Why Doctors Should Coach

The hidden curriculum

If you got into specialty training, you already know something most applicants don't: how it actually works.

The person specification is public. The scoring rubric is mostly public. But the things that move a candidate from "appointable" to "top of the rank list" rarely are. Which portfolio evidence assessors really value. How to turn a vague audit into a scoring answer. What a good clinical station sounds like out loud. That knowledge usually travels through informal channels: a registrar who takes you for coffee, a consultant who happens to be on the panel next year, a friend of a friend who got in last round.

Some applicants have those channels. Many don't. That gap is where coaching comes in, and it is why I think more doctors should coach.

1. Your insight has a shelf life

The best time to coach is soon after you've been through it. You still remember the self-assessment domains, the interview format, the questions that caught you out and the evidence you wish you'd collected earlier.

That knowledge fades. Selection processes also change year to year, so what you know is most useful while it is current. Coaching is a way to put it to work before it goes stale, rather than letting it sit unused.

You don't need to be a consultant or an educator to be valuable. A trainee who scored well last round is often closer to the candidate's reality than someone who interviewed a decade ago.

2. Coaching makes you better at your own job

Good coaching uses the same skills as good clinical practice: listening properly, asking the right question, giving honest feedback in a way someone can act on.

It also builds your own CV. One-to-one teaching and feedback count towards teaching evidence, and you will get better at structuring answers yourself, which helps when your own next interview comes round, whether that is a higher specialty post or a consultant job.

And reviewing other people's portfolios is one of the fastest ways to see the gaps in your own.

3. You can level the playing field

Medicine still runs on informal networks. Candidates with a parent in the profession, a well-connected supervisor or a big teaching hospital behind them often get insider advice for free. International graduates, first-generation doctors and those in smaller trusts often don't.

Coaching won't remove that inequality, but it makes insider knowledge available to anyone who looks for it, not just the people who happen to know the right person. Think of it as making nepotism open to everyone.

I have coached dermatology applicants for four years. The most rewarding part has never been the fee. It has been watching capable doctors, who simply didn't know the unwritten rules, rank in the top five, get their first-choice location, and start the training they wanted.

4. It's paid, flexible and on your terms

Coaching is real work and it should be paid like it. Sessions are usually an hour, online, and booked around your rota. You choose how many you take, when, and what you coach: portfolio and self-assessment review, application form review, or interview preparation.

Demand follows the application cycle, so you can plan your availability around the busy months rather than committing all year round.

For many trainees, a few sessions a month is a meaningful income that uses skills they already have, with no extra on-calls.

"But I'm not sure I should"

"I'm not senior enough." You don't need to be. Candidates want someone who has recently done what they are trying to do. Recent success is the credential.

"Isn't it unfair to other applicants?" Coaching doesn't give anyone the questions or a shortcut. It helps candidates present what they have actually done, clearly. If anything, open access to coaching is fairer than advice that only flows through private networks.

"What about conflicts of interest?" Be sensible. If you sit on a selection panel or score applications, don't coach for that specialty in that round. Never share confidential question content. Most trainees will never be in that position, but it is worth deciding your own rules up front.

"I don't have time." One session a week in application season is enough to make a real difference to someone's career.

How to start

I built Doctor Specialty Coaching so that doctors who have been through selection can coach those who are about to. Every coach is GMC-verified and has been appointed to their specialty. You set your own prices and availability, choose what you coach, and get paid directly for each session you deliver.

Our coaches come from a range of specialties, and we welcome doctors from any specialty who want to help the next generation of applicants.

If you remember exactly how hard it was to get in, you are the person the next applicant needs. Apply to coach.