Episode Description:

In this episode of Coaching Revealed, we are joined by researchers Dr. Lara Solms and Dr. Anne de Pagter. Lara and Anne are interviewed by IOC Executive Director, Jeffrey Hull about their work to elevate performance and well-being in healthcare environments. Dr. Lara Solms is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Amsterdam and Dr. Anne de Pagter, is an Associate Professor and Pediatric Hematologist at Erasmus Children’s Hospital. The two share their unique collaboration and pioneering work in further establishing the evidence-base for coaching in medical settings.

In this episode, Jeff, Lara and Anne cover:

• The incentive for developing an evidence base on the effectiveness of coaching in healthcare
• The development of a Challenge and Support framework as a tool for continuous growth versus a “fix-it” solution
• The journey of conducting Randomized Control Trials (RCTs)
• The steps practitioners can take to contribute to coaching research

If you are interested in learning about research at the Institute of Coaching, you can learn more at: https://instituteofcoaching.org/research-ioc If you are interested in submitting a proposal for a coaching research grant you can learn more at: https://instituteofcoaching.org/ioc-research-grant

Episode Summary:

How can coaching effectiveness be proven to enhance professional development and well-being in demanding fields like healthcare? In this episode of Coaching Revealed, Executive Director Jeff Hull speaks with Dr. Lara Solms and Dr. Anne de Pagter, who share their inspiring journey of bridging clinical practice with academic research to establish an evidence base for coaching.

Dr. Pagter, an associate professor and pediatric hematologist at Erasmus Children’s Hospital, explains her motivation to bring coaching to healthcare, which from peer feedback required solutions to be evidence-based. Collaborating with Dr. Solms from the University of Amsterdam, they focused coaching on a model of growth, challenge, and improvement rather than a “fix-it” approach.

Dr. Pagter and Dr. Solms detail their pioneering work in conducting randomized controlled trials (RCTs) – a gold standard in medical research – to evaluate coaching's effectiveness. They discuss their methodological challenges and their innovative solution of a waitlist control group, ensuring support for all participants while still generating robust data.

Their foundational research has expanded from this initial work to include multiple RCTs in the Netherlands across healthcare professional groups including physicians, nurses, and medical students. Jeff, Lara, and Anne close the conversation with the impact of technology on the medical system and a call to action for practitioners and academics to collaborate.