Coaching Culture for Healthcare Teams™ Certificate

The Physician Coaching Institute (PCI) offers a specialized 3-month program designed for healthcare teams. The Coaching Culture for Healthcare Teams™ Certificate focuses on strengthening communication and collegial support across clinical and non-clinical roles. At its core, this program helps colleagues engage with one another in a more intentional and effective way, bringing a shared, practical approach to everyday interactions. A coaching-based approach to communication fosters psychological safety, non-judgment, and engagement–essential elements for high-functioning healthcare teams.

Participants learn practical communication skills grounded in coaching competencies and emotional intelligence, with a focus on immediate application. Through the program, they develop and apply a coaching approach to communication, adding an inquiry-based framework to their current communication toolkit.

In addition, participants engage in a structured, proven process of strengths exploration, gaining clarity on their natural strengths and how these support personal engagement and fulfillment.

The fields of positive psychology and neuroscience provide compelling evidence supporting the efficacy of specific communication structures and strengths-based engagement. Furthermore, recent studies suggest that healthcare team members, through more deliberate inquiry and coaching style, can improve clinician satisfaction.

Bringing Coaching Principles to Team and Group Development

In this focused training, participants learn structured communication skills that can be applied immediately in peer-to-peer interactions. Rather than relying solely on hierarchy-based communication, participants develop the ability to engage colleagues through curiosity, reflection, and inquiry. They also employ evidence-based and coaching informed concepts that support professional growth and fulfillment.

Participants Will

Build practical communication skills for everyday interactions
Learn and apply a coaching approach to communication in peer conversations
Strengthen emotional intelligence and self-awareness
Develop awareness of their natural strengths and how these support effectiveness, fulfillment, and meaning in their work
Develop awareness of individual style differences that influence interpersonal connection
Communicate with greater clarity, respect, and effectiveness
Support colleagues through meaningful, supportive conversations, and apply these competencies across a range of interactions, including with patients

Coaching Communication and Culture in Practice

This program complements traditional communication and team development efforts by introducing coaching-based, evidence-informed tools that enhance connection and understanding across roles:

Colleague as peer coach:Engages with curiosity and intention, listening to understand, supporting colleagues as they think through challenges
Colleague as partner: Builds and fosters shared understanding and mutual appreciation
Colleague as self-aware professional: Communicates with awareness of their impact, adapting their approach to support respectful, constructive interactions

Benefits

For Participants

Develop practical communication skills grounded in a coaching approach
Add structured, inquiry-based tools to their communication toolkit
Strengthen self-awareness and awareness of others
Increase awareness of individual strengths and how they support personal effectiveness and professional impact
Gain insight into personal strengths that contribute to greater fulfillment in daily work
Improve the quality and effectiveness of everyday conversations
Navigate challenging or complex interactions with greater confidence
Apply communication skills across peer, patient, and professional interactions

For the Organization

Strengthen communication across disciplines and roles
Improve team cohesion, engagement, and morale
Support clinician well-being and reduce burnout
Foster a culture of collegial support and mutual respect
Leverage individual strengths to enhance overall effectiveness and engagement
Establish a consistent, research-informed approach to communication and leadership
Create an environment where colleagues can safely discuss challenges and support one another

Program Curriculum Overview

The curriculum consists of nine modules across three core areas:

Communication Foundation

Emotional Intelligence

Strengths-based Engagement

Participants develop skills in:

Intentional listening and non-judgmental presence
Structured, effective peer conversations
Facilitating reflective, forward-looking dialogue
Self-awareness and awareness of others
Core strengths exploration to support professional fulfillment and colleague appreciation
Communication style and adaptability
Collegiality and authentic acknowledgment
Inquiry that expands awareness and insight

Training Structure

The training is a ~3.5-month commitment of didactic presentation, communication skills practice, and group activities. Cohort-based, the group not only learns together, but also become peer-support for each other through the process.

The group begins with a 2-day live Kickoff: Communication, EQ and Strengths Foundation
Pre-work is completed prior to the Kickoff
After the Kickoff, the group attends six 90-minute live virtual webinars over 3 months
Skills practice and field work is completed between live sessions
A Half-day Graduation Capstone concludes the active learning
An optional post-program Integration Webinar is provided for continued development
Throughout the program, the cohort has access to an online PCI Student Learning Portal for enrichment reaching and resources

Learning Objectives

After completing the program, participants will be able to:

Apply a coaching approach to communication in peer interactions
Use structured communication frameworks to support reflection and action
Recognize how individual strengths support personal effectiveness, contribution, and fulfillment
Distinguish among advising, mentoring, and coaching-based communication
Adapt communication to different individuals and contexts
Apply emotional intelligence concepts to strengthen team relationships
Support colleagues in meaningful, supportive conversations across peer and patient interactions
Foster inclusion, engagement, and collegiality in the workplace

Eligibility

This program is appropriate for physicians, advanced practice providers, nurses, pharmacists, administrators, and other clinical and non-clinical healthcare professionals working together as a team or peer group.

Participants should:

Be open to an interactive, reflective learning process
Be willing to engage in peer-based practice
Have the capacity to participate in live training sessions and complete learning activities between sessions

Recommended cohort size: 12-18 participants

Participants are expected to uphold PCI’s Core Values of Honesty, Integrity, Collegiality, and Professionalism, and to maintain confidentiality within the cohort.

Certificate, ICF Education, and CME

Participants complete a proficiency-based portfolio throughout the program. Successful completion leads to the Coaching Culture for Healthcare Teams™ Certificate, offered by the Physician Coaching Institute.

PCI is accredited by the International Coaching Federation (ICF) as Level 1 provider of coach education. Participants earn coach-specific education hours approved by the International ICF which may be applied toward an ICF credential. This program incorporates our full Healthcare Peer Coaching Fundamentals™ curriculum in an integrated format, along with additional modules that extend beyond the Fundamentals. In addition to earning 15 ICF coach education hours, they are also awarded PCI’s Healthcare Peer Coaching Practitioner™ designation.

This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the accreditation requirements and policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) through the joint providership of the International Institute for Continuing Medical Education, Inc. (iiCME) and the Physician Coaching Institute (PCI). The International Institute for Continuing Medical Education, Inc. (iiCME) designates this blended (live and enduring) activity for a maximum of 15 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™.