remained stable, while the individual coaching group experienced an additional 12% reduction in burnout. These findings suggest that the effects of coaching on burnout may continue beyond the intervention period itself.
The researchers conclude that professional small-group coaching significantly reduced physician burnout and may offer an accessible, cost-effective, and scalable model for healthcare systems. According to the researchers, the study’s main contribution is that it is the first study to demonstrate the effectiveness of professional small-group coaching in reducing burnout, emotional exhaustion, and workload among attending physicians.
Citation:
Khalili, Joshua, Karen Miotto, Tisha Wang, John N. Mafi, Elizabeth Kyababchyan, Jesse Sanford, David Elashoff, Jenny Brook, Yetunde Adebambo, Paige-Ashley I. Smith, Emma Nguyen, and Sun M. Yoo. 2025. “Professional Coaching to Reduce Physician Burnout: A Randomized Clinical Trial.” Journal of General Internal Medicine.