'We're like Spider-Man; with great power comes great responsibility': Coaches' experiences supporting struggling medical students.
Saved in:
| Title: | 'We're like Spider-Man; with great power comes great responsibility': Coaches' experiences supporting struggling medical students. |
|---|---|
| Authors: | Elster, Martha J.1 Martha.elster@ucsf.edu, Parsons, Andrew S.2, Collins, Sally1, Gusic, Maryellen E.3, Hauer, Karen E.1 |
| Source: | Medical Teacher. Feb2025, Vol. 47 Issue 2, p329-337. 9p. |
| Subject Terms: | *Student assistance programs, *Medical school faculty, *Qualitative research, *Emotions, *Learning, *School failure, *Learning theories in education, *College teacher attitudes, *Research methodology, *Academic achievement, *Teacher development, *Psychology of medical students, *Teacher-student relationships, Interviewing, Responsibility, Descriptive statistics, Mentoring, Thematic analysis, Social support, Psychosocial factors |
| Geographic Terms: | United States |
| Abstract: | Background: Medical students can experience a range of academic and non-academic struggles. Coaching is a valuable strategy to support learners, but coaches describe working with struggling learners as taxing. Transformative learning theory (TLT) provides insights into how educators grow from challenging experiences to build resilience. This study explores how coaches evolve as educators through supporting struggling students. Methods: This qualitative study grounded in an interpretivist paradigm used interviews of longitudinal medical student coaches at two academic institutions. Interviews, using TLT as a sensitizing concept, explored coaches' experience coaching struggling learners. We performed thematic analysis. Results: We interviewed 15 coaches. Coaches described supporting students through multi-faceted struggles which often surprised the coach. Three themes characterized coaches' experiences: personal responsibility, emotional response, and personal learning. Coaches shouldered high personal responsibility for learners' success. For some, this burden felt emotional, raised parental instincts and questions about maintaining boundaries with learners. Coaches evolved their coaching approach, challenged biases, and built skills. Coaches learned to better appreciate the learner point of view and employ resources to support students. Discussion: Through navigating learner struggles, educators can gain self-efficacy, learn to understand learners' perspectives, and evolve their coaching approach to lessen their personal emotional burden through time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Copyright of Medical Teacher is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Education Research Complete |
|
Full text is not displayed to guests.
Login for full access.
|
|
| Abstract: | Background: Medical students can experience a range of academic and non-academic struggles. Coaching is a valuable strategy to support learners, but coaches describe working with struggling learners as taxing. Transformative learning theory (TLT) provides insights into how educators grow from challenging experiences to build resilience. This study explores how coaches evolve as educators through supporting struggling students. Methods: This qualitative study grounded in an interpretivist paradigm used interviews of longitudinal medical student coaches at two academic institutions. Interviews, using TLT as a sensitizing concept, explored coaches' experience coaching struggling learners. We performed thematic analysis. Results: We interviewed 15 coaches. Coaches described supporting students through multi-faceted struggles which often surprised the coach. Three themes characterized coaches' experiences: personal responsibility, emotional response, and personal learning. Coaches shouldered high personal responsibility for learners' success. For some, this burden felt emotional, raised parental instincts and questions about maintaining boundaries with learners. Coaches evolved their coaching approach, challenged biases, and built skills. Coaches learned to better appreciate the learner point of view and employ resources to support students. Discussion: Through navigating learner struggles, educators can gain self-efficacy, learn to understand learners' perspectives, and evolve their coaching approach to lessen their personal emotional burden through time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 0142159X |
| DOI: | 10.1080/0142159X.2024.2337250 |
