Become a Certified Physician Development Coach™

“Our goal is to develop participants with advanced coaching skills and tools to more expertly address the challenges facing physicians. We are proud of how our ICF-accredited curriculum has evolved over the past fifteen years to reflect not only changes in healthcare that impact physicians, but also…who’s becoming a coach! Health systems are taking note that professional coaching is a must-have resource for their physicians in order to foster well-being and resilience—- research backs that up. It is truly gratifying to hear from our coach graduates about the impact they are having with physicians in their community.”
— Francine Gaillour, MD, MBA, FAAPL, PCC, Founder and Executive Director

Program Overview

Our flagship program, the Certified Physician Development Coach™ offers a comprehensive professional coach training experience, providing participants with specialized coaching concepts, structures and tools to develop their expertise in the field of physician coaching. A 7-month learning journey, program is is open to clinical and non-clinical healthcare professionals. On completion of the program, the coach earns the Certified Physician Development Coach™ credential offered exclusively by the Physician Coaching Institute. Certification is a demonstration of commitment to the field of professional coaching in healthcare and the desire to be a catalyst for transformation.

Cohort members in the Certified Physician Development Coach™ training are typically an accomplished and diverse group that may include physicians, nurses, healthcare C-suite executives, HR executives, allied health professionals, mental health professionals, healthcare industry executives, and trained coaches. Eighty percent of PCI members have at least Masters level education, with many at the PhD and Doctorate level. One half of our graduates are physicians.

Participants who enter a cohort may be planning to become an internal coach for their organization. Others are planning to be an entrepreneur coach with their own coaching practice. Many are currently serving as healthcare leaders and want to advance from “informal coaching” to professional level coaching.

(Learn more about our other healthcare coach training programs.)

Curriculum and Physician Coaching Proficiencies

The International Coaching Federation (ICF) has approved the PCI Program for 80 hours of Continuing Coach Education (CCE), 67 hours in Core Competencies and 13 in Resource Development.

The Physician Coaching Institute’s Certified Physician Development Coach™ Training Program provides students comprehensive training with the objective of developing professional coaching competencies across six Advanced Coaching Proficiency Areas (ACPA). A proficiency area encompasses of two or more Learning Modules that introduce coaching concepts and specific field-tested coaching tools for physicians.

Each Learning Module consists of a live, interactive learning experience. Relevant reading resources, coaching practice and action plans accompany each module. Coaching skills practice and a Capstone Project round out the learning process. Detailed graduation requirements are outlined in the PCI Proficiency Portfolio.

	Advanced Coaching Proficiency Areas (ACPA)
	ACPA-1 Honing the ICF Coaching Core Competencies
	A deep dive of study, discussion, and practice for each of the ICF Eight Core Coaching Competencies; including demonstrations, buddy coaching, session recordings, observations, and mentor feedback.
	ACPA-2 Coaching Physician Fulfillment
	A 4-module exploration and practice of specific coaching tools. We first examine some of the data on fulfillment and morale, then develop expertise on values clarification, non-cognitive imaginal exploration, and finally using validated assessments. All of these tools in concert facilitate physician self-awareness and understanding of their interior landscape
	ACPA-3 Coaching the Physician Leader
	The focus of these three modulesare to coach the physician leader in three key areas: to be a change catalyst, to influence through emotional intelligence and authenticity, and to support teams and colleagues as they craft a culture of collaboration and high performance.
	ACPA-4 Coaching the Physician for Career Expansion and Resilience
	This discussion on physician career resilience covers several coaching topics that may arise for physicians wishing to better enjoy their career. It's vital to understand why career fulfillment is key to overall physician satisfaction and how to introduce specific physician career tools that will help them think more expansively.
	ACPA-5 Coaching Physician Personal Growth and Transformation
	Physicians entering into a coaching journey are poised for living and leading from the inside out. An important early coaching structure is to help them verbalize, articulate and embody an authentic personal intention. In these modules we introduce three evidence-supported coaching structures that are useful for improving physician satisfaction and performance.
	ACPA-6 Designing Coaching Programs for Physicians
	Learning how to develop a formal structure and well-defined program scope is important to support certainty and co-create trust. Several Coaching Program templates are introduced, each containing elements and structures that comprise different coaching program purpose and time arc.

Preparing You to Earn an ICF Coaching Credential

The ICF has several application paths for earning an ICF coaching credential. All paths have the same application requirements: 1) You must have earned the required coaching-specific training hours from an ICF-approved school; 2) you must have the required Client Experience hours; 3) you must have received the required 10 mentor coaching hours; and 4) you must pass the ICF exams (Knowledge and Performance).

Graduates of our Certified Physician Development Coach program currently use the ICF Portfolio Path for their application. The vast majority of our Certified Physician Development Coach graduates who go on to apply for an ICF coaching credential will apply for the first tier credential, the Associate Certified Coach (ACC). Some of our students, however, already hold an ICF ACC or PCC coach credential when they enroll in a cohort; therefore they will use their our coach training hours towards the next higher ICF credential, PCC or MCC.

When you complete our program you will have earned 80 ICF-approved coaching-specific training hours you will have the 10 required Mentor Coaching hours, and you will be prepped for the practicum and knowledge exam. See the table here:

Earning the ICF Associate Certified Coach (ACC) Credential

ICF Application Requirements for the ACC credential:	Physician Coaching Institute support:	Comments:
60 hours coaching-specific training approved by the ICF	Earn up to 95 ICF-approved coaching-specific training hours	- 15 hours from Healthcare Peer Coaching Fundamentals - 80 hours from Certified Physician Development Coach
10 Hours Mentor Coaching	10 Hours Mentor Coaching: - 7 hours group Mentor Coaching - 3 hours individual Mentor Coaching	PCI Mentors are PCC and MCC credentialed coaches
Knowledge Exam	Core competencies Discussion, Case Studies review, and Ethics Module	PCI Graduate and PCC coach is a PCI Knowledge Exam Mentor
Performance Exam	PCI "TOSI" Coaching session framework and practice pods are designed to develop ICF Coaching Competencies and to meet key criteria of the Performance Exam	Two of PCI Senior Mentors have been ICF Performance Examiners
100 Experience hours	PCI arranges coaching circles for graduates	Most grads who are active with coaching after graduation will accumulate the client hours within 12 -18 months

Faculty and Program Delivery

The training cohort begins the learning journey with a 2-day Kickoff. Workshop style, the Kick-off provides an opportunity for immersive advanced coaching skills practice facilitated by Dr. Gaillour along with two additional faculty members. Our Senior Faculty members are certified as ICF MCC and PCC, and they are also recent PCI Graduates who have achieved the ACC credential or higher.

The 2-day Kick-off also serves as a forum to build collegiality and co-create trust among cohort members. Following the Kick-off, the cohort meets as a group twice a month via 90-minute live online zoom video conferences over the next six months for regularly scheduled modules. Cohort members arrange their assigned buddy coaching sessions and field work between modules. Integrated into the program are Mentor Coach Sessions and Coaching Gyms which afford an opportunity to reflect on coaching skills development and receive feedback from mentor coaches. We conclude our training journey with a 2-day Graduation Capstone and Enrichment Project presentations.

NOTE: KICKOFF AND CAPSTONE EVENTS WILL BE CONDUCTED VIA ZOOM UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE.

Earning the Certified Physician Development Coach™ credential

Proficiency is developed by practicing new coaching tools and demonstrating new coaching insights. For completion and achieving status as a graduate of the physician Coaching Institute, the participant must complete the PCI Proficiency Portfolio. Buddy Coaching Exercises are assigned throughout the 6-month program and are conducted with cohort members. In addition, a Coach Enrichment Project is the second major element of the PCI Proficiency Portfolio. The third element of proficiency is participation in cohort learning, including mentor coach sessions.

At the conclusion of the training program, the coach will earn the Certified Physician Development Coach™ designation, provided the following criteria are met:

Coach has completed all elements of the the PCI Proficiency Portfolio
Coach has demonstrated a commitment to improving the professional effectiveness and personal well-being of physicians and other healthcare team members
Coach has demonstrated a commitment to the values of the Physician Coaching Institute: honesty, integrity, professionalism and collegiality

The Certified Physician Development Coach™ designation is granted exclusively by the Physician Coaching Institute.

The International Coach Federation has accredited the Certified Physician Development Coach™ training for 80 hours of Continuing Coach Education (CCE): 67 hours in Core Competencies and 13 hours in Resource Development.

Tuition, Training Dates and Enrollment Process

Tuition for the Certified Physician Development Coach™program is $11,700

We lead two training cohorts each year, in Fall and Spring. The next training kickoff dates are:

Important Enrollment Dates for the Next Cohort

Fall 2024 Cohort Program Start Date:
Early Enrollment Date ($500 tuition savings)	June 21, 2024	Early Savings Tuition: $11,200
Regular Enrollment Date (enrollment closes)	July 19, 2024	Regular Tuition: $11,700
Late Enrollment (waitlist opens)	July 22, 202	Regular Tuition: $11,700
Cohort start date	Kickoff is Sept 13-14, 2024
Tuition includes a $300 non-refundable Enrollment Fee
Cancellation Fee applies after Regular Enrollment Tuition Due Date

Tuition Credit and Group Savings:

If you have registered for or completed the PCI Healthcare Peer Coaching Fundamentals™ course, a $200 credit will be applied to tuition.

Organizations enrolling multiple participants should contact the Executive Director to discuss additional group savings.

Enrollment Process:

Candidates are requested to first attend live online via zoom or review a recorded Information Webinar (see form below).
Candidates must submit an Application and Arrange a 30-minute Enrollment Discussion with the Executive Director. Our objectives are to learn more about your professional background and coaching aspirations, explore the outcomes you want to achieve from participation in the training, and guide you in meeting the enrollment prerequisites if you don’t already (see Prerequisites and Eligibility below).
Once accepted into the program, you will be invited to enroll in an upcoming cohort. Enrollment is confirmed upon payment of Payment of Tuition Fee, provided space is still available (see Important Enrollment Dates above)
Candidates must agree to our Enrollment, Certification, Tuition and Cancellation Policy.

Prerequisites and Eligibility

Candidates for the program must meet the following criteria before enrollment:

The participant must have completed at least 15 hours of foundational level coach training through a school approved by the International Coaching Federation (ICF). Coaching foundation training is offered by the Physician Coaching Institute through the Healthcare Peer Coaching Fundamentals course. Other coaching schools also offer a fundamentals course; contact us to learn about these options if our Fundamentals training dates do not work for you.
The participant must be open to a cohort learning format which requires active participation and engagement in a supportive, non-hierarchical manner.
The participant is expected to honor the Physician Coaching Institute values of honesty, integrity, professionalism, and collegiality.