Quality Team Coaching for Rural BC

Quality Team Coaching for Rural BC (QTC4RBC) is a coaching program that empowers teams to regroup and reconnect with their purpose and take steps toward building their desired team culture and advancing their chosen goals. When healthcare teams are able to rekindle joy and meaning in their work, they’re more able to create a positive work environment, optimize their team’s performance, and increase the quality and safety of care for patients.

“The [facilitators] were incredible. They have a way about them that really allows people to open up. … it was just guided so well with a good mix of education and hands on group work.”

Participant, evaluation response

Achievements

Deepening Team-Based Practice Across Rural BC

Quality Team Coaching for Rural BC (QTC4RBC) partnered with five rural health care teams made up of physicians, nurses, medical office assistants, patient coordinators, clinical supervisors, pharmacists, operations managers, and others who support care in their communities. Each team participated in a one-day, in-person workshop followed by four virtual team coaching sessions over approximately six months, creating space to test new ideas, reflect together, and build shared understanding. Team leads also had access to three one-on-one leadership coaching sessions with their coach(es), offering dedicated time to explore their role in supporting thriving, team-based care. Across the program, teams focused on priorities that mattered to them locally, from strengthening communication processes and building new ways of working together, to clarifying and optimizing team members’ roles and responsibilities.

Expanding Access and New Ways to Engage

In response to growing interest from rural communities, QTC4RBC introduced a second intake period to create additional opportunities for teams to participate in the program. QTC4RBC now offers two cohorts each year, with in-person workshops held in the spring and fall, followed by four Team Coaching Sessions and up to three Leadership Coaching Sessions as appropriate. This change supports more timely access for teams who are ready to work on shared priorities.

The QTC4RBC team also offered two sessions of the Finding Your Way in Teamwork workshop, a participatory and interactive learning experience where participants explore the attributes, skills, and tools of high-functioning interprofessional teams. The workshop emphasizes the critical role of psychological safety as the foundation of healthy teams and supports participants to design a practical action plan to strengthen psychological safety within the team they work with every day.

Following Outcomes Over Time

This year, the QTC4RBC team leaned into curiosity about the longer-term impact of team and leadership coaching for rural health care teams. A six-month, post-program survey was introduced to learn how the teams supported in 2024 are doing more than a year after their initial QTC4RBC workshop. Early findings show sustained improvements across all nine areas surveyed, including self and situational awareness, psychological safety, and communication, suggesting that the skills and relationships built through the program continue to shape how teams work together over time. These insights will help guide ongoing program development, and the team looks forward to continuing to learn alongside rural teams in the years ahead.

Explore the numbers

5 teams

Five teams with a total of 74 participants participated in the QTC4RBC program in 2025.

2 Workshops

QTC4RBC hosted two 'Finding Your Way in Teamwork' workshops, which included 16 participants.

↑ 67% Team satisfaction

In the evaluation report of QTC4RBC cohorts, participants reporting being “very satisfied” with team culture increased after the program, going from 6% to 73%.

↑ 92% Positive work environment

In feedback from QTC4RBC cohorts, 92% of participants agreed with the statement that their office/clinic is a good place to work (vs 62% before the program).

Making a Difference

“You don’t always know what the benefit will be. You might discover strengths you didn’t realize you had, or that the problem isn’t what you thought it was. But the investment is small, and the potential benefits are significant.”

Dr. Adam Sandell, program participant

Plans for the Future

Building on the success of previous cohorts, QTC4RBC will continue to support teams through the year ahead, with Expressions of Interest reviewed for both the Fall and Spring intakes. The Finding Your Way in Teamwork workshop will also continue in the two-hour, participatory and interactive session where participants explore the attributes, skills, and tools of high-functioning interprofessional teams.