This general idea is certainly not novel. Professional athletes all receive ongoing coaching throughout their career. Why not us? Even for well-trained physicians in a busy practice, I believe that some periodic coaching would be valuable and professionally invigorating. This type of coaching can be used in many areas of emergency practice, not just procedures. Bedside manner, patient education, physical examination, decision making, charting, and communication with specialists could be coached as well.

Most physicians hate being tested. We hate taking the boards, we hate the nasty-grams from peer review/QA, and we hate responding to complaints. The beauty of coaching is that there is none of this. It is a stress-free way to be a better doctor without the finger pointing or multiple choice questions.

Pilots and physicians find themselves in remarkably similar situations. A deficiency in skill set or in decision making can lead to dreadful outcomes, and often there is precious little time to act. The “Miracle on the Hudson” is a great example of how the bold and expert actions of Capt. Chesley Sullenberger averted catastrophe. I’m sure he must credit his many years of experience and ongoing training with his success. However, the roughly 1,500 small plane crashes each year show that there is more work to be done with private pilots.

If coaching became part of our CME repertoire, I believe outcomes would improve and we would be happier in our work. This will require a paradigm shift in the way we think about continuing education and assessment of competency. All physicians should be open to learning something new every day and honing our procedural and decision-making skills. The pilots and the passengers will be better for it.

Be happy.

Dr. Baehren lives in Ottawa Hills, Ohio. He practices emergency medicine and is an assistant professor at the University of Toledo (Ohio) Medical Center. Your feedback is welcome at David.Baehren@utoledo.edu.