Frequently asked questions

The OMA Physician Health Program’s one-on-one coaching pilot matches physicians like you with qualified coaches to support you in reaching your goals, be they strengthening leadership and interpersonal skills, upping personal and professional fulfillment or bolstering wellness. In turn, by supporting your overall well-being, we help you provide high-quality patient care.

Physicians practising in Ontario are eligible for PHP’s Physician Coaching Pilot Program. We are strongly committed to diversity within its community and welcome applications from historically marginalized communities, including racialized peoples, Indigenous communities, women, persons with differing abilities and disabilities, including non-visible disabilities and members of the 2SLGBTQ community, and other equity-seeking groups in medicine. In accordance with the AODA Act, accommodation will be provided throughout the recruitment process to applicants with disabilities.  

Spots are limited in the pilot. Applications will be accepted until Sept. 13, 2024. 

Participant applications are now closed.  

Successful applicants are required to:   

• Complete the program between Oct. 1, 2024 and March 31, 2025  
• Complete intake and exit project evaluations  

Selection process 

As a physician applicant, you will review and select your top choices from our roster of professional coaches. Once received we will match you with a professional coach within one week.  

You will receive a short intake survey as part of the program’s evaluation.  

At this point, we remove ourselves from the process, as all coaching sessions are confidential. Your coach will contact you directly to schedule an initial session, during which time you will determine if you would like to work together.  If you decide to move forward, PHP will fund up to 10 hours of coaching, including the intake session, by phone or video conference. The coaching sessions running between October 2024 and March 2025 must be scheduled by Oct. 1, 2024.   

Your coaching experience will be unique and tailored to your goals and aspirations. The coaching sessions are confidential.   

If the initial coach doesn’t meet your needs, PHP will help you select an alternate coach to work with.    

Once your coaching sessions are complete, you will receive a link to an exit survey as part of the project’s evaluation.

The International Coaching Federation (ICF) defines coaching as “a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires [participants] to maximize their personal and professional potential.”   

Delivered by certified coaches, coaching is a proactive and action-oriented intervention intended to empower individuals to self-discovery, strength-building and self-efficacy.  Through powerful questions and other techniques such as embodiment, active listening, curiosity, or emotional literacy, coaches can help you regain control over your life, find fulfillment and align with your core values.  

The PHP Physician Coaching Program is supported by several ICF-qualified or equivalent coaches who have experience coaching physicians. The coaching sessions are confidential.  

Coaches are not consultants or therapists. They act as a guide, rather than an expert, helping you clarify and solve your problems. The relationship between you and your coach is co-created and co-responsible. The coach uses a practical approach to help you adapt your behaviour in self-supportive ways. The process is driven by you based on the goals that you set. Coaching enables you to reach your full authentic potential for the sake of impact be it in influence, productivity or helping your personal and professional relationships.

Studies show that coaching on physician wellness leads to several positive outcomes including better work/life balance, quality of life, job satisfaction, engagement and empowerment at work, resilience and psychological capital. Coaching can also decrease emotional exhaustion, distress and burnout.   

Physicians in P.E.I. who participated in a similar physician coaching program reported the following benefits after working with a coach:  

• Decreased emotional fatigue and improved focus  
• Improved ability to sleep  
• Increased self-compassion and self-kindness  
• Enhanced ability to manage family life and home setting  
• Skills building to properly assess a situation and pause before responding  
• Navigating difficult conversations  
• Better understanding of themselves as leaders  
• Focus on leading from within  
• Better management and people skills as a formal leader   

Coaching can help you:   

• Define or clarify elements that lead to the highest level of personal satisfaction   
• Identify and overcome obstacles to achieving desired outcomes   
• Show how existing strengths can lead to desired results   
• Uncover new strategies to strengthen relationships and working environments   
• Introduce ways to process information differently and become a more effective decision-maker and better communicator in the workplace and beyond

To participate in the PHP’s Coaching Pilot Program, you will commit to:  

• Attending an initial meeting with your coach to establish a working relationship. If a conflict of interest is identified, you will be matched with a different coach     
• Setting specific goals and developing action plans with your coach; assessments may be incorporated to help guide the coaching  
• Attending regularly scheduled meetings with coach and engaging in individual activities that support goals  
• Completing 10 hours of coaching sessions by March 31, 2025  
• Completing an intake survey at the beginning of the program and an exit survey upon its completion as part of the program’s evaluation   

Coaching focus areas:  

• Leadership development and skills  
• Change management  
• Professionalism  
• Navigating difficult conversations and coping with interpersonal challenges  
• Wellness and life/work fulfilment   
• Stress management  
• Other relevant issues that arise during the coaching sessions   

Once you submit the program intake form to the PHP, you will be referred to a coach based on your preferred selection from our roster of coaches. Once your participation in the Physician Coaching Program is approved, you will be sent an intake survey as part of the program’s evaluation. You will be connected to your coach via email, with all follow-up communication occurring between you and your coach only. All coaching sessions are confidential. Once your coaching sessions are completed, you will receive a link to an exit survey as part of the program’s evaluation.

Information about coaches 

The PHP’s Physician Coaching Program is supported by several qualified and experienced coaches.  

PHP has vetted the coaches to ensure each has experience in coaching physicians.   

Coach requirements  

• Trained by accredited coaching programs  
• Certified by International Coaching Federation or equivalent  
• Minimum five years’ experience coaching physicians  

Record keeping 

• Information collected (anonymous and confidential):  
• Number of program contacts related to the coaching pilot program   
• Number of initial screenings and referrals to coaches  
• Number of participants who complete the program  
• Feedback from coaches regarding how the session was conducted, and number of hours used  

Evaluation

Each participant will complete two evaluations:   

• One initial intake assessment, distributed at the program’s beginning, will include the Stanford Professional Fulfillment Index (PFI) and additional related questions  
• One exit survey, distributed at the program’s conclusion, will include the Stanford Professional Fulfillment Index (PFI) and additional questions that assess the program in its entirety   

Coaches will complete an overall evaluation upon conclusion of the program.  

Please contact PHP at coaching@oma.org with any questions or concerns.