How do you access Coaching in Healthcare?
There are many coaches who are dedicated to working with Healthcare staff. A LinkedIn search will quickly find people with passion and commitment, qualifications and experience to coach clinical staff, especially those in senior positions. However, clinicians are not rushing to access coaching and this blog post explores the possible reasons.
The new Secretary of State said that the NHS is ‘officially broken’. Most NHS staff worked through the attrition of Covid, which - in addition to its many traumas - lengthened already long waiting lists. Working life now includes covering for vacancies and sick colleagues, yet management may seem to be unresponsive or unsupportive in the face of increasing public disquiet. Many cClinicians feel that, despite trying to give their best, it seems no longer good enough. Some even fear that they are not accomplishing anything useful. Loss of control and direction reduces commitment and enthusiasm. This leads clinicians to consider leaving the service. For those who remain, this is a recipe for stress and potential burnout.
Not all clinicians reach the point of being ‘burned out’. If you do, your HR department may send you to Occupational Health for medication or suggest talking therapies. But surely it is essential that we manage the stress of working in this system before our mental health deteriorates? Those who experience burnout often leave healthcare permanently and this is a tragedy. We need to help clinicians who are not yet burned out but may be showing signs of ‘smouldering’.
One common response to stress is the offer of Management Training or some other form of Continued Professional Development (CPD). Whilst these interventions take you away from the ‘front line’ for a few days, the issues are still there when you get back and your absence places additional stress on your remaining colleagues. For most struggling clinicians, further training is not a solution.
Coaching is not a medical intervention or a therapy, it is a process powered by listening and allows the clinician to vocalise and organise their thoughts.
As a coach, I believe that clinical staff benefit from confidential 1 to 1 coaching. You don’t have to take my word for it though, as the science is pretty overwhelming. Coaching is not a medical intervention or a therapy, it is a process powered by listening and allows the clinician to vocalise and organise their thoughts. It is a self-directed personal and career development tool and, when provided by a skilled and qualified coach, enables the clinician to determine solutions that are consistent with their hopes and aspirations.
Ironically, of all the solutions available, Coaching does not appear to be readily accessible to clinicians. The NHS provides coaching for senior Management, and many new Integrated Care Board members have used it to understand and adapt to their new roles. Although some Trusts offer in-house coaching, in many cases these coaches are found to be inexperienced, poorly trained or even unqualified. In-house coaches may not have sufficient seniority to command the trust of senior clinicians. As hospital employees, in-house Coaches do not have the independence required by a senior clinician to trust them with confidential or sensitive information.
Effective coaching requires a relationship built on trust between coach and client, with no allegiances to a third party. To be effective, therefore, coaching must be provided by skilled, qualified coaches who are external to the workplace. The coach’s experience of the NHS at a senior level is also vital.
Part of the problem has to be with senior clinical staff themselves; it is almost a badge of honour within Healthcare to ‘cope’ with whatever is thrown at you. Admitting to others that it is becoming difficult is seen as a weakness, even if the job is taking over your life and impacting your personal and family relationships. Coaching is regarded by some clinicians as unscientific, unproven, or even ‘woke’. Honest scepticism is part of the scientific process - but the science behind coaching is strong.
Having accepted that you need help, how does a Senior Clinician access coaching? Interventions like CPD, Management Training, Occupational Health Services and Talking Therapies will be funded by the employer at no cost to the clinician. However, Hospitals seem reluctant to fund Coaching, despite its ability to improve wellbeing, resilience and communication skills. Coaching will also prevent burnout and increase the clinicians’ ability to deal with work pressures. Coaching improves employee engagement and retention. At a time when many clinicians are leaving the NHS, or giving up clinical practice altogether, it is surely a cost-effective offer.
Coaching will probably be the best investment you make in your future working life.
If you are a senior Clinician and considering whether coaching can help, please take up the offer of a free discovery call that is offered by many coaches, without obligation. Having determined that coaching is what you need, you may persuade your employer to pay for it. Even if you have to fund it yourself, most coaches offer reasonably priced packages. Coaching will probably be the best investment you make in your future working life. Book a free, no obligation discovery call with me here.
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