What coaching services are available for “disruptive physicians”?
Physicians who are mandated to attend classes or coaching for “disruptive behavior” frequently perceive themselves to be under assault from their State Medical Boards, Credential Committees, Human Resource Managers, Hospital Administration or Physician Well-Being Committees. Rarely are they given appropriate information regarding the Pros and Cons of the three major programs that provide this intervention.
Unfortunately, neither the American Medical Association nor most of the state medical boards nationwide appear to provide useful information regarding the purpose, content and value of these programs.
Currently, there are three major providers of Executive Coaching/Anger Management for “disruptive physicians” or small group training for these populations. The Distressed Physicians Program at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, The PACE Program and the University of California School of Medicine at San Diego were the first to offer services for disruptive physicians. Both of these programs began as programs for “impaired physicians”, substance abuse or sexual abuse.
These institutions began providing programs for “disruptive physicians” around 2005. Both programs are limited to 8 participants per quarter that limits the total number of participants to 32 per year. All classes are provided in a group format at the two respective Medical Schools.
The Anderson & Anderson Executive Coaching Program was initiated in 2007 in conjunction with a small group of physicians from Tenet Health Care of Dallas, TX. Tenet wanted to be proactive in working to provide assistance for their physicians in a non-threatening manner. Consequently, they wanted a program that was mobile (on-site) and offered individually intervention in a discreet, confidential manner. They also wanted to protect their physicians from being inappropriately labeled with some type of inappropriate psychiatric or substance abuse diagnosis. Finally, when a highly specialized surgeon, cardiologist or anesthesiologist is taken away from his or her practice to spend two or three days in Nashville, TN or San Diego, CA., the cost to the community, health care organization and the physician is unreasonably high. Therefore, On-site intervention is far more reasonable for most physicians. The Anderson & Anderson Coaching is provided on-site anywhere in the United States.
