Better Together Research Collaborative (BTRC)
The Better Together Research Collaborative (BTRC) is an interdisciplinary, multi-institutional research enterprise that evaluates physician well-being, coaching, psychological safety, and engagement with a team of interdisciplinary scholars and mentees that includes experts in medical education, psychology, social work, and health services research.
Published Works, Peer-Reviewed
Dieujuste N; Mann AM; Dunbar K; Thibodeau PS; Fainstad T; Dorsey Holliman, B. “Understanding Challenges Faced by Female Graduate Medical Education Trainees: A Qualitative Content Analysis of Physician Coaching Requests” HCA Healthcare Journal of Medicine. August 2025.
Summary: This manuscript analyzes coaching requests from female trainees to unearth common challenges
Mann, A, Fainstad, T, Sullivan et. Al. “Medical students: They’re not just little doctors! Impact of an online group-coaching program on medical student well-being: A randomized clinical trial.” PlosOne. Aug 12, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0328546
Summary: A four-month web-based group coaching program for medical students did not reduce distress (burnout, moral injury, or impostor syndrome) but did significantly improve self-compassion and flourishing.
Kornsawad, K, Shah, A, Yan, J, Aboueisha, A, Woodward, MA, Mann, A, Fainstad, T. “Do I Belong? A Multivariable Analysis of Impostor Syndrome and Associated Factors in Female Physician Trainees” J Gen Intern Med. Aug 5, 2025. doi: 10.1007/s11606-025-09780-4
Summary: In a national sample of female physician trainees, impostor syndrome was highly prevalent and strongly inversely associated with self-compassion, suggesting self-compassion may be a key target for future physician well-being interventions.
Thibodeau P, Bosma GN, Hochheimer CJ, Syed, A. Dieujuste, N, Mann, A, Fainstad, T. The moderating effects of moral injury and discrimination trauma on women physician trainees’ well-being. J Gen Intern Med. February 2025. doi:10.1007/s11606-025-09434-5
Summary: In a national cohort of women physician trainees, discrimination trauma and moral injury significantly shaped relationships among key well-being outcomes – moderating impostor syndrome and self-compassion at baseline and influencing intervention effects – highlighting the need to address these stressors early to support trainee well-being.
Fainstad T, Rodriguez C, Kreisel C, et al. Impact of an online group-coaching program on ambulatory faculty physician well-being: A randomized trial. J Am Board Fam Med. December 2024. doi:10.3122/jabfm.2024.240022R1
Summary: A randomized trial showing that online group coaching can boost physician well-being
Syed A, Thibodeau PS, Dieujuste N, Jones CD, Dunbar KS, Mann A, Fainstad T. Examining the Impact of Moral Injury on Burnout, Impostor Syndrome and Low Self-Compassion Amongst Female Medical Trainees: A Secondary Analysis. Mayo Clinic Proceedings. 2024;99(12):1905-1912. doi:10.1016/j.mayocp.2024.07.015
Summary: Among female physician trainees, moral injury was highly prevalent and strongly associated with burnout, impostor syndrome, and low self-compassion, underscoring the need for targeted interventions to address moral injury in training.
Fainstad, T. Syed, A., Thibodeau P.S., Vinaithirthan, V., Jones, C.D. Mann, A. Long Term Impact of an Online Physician Group-Coaching Program to Improve Burnout and Self-compassion in Trainees. Accepted at the Journal of Healthcare Management, June 2024.
Summary: An exploration of sustained coaching benefits, proving that long-term group coaching can help trainees maintain a healthier balance
Fainstad T, Mann A, Steinberg L, Woodward MA, Shah AN. Should I stay, or should I go? Emotional exhaustion’s association with intent to leave in a national sample of female physician trainees. J Womens Health (Larchmt). September 2024. doi:10.1089/jwh.2024.0470
Summary: This study links emotional exhaustion with the decision to leave medicine among female trainees
Fainstad, T MD, Orlov, N MD, MPH, Virant-Young DL P, Volkova Feddeck M. Why coaching? The meaning and purpose of coaching in graduate medical education. In: Maya M. Hammoud, MD, MBA, Abigail Ford Winkel, MD, MHPE, Margaret Wolff, MD, MHPE, John S. Andrews, ed. Coaching in Graduate Medical Education. Vol 2. American Medical Association; 2024:1-8.
Summary: A thoughtful look at why coaching matters in medical training, arguing that even the most seasoned physicians can benefit from coaching
Shah AN, Vinaithirthan, V, Syed, AS, Thurman, KT, Mann A, Fainstad, T. National Comparison of Burnout for a Cohort of Surgical and Non-Surgical Female Trainees. J Surg Res. 2024 Apr; 296:404-410. doi: 10.1016/j.jss.2024.01.010
Summary: A national-level comparison revealing burnout differences between surgical and non-surgical trainees
Mann A, Shah AN, Thibodeau PS, Thurman, KT, Syed, A, Woodward, MA, Dunbar, K, Jones, CJ, Dyrbye L, Fainstad, T. Online Well-Being Group Coaching Program for Women Physician Trainees: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Netw Open. Oct 2023;6(10):e2335541.
Summary: This RCT shows that a structured online coaching program can meaningfully improve well-being in female physician trainees
Mann A**, Fainstad T**, Shah P, et al. “We’re all going through it”: impact of an online group coaching program for medical trainees: a qualitative analysis. BMC Med Educ. 2022;22(1):1-10.
Summary: A qualitative analysis capturing the shared struggles (and wins) of trainees in a coaching program
Fainstad T**, Mann AM**, Suresh K, Shah P, Dieujuste N, Thurmon K, Jones CD. Effect of a Novel Online Physician Group-Coaching Program to Reduce Burnout in Trainees: A Randomized Controlled Trial. JAMA Netw Open. May 2022.
Summary: Another RCT that provides solid evidence on how a fresh approach to coaching can slash burnout rates
Fainstad T, Warde C, Levine R. Promoting Scholarship, Advocacy, and Creativity in the Balance of Work, Family, and Social Responsibility. SGIMForum. 2022.
Summary: A perspective piece highlighting how coaching supports not just professional well-being but also creative and advocacy efforts
Grants
Current Grants Supporting BTRC
2025 – 2027 Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation/ACGME Catalyst Awards for Transformation in Graduate Medical Education: “Even Better Together: An Elevated Coaching Curriculum so Physician Trainees can Thrive at Work and Beyond”
2025 – 2026 Texas Child Mental Health Care Consortium (TCMHCC) “Caring for the Caregiver: Providing wellness programs for rural and border primary care and mental health staff with a goal of retention”
Past Grants Supporting BTRC
2024 Rymer Innovation Award: CU – CU Academy of Medical Educators and the Center for Innovative Design and Analysis to provide longitudinal statistical support for a moderation analysis of moral injury and discrimination trauma on women physician trainees’ well-being. Resulted in a JGIM publication.
2020 – 2023 Mary O’Flaherty Horn Grant – Society of General Internal Medicine – for developing clinician-educators: funding to advance scholarship while maintaining a balance between personal and professional duties. I used the time to create, implement, and study a professional coaching program to mitigate burnout in women resident physicians: Better Together Physician Coaching.
2022 – 2023 Division of General Internal Medicine Small Grant: CU GIM – grant for CU clinician-educators in the department of medicine to advance scholarship. Used to continue and scale: Better Together to a national level; resulted in an RCT published in JAMAOpen.
2022 – 2023 Division of Hospital Medicine Small Grant: CU DHM – grant to continue investigation for physician coaching program: Better Together though analysis of coaching content (qualitative analysis of transcripts of recorded calls).
2020 – 2022 Program for Academic Clinician Educators (PACE) Grant: award for CU clinician-educators in the department of medicine to advance scholarship. Used to launch a physician coaching program: Better Together Coaching.
Prominent Citations
Tariq M, Kopecky KE. The canaries in the coal mine: Medical and surgical trainees. Am J Surg. 2025;0(116173):116173.
Summary: A perspective piece highlighting how coaching supports not just professional well-being but also creative and advocacy efforts