241A Modern Tale of Mentoring and Coaching (Cont.)
During a meeting with his mentor, the surgical resident had shared his ongoing
struggles around communication. The mentor recognized this resident would
benefit from targeted coaching, and the mentor recommended visiting a coach
(called a performance and learning strategist to help alleviate the stigma that
sometimes comes with being coached). The surgical resident sought out the help
of our learning and performance strategist, and the strategist began to serve as
the resident’s communication coach. The resident selected a day and asked the
strategist to shadow him within the clinical setting. During the shadowing, the
strategist took detailed field notes focusing on the resident’s communication with
nurses, peer residents, attending physicians, and patients. During the shadow-
ing, the strategist served not as an evaluator but rather as an observer carefully
watching and documenting interactions. During transition times, the strategist
and resident talked about the resident’s successes, frustrations, and background.
After the visit, the resident and strategist went through the field notes. As the resi-
dent reviewed the notes with the strategist, he noticed areas of concern:- I walk away from people before finishing my sentences.
- I use a lot of qualifiers when attending physicians are present, and this
reflects uncertainty even when I am certain. - I didn’t answer the intern’s question and instead went on to a new topic.
The resident also identified areas of strength:- I take my time when answering patient’s questions.
- I am confident when explaining tough concepts to my peers.
- I value when peers raise different points of view.
As the resident and strategist debrief continued, the two discussed
approaches to addressing those areas the residents saw as areas of concern.
He decided he would be mindful when speaking with others and ensure he
kept eye contact until the end of the conversation. He planned to focus on
using clear and concise language when talking with attending physicians,
and he planned to get rid of statements of uncertainty in times of certainty
such as, “I am not sure, maybe the issue might be, I can’t be certain but.” He
would ask his peers to hold him accountable for not answering questions or
going on without addressing a key issue.
The resident created a performance plan with the help of the coach and sat
down with his mentor to review his plan of action. The mentor was able to
offer additional guidance on strategies, and the mentor also shared stories of
how he too continued to work on his communication. By the next performance
cycle, the attending physicians had confidence the resident had gained profi-
ciency in communication skills, and they commented on his marked improve-
ment. At that point, the resident and the mentor continued to explore career
progression as well as the resident’s scholarship.14 The Surgical Workplace Learning Environment