Rigorous evaluation needed to advance coaching in the biomedical workforce

Researchers in the biomedical workforce face challenges in establishing their careers, with disproportionate effects for underrepresented groups. Coaching, a form of professional development commonly adopted outside of the biomedical sciences, may be a useful and effective way to help researchers as they start and advance in their careers. In this innovative intervention, coaches guide clients from various fields and specialties to maximize their work performance for a range of goals that are tailored to the client's needs. However, coaching is not yet a widely accepted or regularly utilized practice in academic medicine and research. Coaching may help advance researchers in their careers and reduce longstanding inequities in the scientific workforce. To ensure effectiveness, coaching programs should be evaluated longitudinally using a conceptual framework; however, such rigorous evaluation has been limited to date. The authors highlight the potential benefits of coaching and call for greater evaluation of such programs in the biomedical sciences using the Kirkpatrick Model and Social Cognitive Career Theory to inform a framework for the evaluation of biomedical coaching. Maximizing the effectiveness of coaching has important potential to reduce inequities in the biomedical workforce and ensure that science benefits the nation's population.