Developing Professionalism in Healthcare Students: Impact of a Health Coaching Program

Area of Science:

• Health Professions Education
• Physical Therapy Training
• Professionalism in Healthcare

Background:

• Student professionalism is crucial for effective healthcare delivery.
• Early clinical training presents opportunities to shape professional behaviors.
• Health coaching is an emerging modality for professional development.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the impact of a curriculum-embedded health coaching program on physical therapy student professionalism.
• To compare professionalism ratings between students participating in the coaching program and a control group.
• To determine the association between program participation and achieving higher performance ratings.

Main Methods:

• Quasi-experimental design comparing a health coaching group (n=79) to a control group (n=70).
• Analysis of performance ratings across key professionalism variables.
• Statistical examination of group differences and associations with performance outcomes.

Main Results:

• Significant differences observed in student ratings for safety, communication, professional behavior, and accountability between groups.
• A significant association found between program participation and achieving 'advanced intermediate or better' ratings in these areas.
• The health coaching intervention positively influenced measurable aspects of student professionalism.

Conclusions:

• Curriculum-embedded health coaching effectively promotes professionalism in physical therapy students.
• The program enhances student self-efficacy and performance in critical professional domains early in training.
• Health coaching represents a valuable pedagogical tool for cultivating professional attributes in future healthcare providers.