No difference in benefit seen between small-group and one-on-one coaching
By Lori Solomon HealthDay Reporter
TUESDAY, July 22, 2025 (HealthDay News) — Small-group professional coaching can reduce physician burnout rates by up to nearly 30 percent, according to a study published online July 11 in the Journal of General Internal Medicine.
Joshua Khalili, M.D., from the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles, and colleagues assessed the effects of small-group and one-on-one professional coaching to decrease physician burnout and improve work life, work engagement, self-efficacy, and social support. The analysis included 79 internal medicine faculty attending physicians randomly assigned to six one-hour, virtual one-on-one or small-group professional coaching sessions rooted in positive psychological theory over four months or a waitlist control.
The researchers found that participants receiving small-group and one-on-one coaching experienced a 29.6 percent and 13.4 percent absolute reduction in the rate of burnout, respectively, compared with an 11.1 percent increase among control physicians (difference-in-differences, −40.7 and −25.0 percent, respectively). Between the two interventions, there was no significant difference in burnout reduction (−15.9 percent). Burnout remained stable in the small-group intervention after six months and continued to decrease in the one-on-one group, without further intervention.
“This new, small-group model of professional coaching can make a significant impact in physician burnout and costs much less than the one-on-one model,” Khalili said in a statement. “By improving physicians’ well-being, engagement, and sense of support, interventions like coaching can enhance the quality of care patients receive, making this a public health priority, not just a workplace issue.”
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