Incorporating Academic Coaching into Traditional Advising Models: Expanding Support for PA Students

Authors

Leanne Hedges, University of LynchburgFollow

Specialty

PA-C

Advisor

Dr. Tom Colletti

Abstract

Academic advising and mentoring are long-standing cornerstones of student support in physician assistant (PA) education. Yet as graduate medical education becomes increasingly complex, traditional models may not fully address the diverse needs of contemporary learners. Academic coaching has emerged across higher education and medical training as an approach that emphasizes learner-driven goal setting, self-regulation, and skill development. A blended advising model that integrates academic coaching with existing advising and mentoring structures may expand student support while simultaneously fostering faculty growth. This article explores the conceptual distinctions among advising, mentoring, and coaching, highlighting the potential of coaching to improve student performance, persistence, and well-being. Evidence from higher education demonstrates associations between coaching and improved grade point averages, retention, self-efficacy, and belonging. Barriers to programmatic adoption, such as faculty workload, role confusion, and structural inertia, are acknowledged, but these challenges can be reframed as opportunities for faculty development and institutional culture change. Faculty training in coaching methods offers skill-building in active listening, feedback delivery, and reflective facilitation, strengthening both advising interactions and clinical teaching. For PA programs, incorporating academic coaching within traditional advising frameworks represents an innovative strategy to advance student success, promote resilience, and enhance faculty-student relationships. By adopting and evaluating blended advising-coaching models, PA educators and administrators can collaboratively drive their programs to the forefront of learner-centered educational innovation.

Recommended Citation

Hedges L. Incorporating Academic Coaching into Traditional Advising Models: Expanding Support for PA Students. University of Lynchburg DMSc Doctoral Project Assignment Repository. 2025; 7(3).