Evidence-based coaching supports clinician outcomes at OSF HealthCare

Patients arrive in their most vulnerable moments at OSF HealthCare. This Catholic integrated health system operates across 147 locations in Illinois and Michigan that include 15 hospitals and two colleges of nursing. More than 25,000 OSF employees, called Mission Partners, need to show up as their best selves every day - because patients’ lives depend on it. 

For Mission Partners, emotional labor is an expected and demanding part of the job. Facing the added pressures of healthcare during the ongoing pandemic in 2021, the Leadership Academy at OSF sought to invest in a solution that could scale with their organization and provide a personalized approach to well-being and growth for clinicians and their teams across the organization. Additionally, OSF sought an evidence-based solution that would help its servant leaders on their mission to yield the best possible patient outcomes.

When a cohort of Mission Partners begins 1-1 Dedicated Coaching with BetterUp, they take a Whole Person assessment before getting matched with a Certifed Coach. With their Coach, they address their top-most concerns and receive personalized, bite-sized learning resources through the BetterUp app. BetterUp’s mobile-first solution and global network of coaches are available to support medical staff at all hours, even if their best time for a coaching session is 1 am. 

For measurement, the initial assessment plus regular data collection points enables OSF to benchmark Mission Partners' well-being and track improvements over the course of each cohort’s coaching experience.

Servant leadership is the fundamental operating principle for OSF's Mission Partners, whose passion areas tend to reflect a double-edged sword of love for patients and drive to provide best-in-class care. As a result, Mission Partners are at high risk of burnout, and need to replenish their inner resources to deliver effective treatment plans and lead teams with the perfect blend of realism and optimism.

Well-being, communication, and leading others were the most frequently addressed topics in coaching sessions – and the results were impressive. Double-digit improvements were seen across all dimensions, including stress management (+28%) and guiding others (+27%), showing that supporting leaders to support themselves is an effective method of strengthening servant leadership.

On average, healthcare providers who worked with BetterUp experienced the following growth: 

Caring and science are at the heart of medicine; Mission Partners' cognitive functioning is just as important as their ability to act with empathy. Coaching addresses both functions; OSF's BetterUp members saw an impressive 34% improvement in cognitive thriving. An increased sense of personal effectiveness shown in the 19% increase in self-leadership indicates that Mission Partners are less frustrated and more connected with their purpose to deliver nationally-recognized medical care.

In the fast-moving world of medicine, OSF Healthcare now has validation for BetterUp coaching as a trusted resource to support its Mission Partners in the factors that contribute most to positive patient outcomes: clear minds and open hearts.