**11. Examples of mentoring**

At a local community hospital in Bethlehem, PA, an *Emerging Leader* mentoring program has been established to support and encourage interaction between more experienced leaders with newer or less experienced leaders. This program aims to create a mutually beneficial mentoring relationship where mentors and mentees share candid insights and discussions about how to effectively navigate and function as a leader in the hospital network. The program creates an environment of support that positively impacts a leader both professionally and personally and encourages the leader to be successful and to develop to their fullest potential. Among the program's competency goals include: development of business acumen, gaining interpersonal savvy and skills, obtaining self-fund of knowledge, understanding and managing the vision and purpose of his/her position, and to provide accountability and responsibility to those he/she is managing.

A brief survey/questionnaire was sent out to mentors and mentees of the mentoring program. Here are some receptive comments from mentees:

*"I had a pleasant and affable mentor who was more than willing to get together. We met 2-3 times over the course the 18 months."*

*"I found the program very helpful. We met once every 2 months. I feel we were matched very well – similar personalities, thinking and approaches to issues. The best advice I've received: Invest time now developing my direct goal reports. Focus on the ones who take projects and run with them. I felt that this program changed my approach to our growing group. I have delegated more in my department and spent more time developing my leadership skills. This program has helped me mold into being a good leader/individual."*

*"I see better opportunities in the pairing process between a mentor and mentee. I would have preferred a pairing with a person from a different area of the health network. For example, clinicians paired with strategic/business leaders as opposed to paired with other clinicians. I think this would broaden both the relationship development in the network, as well is the skills set each mentee can expand."*

*"Opportunities to touch base were limited based on my mentor's off-site location and busy clinical schedules."*

Below are some comments taken from mentors in the program:

*"My mentees are my most valuable asset. That is why I would make myself available for them as much as possible. They will gain your trust and respect when you as a mentor dedicate/carve out time for them out of your busy schedule".*

*"One of my goals as a mentor is to provide servitude of others. I ask myself 'how can I use my fund of knowledge and experiences to help serve others'?"*

*"It is important to steer your mentee on motives on becoming a leader. I have them ask themselves "what is your vision for your department?" It is also just as important to allow your mentee to make mistakes and to learn from them. Self reflection is a must."*

*"Do not allow your mentee to make hierarchal relationships with others, as no one may listen or respect the "do as I say" approach. Instead, guide your mentee into a 'what can I do to help you and to help me' approach. This will provide success in leadership".*

*"So as not to waste anyone's time during a meeting, in the first meeting, I lay out my goals in the relationship and my mentee will lay out his/hers. We come up with a plan for future meetings as well. Having a concrete structure in our meetings helped expedite each others goals and expectations in our relationship."*

*"An aspect of mentoring involves how well you may be able to "read" your mentee. That is, to develop the insight about your mentee's personality traits and to get to understand his/her strengths and weaknesses. The sooner you may lock into a strength or weakness, the sooner you may be able to help guide your mentee."*

#### **12. Examples of coaching**

In a clinical/academic setting, coaching should be used when an individual needs to improve specific skills through repetition. For example, obtaining surgical skills to perform surgery is an area that would benefit from improvement through coaching. Studies on utilizing coaching techniques have shown that it improves surgical skills more than traditional training alone [29]. In one study, surgical trainees were randomized to receive either coaching or traditional training. The coaching group received structured feedback based on video reviews of surgical techniques. During coaching sessions, video clips of surgical performance were reviewed and self-reflection of performance was encouraged. The trainees developed training goasl with the coach and then implemented them in subsequent cases. Those in the coaching group showed considerable improvement in general surgical skills, procedure skills, and fewer errors [30].

Coaching to improve surgical techniques is not only useful for those in training, but for attending surgeons as well. In an article in the New Yorker, Dr. Atul Gawande described his experience with surgical coaching [31]. At the time, he had been a surgeon for several years and had seen his complication rate improve past the national average but then plateau. He sought out a retired surgeon, Dr. Robert Osteen, who was his attending during residency. Dr. Osteen observed Atul's operations in the OR and on video recordings providing feedback on what small changes could be made. Since he started working with a coach, Dr. Gawande reported that his complication rates have improved.

*Coaching and Mentoring: Focus on Graduate Medical Education DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.94182*

Coaching is also useful for nonphysical skills, including communication and clinical reasoning. In one study, Family Medicine residents were coached by psychiatry faculty in order to improve their communication skills with difficult patients [32]. The coaching sessions followed encounters with standardized patients where difficult clinical situations could be evaluated. During one month of weekly coaching sessions, communication skills improved in the residents and were maintained at a follow up of 6 months. After residency, clinical coaching has been found to be useful as well. At Massachusetts General Hospital, a coaching program was developed that allowed new hospitalists to review cases and clinical questions with more senior and experienced hospitalists [33]. During the program more junior hospitalists changed their diagnostic approach, called fewer consults, and felt more comfortable as attending physicians. After reviewing cases with the senior hospitalists, unnecessary laboratory tests and invasive procedures were avoided. The senior hospitalists also reported being satisfied with the program and being more comfortable acting as coaches after participation.

## **13. Conclusion**

Mentoring and coaching are distinct in many ways, including in their purpose, duration, methods, and driving factors (**Table 1**). *Mentoring* is based on the formation of a long term nurturing relationship, where mentors guide the professional and personal development of the mentee. Mentors provide guidance to mentees by advising on personal, professional, and educational issues. They may provide insight into institutional and professional politics, and provide the mentee with opportunities to network with others in the field. These relationships are unique in their influence on the development of the trainee and are pivotal for achieving maximal career success. Individuals who have an identified mentor often have greater career satisfaction and go on to achieve more than those who never had a mentor. Coaching is distinct from mentoring in both its methods and end goals. *Coaching* aims to improve specific skills in a short period of time. It is driven by improving performance and through self-reflection so that the coachee may become more self-aware. Studies assessing coaching-based programs show that this method of teaching is more effective when compared to traditional teaching methods.


#### **Table 1.**

*Coaching vs. mentoring relationship summary [28, 34].*

#### *Contemporary Topics in Graduate Medical Education - Volume 2*

**Figure 1.** *Similarities and differences between coaching and mentoring.*

Both coaching and mentoring focus on building up a less experienced person (medical student, resident, new attending). However, the methods used for development are different between the two. Understanding these differences allows program to better utilize resources and develop students or employees to maximize their potential (**Figure 1**, **Table 1**).
