NCT07221422

Brief Summary

This is a mixed-methods study designed to develop and evaluate an innovative coaching program for physician trainee mothers. Approximately 48 participants will be recruited from informational flyers posted in resident work areas and distributed by program directors and GME. Interested participants will email study staff. Participants will be randomized to the control or intervention arm. Intervention participants will meet monthly with a novice physician coach of their choice (one-on-one) and a certified physician coach (with an assigned group of 6 peers through video-conferencing). Participants in both arms of the study will respond to surveys at three points: enrollment (baseline), 4 months, and 7 months. At each point, they will spend approximately 10 minutes filling the survey. The survey will query demographics, burnout, professional fulfillment, imposter phenomenon, self-valuation, self-efficacy, resilience, quality of life, and impact of work on professional relationships. The coaching intervention will last 4 months, and the 7 month survey will be used only to assess long-term effects of the intervention. At the conclusion of the study (7 months after enrollment), participants will be interviewed over video communication (secure Partners or Harvard Zoom) for approximately 30 minutes.

Trial Health

77
On Track

Trial Health Score

Automated assessment based on enrollment pace, timeline, and geographic reach

Enrollment
48

participants targeted

Target at P25-P50 for not_applicable

Timeline
7mo left

Started Nov 2025

Geographic Reach
1 country

2 active sites

Status
recruiting

Health score is calculated from publicly available data and should be used for screening purposes only.

Trial Relationships

Click on a node to explore related trials.

Study Timeline

Key milestones and dates

Study Progress47%
Nov 2025Dec 2026

First Submitted

Initial submission to the registry

October 23, 2025

Completed
4 days until next milestone

First Posted

Study publicly available on registry

October 27, 2025

Completed
8 days until next milestone

Study Start

First participant enrolled

November 4, 2025

Completed
8 months until next milestone

Primary Completion

Last participant's last visit for primary outcome

July 1, 2026

Expected
5 months until next milestone

Study Completion

Last participant's last visit for all outcomes

December 1, 2026

Last Updated

February 10, 2026

Status Verified

February 1, 2026

Enrollment Period

8 months

First QC Date

October 23, 2025

Last Update Submit

February 6, 2026

Conditions

Burnout, ProfessionalWell-Being, PsychologicalImposter PhenomenonSelf EfficacyQuality of Life

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

  • Burnout

    8-item Emotional Exhaustion (EE) and Depersonalization (DP) subscales in the Stanford Professional Fulfillment Index (SPFI). Higher scores are associated with more feelings of burnout while lower scores are associated with lower levels of burnout.

    Measured in survey data at 3 time points: Enrollment, month 4 and month 7 of study.

Secondary Outcomes (8)

  • Burnout

    Measured in survey data at 3 time points: Enrollment, month 4 and month 7 of study.

  • Professional fulfillment

    Measured in survey data at 3 time points: Enrollment, month 4 and month 7 of study.

  • Imposter Phenomenon

    Measured in survey data at 3 time points: Enrollment, month 4 and month 7 of study.

  • Self-valuation

    Measured in survey data at 3 time points: Enrollment, month 4 and month 7 of study.

  • Self-efficacy

    Measured in survey data at 3 time points: Enrollment, month 4 and month 7 of study.

  • +3 more secondary outcomes

Study Arms (2)

Intervention

EXPERIMENTAL

Intervention participants will not be given protected time to participate and will have the same clinical workload as controls. They will meet monthly with a novice physician coach of their choice (one-on-one) and a certified physician coach (with an assigned group of 6 peers). To build community, participants are encouraged to attend sessions with their coaching group, but we will accommodate full schedules by allowing (1) participation in sessions with other coaching groups, (2) asynchronous video learning including self-guided exercises. Video conferencing will be used to facilitate attendance and scalability.

Behavioral: Coaching Program

Control

OTHER

Delayed intervention. At the conclusion of the study, control participants will be offered a 2-hour workshop (led by a certified coach) covering group session topics, provided access to the videos, and given self-guided exercises used for asynchronous learning.

Behavioral: Coaching Program

Interventions

Coaching ProgramBEHAVIORAL

Novel, 4-month coaching program tailored to the childbearing trainees. This consists of 4 1:1 coaching sessions with a novice faculty coach and 4 group sessions with a certified coach.

ControlIntervention

Eligibility Criteria

Age18 Years+
Sexfemale
Healthy VolunteersYes
Age GroupsAdult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

  • Age 18 or older
  • English fluency and literacy
  • Resident or fellow level MD or DO trainee
  • Pregnant or up to 3 months post-partum

You may not qualify if:

  • Unable to provide consent.
  • Unable to complete electronic surveys and video calls.

Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.

Sponsors & Collaborators

Study Sites (2)

Massachusetts General Hospital

Boston, Massachusetts, 02114, United States

RECRUITING

Brigham Women's Hospital

Boston, Massachusetts, 02115, United States

RECRUITING

Related Publications (10)

  • Schlick CJR, Ellis RJ, Etkin CD, Greenberg CC, Greenberg JA, Turner PL, Buyske J, Hoyt DB, Nasca TJ, Bilimoria KY, Hu YY. Experiences of Gender Discrimination and Sexual Harassment Among Residents in General Surgery Programs Across the US. JAMA Surg. 2021 Oct 1;156(10):942-952. doi: 10.1001/jamasurg.2021.3195.

    PMID: 34319377BACKGROUND

  • Rangel EL, Smink DS, Castillo-Angeles M, Kwakye G, Changala M, Haider AH, Doherty GM. Pregnancy and Motherhood During Surgical Training. JAMA Surg. 2018 Jul 1;153(7):644-652. doi: 10.1001/jamasurg.2018.0153.

    PMID: 29562068BACKGROUND

  • Li RD, Janczewski LM, Eng JS, Foote DC, Wu C, Johnson JK, Easter SR, Kim E, Buyske J, Turner PL, Nasca TJ, Bilimoria KY, Hu YY, Rangel EL. Pregnancy and Parenthood Among US Surgical Residents. JAMA Surg. 2024 Oct 1;159(10):1127-1137. doi: 10.1001/jamasurg.2024.2399.

    PMID: 39018050BACKGROUND

  • Rowe SG, Stewart MT, Van Horne S, Pierre C, Wang H, Manukyan M, Bair-Merritt M, Lee-Parritz A, Rowe MP, Shanafelt T, Trockel M. Mistreatment Experiences, Protective Workplace Systems, and Occupational Distress in Physicians. JAMA Netw Open. 2022 May 2;5(5):e2210768. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.10768.

    PMID: 35522279BACKGROUND

  • National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; National Academy of Medicine; Committee on Systems Approaches to Improve Patient Care by Supporting Clinician Well-Being. Taking Action Against Clinician Burnout: A Systems Approach to Professional Well-Being. Washington (DC): National Academies Press (US); 2019 Oct 23. Available from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK552618/

    PMID: 31940160BACKGROUND

  • Sullivan MC, Bucholz EM, Yeo H, Roman SA, Bell RH, Sosa JA. "Join the club": effect of resident and attending social interactions on overall satisfaction among 4390 general surgery residents. Arch Surg. 2012 May;147(5):408-14. doi: 10.1001/archsurg.2012.27.

    PMID: 22785631BACKGROUND

  • Dyrbye LN, Shanafelt TD, Gill PR, Satele DV, West CP. Effect of a Professional Coaching Intervention on the Well-being and Distress of Physicians: A Pilot Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Intern Med. 2019 Oct 1;179(10):1406-1414. doi: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2019.2425.

    PMID: 31380892BACKGROUND

  • Palamara K, McKinley SK, Chu JT, Merrill AL, Yu L, Parangi S, Makowski MS, Park YS, Donelan K, Stein SL. Impact of a Virtual Professional Development Coaching Program on the Professional Fulfillment and Well-Being of Women Surgery Residents: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Ann Surg. 2023 Feb 1;277(2):188-195. doi: 10.1097/SLA.0000000000005562. Epub 2022 Jun 29.

    PMID: 35766397BACKGROUND

  • Fainstad T, Mann A, Suresh K, Shah P, Dieujuste N, Thurmon K, Jones CD. Effect of a Novel Online Group-Coaching Program to Reduce Burnout in Female Resident Physicians: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Netw Open. 2022 May 2;5(5):e2210752. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.10752.

    PMID: 35522281BACKGROUND

  • Lyu HG, Davids JS, Scully RE, Melnitchouk N. Association of Domestic Responsibilities With Career Satisfaction for Physician Mothers in Procedural vs Nonprocedural Fields. JAMA Surg. 2019 Aug 1;154(8):689-695. doi: 10.1001/jamasurg.2019.0529.

    PMID: 30969336BACKGROUND

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Burnout, ProfessionalPsychological Well-Beingimposter syndrome

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Occupational StressOccupational DiseasesBurnout, PsychologicalStress, PsychologicalBehavioral SymptomsBehaviorPersonal Satisfaction

Central Study Contacts

Erika L Rangel, MD, MS

CONTACT

6176506952erangel@mgh.harvard.edu

Emma AR Askew, B.S.

CONTACT

6177943770easkew@mgh.harvard.edu

Study Design

Study Type
interventional
Phase
not applicable
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Masking
NONE
Purpose
SUPPORTIVE CARE
Intervention Model
PARALLEL
Sponsor Type
OTHER
Responsible Party
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
PI Title
Associate Professor of Surgery

Study Record Dates

First Submitted

October 23, 2025

First Posted

October 27, 2025

Study Start

November 4, 2025

Primary Completion (Estimated)

July 1, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

December 1, 2026

Last Updated

February 10, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-02

Data Sharing

IPD Sharing
Will not share

Locations

US(2)