Trainee Coaching

The MGH Physician Coaching Program is an innovative award-winning program designed to support well-being of residents and fellows through reflection, processing, and goal-setting throughout training. This program is focused on meeting the needs where personal and professional development overlap, which are not served by traditional mentoring or advising programs. Engaging teaching faculty within the institution as coaches and training them in positive psychology and coaching skills, our coaching program creates a safe space for trainees to reflect on and process their experiences, set goals, recognize their accomplishments, and understand their trajectory over time. In addition to spreading this work throughout many of the departments at MGH, Dr. Palamara has collaborated to implement this program in over 40 residency and fellowship programs nationally.  In addition, she has worked with 3 professional societies (American College of Physicians, Association of Women’s Surgeons, and American Pediatric Surgeons Association) to implement virtual coaching relationships for physician well-being and quality improvement.

The COVID-19 Pandemic poses challenges in terms of availability for meeting and coach training, but also presents immense challenges such as grief, post-traumatic stress responses, and burnout in addition to the normal stressors of training. Our curriculum is structured to 1) acknowledge the limitations of coach time/availability for training and meeting, 2) address the greatest needs a coachee may be facing at this time, and 3) respect the limitations of a coachee’s time. Here's a brief informational video. 

Please fill out the form for additional information.