Medical Student Coaching Program

Since 2016, the Medical Student Coaching Program has provided each student with a faculty coach for additional academic, professional, and personal support. Coaches work with students across all four years. In the pre-clerkship phase of the curriculum the coaches meet individually with students and serve as small group preceptors in the Foundations of Clinical Medicine—Seminars course, a weekly required class that focuses on communication skills, professional development, and the social and behavioral aspects of heath care. During the clinical phase of the curriculum, students meet individually with their same coaches every three months to review both performance evaluations from their clinical rotations, and to discuss entries from their personal reflective portfolios. Coaches do not evaluate their students during the clerkship phase of the curriculum. Like the advisory deans, the coaches offer students confidential support throughout medical school, helping students reflect on their performance, set professional and personal goals, and access resources and services. Coaches are included in the house system, with two coaches and one advisory dean assigned to each house.

Meetings with coaches are required and are regularly scheduled. However, students may reach out to their coaches for additional support at any time. The coaching program, very highly rated by students since its inception, routinely undergoes a process of quality improvement to ensure we are meeting the evolving needs of our students within a safe and nurturing learning environment.

For questions about the Medical School Coaching Program, please contact the Director, Delphine Taylor, MD, at dst4@cumc.columbia.edu