The Role of an Infectious Diseases Faculty Pharmacist and Pharmacy Students on an Antimicrobial Stewardship Team at a Community Non-teaching Hospital

Background: Antimicrobial stewardship program implementation at non-teaching community hospitals differs due to staffing and resource disparities. Objective: Demonstrate that an infectious disease (ID) pharmacist faculty with advanced pharmacy practice experience (APPE) students can expand antimicrobial stewardship services at non-teaching community hospitals. Methods: A single-center, retrospective chart review was conducted comparing prospective audit and feedback antimicrobial stewardship interventions by an ID pharmacist faculty with and without APPE students between January 16, 2020 to January 16, 2021. The primary endpoints were intervention rate and the intervention acceptance rate. Secondary endpoints included: the difference in the time from antimicrobial order to intervention and length of stay, as well as comparison of acceptance rates stratified by intervention type or the antimicrobial intervened upon. Results: A total of 739 antimicrobial stewardship interventions were made with an overall acceptance rate of 55.2%. The ID pharmacist faculty with APPE students had a higher number of interventions and intervention rate per working day compared to without students (428 vs 311 and 4.46 vs 2.99, respectively). Conversely, the intervention acceptance rate was lower for the ID pharmacist faculty with APPE students vs without (48.8% vs 64%, P < .001). Both the median time from antimicrobial order to the intervention and length of stay was lower for the ID pharmacist faculty with students vs without (2.50 days [interquartile range (IQR) 1.24 - 4.01] vs 2.99 days [IQR 1.64 - 4.95], P = .003, and 9.20 days [IQR 5.57 - 14.93] vs 11.69 days [IQR 6.89 - 22.31], P < .001, respectively). The acceptance rates by intervention type and the antimicrobial intervened upon were similar between groups. Conclusion: An ID pharmacist faculty with APPE students at a non-teaching community hospital increased the number of stewardship interventions, and was associated with decreased time from antimicrobial order to intervention and length of stay.

Mentorship Landscape and Common Practices in an Academic Pharmacy Association

OBJECTIVES

To explore the landscape of mentorship within professional associations in pharmacy academia, including reviewing available literature and describing currently available programs within the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy, and recommend key considerations for the development of mentorship programs within professional associations.

FINDINGS

A literature review of mentorship programs within professional associations for pharmacy academics was conducted, with a total of 5 articles identified and summarized. Additionally, a survey was conducted to determine the landscape of available mentorship programs within American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy affinity groups to capture unpublished experiences. Information regarding common characteristics and assessment methods was collected for groups that have mentorship programs, while needs and barriers were collected for those who did not.

SUMMARY

Literature, while limited, supports positive perceptions of mentorship programs within professional associations. Based on the responses and working group experience, several recommendations are proposed for mentorship program development, including the need for clearly defined goals, relevant program outcomes, association support to reduce redundancies and promote participation, and, in some cases, implementation of an association-wide program to ensure access to mentorship.

An Exploratory Study of Arab American Pharmacy Educators' Work Experience with Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Objective. To explore the experience of members of Arab American Pharmacy Educators (AAPE) regarding diversity, equity, and inclusion in their workplace.Methods. A cross-sectional questionnaire was distributed electronically to 51 AAPE members. Eligible participants were those who identify with Arab heritage and have worked at US schools or colleges of pharmacy. Following the initial invitation, three reminders were sent to complete the questionnaire.Results. A total of 31 (61% response rate) AAPE members completed the questionnaire. The majority of participants reported an overall positive academic experience. However, some participants reported being subject to negative stereotypes and discrimination, which may have hindered their ability to teach, practice, conduct research, and fully engage in service to their schools or colleges, profession, and community.Conclusion. Some AAPE members reported negative stereotypes and discrimination at US schools or colleges of pharmacy. Findings from this study can have implications for faculty representing different minority groups, especially for those pharmacy educators who are not of Western European descent and anyone who is perceived as the "other."

Implementation of a Shared Pediatric Pharmacy Elective During the COVID-19 Pandemic

During the COVID-19 pandemic, educators were forced to identify innovative teaching strategies to deliver high-quality learning experiences to students. In spring 2021, faculty at Butler College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences and Purdue University College of Pharmacy collaborated to successfully implement a shared pediatric pharmacy elective at both institutions.

Assessment of Impostor Phenomenon in Student Pharmacists and Faculty at Two Doctor of Pharmacy Programs

Objective. To evaluate the prevalence of impostor phenomenon in student pharmacists and faculty members at two educational institutions in the United States.Methods. Participants anonymously completed an electronic self-report survey instrument that included the validated Clance Impostor Phenomenon Scale (CIPS) from April 2020 to May 2020. Demographic data including age range, gender, and other characteristics were collected. The Clance Impostor Phenomenon Scale scores were reported as means (SDs), and data were compared between institutions and demographic groups using t tests.Results. The overall mean CIPS survey score (N=209, 35.5% response rate) was 63.8 (SD=15.1). The mean student pharmacist CIPS score for Northeast Ohio Medical University (NEOMED) was 64.7 (SD=14.4) vs 63.8 (SD=16.1) for Sullivan University College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (SUCOPHS), which was statistically similar. Mean faculty CIPS score for NEOMED was 59.2 (SD=14.0) vs 64.7 (SD=16.8) for SUCOPHS, which was statistically similar. Mean CIPS score for the combined student pharmacist group (NEOMED and SUCOPHS) was 64.3 (SD=15.1) vs 61.2 (SD=15.1) for the combined group of faculty members, which was statistically similar. Overall, most respondents fell in the "moderate" to "frequent" CIPS score classification range (36.4% and 44%, respectively).Conclusion. Impostor phenomenon feelings were common among responding student pharmacists and faculty members at the institutions surveyed; however, little is known about the implications of these findings. Future research should seek to elucidate factors predictive of or associated with impostor phenomenon as well as assess the impact of strategies to prevent or manage impostor phenomenon.

Faculty Burnout in Pharmacy Education

Burnout negatively affects health care faculty members, their professions, and patient care. Academic institutions are culpable in regard to establishing reasonable expectations and a supportive work culture. Together, the health professions must proactively evaluate, develop, and implement strategies to minimize faculty burnout. This commentary suggests multiple ways to address faculty burnout.

Differences in Career Satisfaction, Work-life Balance, and Stress by Gender in a National Survey of Pharmacy Faculty

INTRODUCTION

The percentage of women pharmacy students and pharmacy faculty has greatly increased over the last 40 years. However, it is not known whether gender differences exist in terms of career satisfaction, work-life balance, and stress in the pharmacy academia workplace.

METHODS

Results from a national web-based survey administered to American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) members were utilized. Bivariate analyses were conducted to compare differences among faculty according to gender (men vs women). A series of multivariate models controlling for demographic and other faculty and school-level factors were created to explore the impact of gender on satisfaction with current position, satisfaction with work-life balance, and perceived stress.

RESULTS

Among the 802 survey respondents, 457 (57.0%) women were more likely to be younger, hold a lower academic rank, and be in a pharmacy practice department, relative to 345 (43.0%) men. In adjusted results, men pharmacy faculty were more likely to report being extremely satisfied with their current job, more likely to report being extremely satisfied with their work-life balance, and score lower on a standardized stress measure relative to women.

CONCLUSION

While primarily descriptive, the results suggest women pharmacy faculty in the United States are less satisfied with their current academic position, less satisfied with their current work-life balance, and have higher stress levels compared to men even after controlling for age, academic rank, and department (along with other factors). Further research is needed to explore and address causes of the observed gender-related differences among pharmacy faculty.

A Novel Mathematical Model for Determining Faculty Workload

Objective. To develop a mathematical model for determining faculty workload at a college of pharmacy with a team-based learning curriculum. Methods. Using faculty provided data, our model calculated activity and weighted means in teaching, scholarship and service. Subsequently, these data were used to develop departmental and institutional workload models. Results. For the pharmaceutical and biomedical sciences department, percent faculty activity mean values were greatest for service followed by teaching and scholarship. These values in the clinical sciences department were greatest for teaching followed by service and scholarship. Overall, the institutional workload model had the largest maximum faculty activity value for teaching, followed by service and then scholarship. Conclusions. A novel faculty workload model proved to be effective in optimizing faculty workload within a college of pharmacy. Since the workload analysis, the faculty service commitment has been substantially changed, by reducing the number of committees at our institution. This type of workload analysis may particularly benefit colleges of pharmacy that employ a team based learning curriculum, with a large time commitment to teaching.

Pharmacy Educator Motives to Pursue Pedagogical Knowledge

Objective. To investigate motives of pharmacy educators who pursue pedagogical knowledge through professional development programs and to develop a model of motivation to inform future development. Methods. A mixed-methods approach was used to study both qualitative and quantitative data. Written narratives, postmodule quizzes, and survey data were collected during a 5-year period (2010-2014) from pharmacy educators who participated in an online professional development program titled Helping Educators Learn Pedagogy (HELP). Grounded theory was used to create a model of motivation for why pharmacy educators might pursue pedagogical knowledge. Results. Participants reported being driven intrinsically by a passion for their own learning (self-centered motivation) and by the need to improve student learning (student-centered motivation) and extrinsically by program design, funding, and administrator encouragement. Conclusion. A new model of pharmacy educator motivation to pursue pedagogy knowledge, Pedagogical Knowledge Acquisition Theory (PKAT), emerged as a blended intrinsic and extrinsic model, which may have value in developing future professional development programs.

Educational Background and Academic Rank of Faculty Members within US Schools of Pharmacy

Objective. To characterize the educational background and academic rank of faculty members in US schools of pharmacy, estimate the extent to which they are employed by institutions where they received previous training, and determine whether differences in degree origin and rank exist between faculty members in established (≤1995) vs newer programs. Methods. A cross-sectional study was conducted using the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) faculty database and demographic information from the public domain. Results. Among 5516 faculty members, 50.3% held two or more types of degrees. Established schools had a higher median number of faculty members and a higher mean faculty rank than did newer schools. Conclusion. The difference in mean faculty rank highlights the shortage of experienced faculty members in newer schools. Future research efforts should investigate educational attainment in correlation to other faculty and school characteristics and prospectively track and report trends related to pharmacy faculty members composition.

A nontraditional faculty development initiative using a social media platform

OBJECTIVE

To assess the outcomes from an 11-year nontraditional professional development activity implemented by female faculty members at several colleges and schools of pharmacy.

DESIGN

Within the context of an online fantasy football league, faculty members practiced community-based faculty development strategies, including peer mentoring, skills development, constructive feedback and other supportive behaviors.

ASSESSMENT

Data were extracted from curriculum vitae to characterize the academic progress of participants and to quantify scholarly work collaborations among league members. Analyses were limited to members who had participated in the league for 10 or more consecutive years. Seventy-one collaborative scholarly works occurred among team managers, including presentation of 20 posters and 2 oral presentations at national or international meetings, publication of 29 peer-reviewed articles and 15 book chapters, and funding of 5 research projects.

CONCLUSION

Social media platforms can foster nontraditional faculty development and mentoring by enhancing connectivity between pharmacy educators who share similar interests.

Status of pharmacy practice experience education programs

OBJECTIVE

To assess financial, personnel, and curricular characteristics of US pharmacy practice experiential education programs and follow-up on results of a similar survey conducted in 2001.

METHODS

Experiential education directors at 118 accredited US pharmacy colleges and schools were invited to participate in a blinded, Web-based survey in 2011. Aggregate responses were analyzed using descriptive statistics and combined with data obtained from the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy to assess program demographics, faculty and administrative organizational structure, and financial support.

RESULTS

The number of advanced pharmacy practice experience (APPE) sites had increased by 24% for medium, 50% for large, and 55% for very large colleges and schools. Introductory pharmacy practice experience (IPPE) sites outnumbered APPEs twofold. The average experiential education team included an assistant/associate dean (0.4 full-time equivalent [FTE]), a director (1.0 FTE), assistant/associate director (0.5 FTE), coordinator (0.9 FTE), and multiple administrative assistants (1.3 FTE). Most faculty members (63%-75%) were nontenure track and most coordinators (66%) were staff members. Estimated costs to operate an experiential education program represented a small percentage of the overall expense budget of pharmacy colleges and schools.

CONCLUSION

To match enrollment growth, pharmacy practice experiential education administrators have expanded their teams, reorganized responsibilities, and found methods to improve cost efficiency. These benchmarks will assist experiential education administrators to plan strategically for future changes.

Perceptions and use of iPad technology by pharmacy practice faculty members

OBJECTIVES

To explore the potential of tablet technology to address the specific workload challenges of pharmacy practice faculty members and to evaluate tablet usage after a department-wide iPad initiative.

METHODS

After conducting a needs assessment to determine pharmacy faculty attitudes towards tablet technology and to identify potential usage scenarios, all faculty members in a department of pharmacy practice received an iPad. After iPad distribution, training sessions and virtual tutorials were provided. An anonymous survey was administered to evaluate the pilot.

RESULTS

The needs assessment survey revealed positive attitudes towards iPad technology, identified use scenarios, and led to a department-wide iPad pilot program. Most faculty members used iPads for connectivity with students (86%), paper/project annotation (68%), assessment (57%), and demonstration of tools used in practice (36%). For teaching, 61% of faculty members used iPads in seminars/laboratories, 57% used iPads in the experiential setting, and 43% used iPads in the classroom. Use of iPads for patient-care activities varied and depended on site support for mobile technology. The 23 faculty members with external practice sites used iPads to a greater extent and had more positive attitudes towards this technology compared with campus-based faculty members.

CONCLUSION

Integration of tablet technology into the pharmacy education setting resulted in faculty-reported increased productivity and decreased paper waste. It also allowed faculty members to experiment with new teaching strategies in the classroom and experiential setting. Administrators at institutions exploring the use of tablet technology should allocate resources based on faculty needs and usage patterns.

A blueprint for transitioning pharmacy residents into successful clinical faculty members in colleges and schools of pharmacy

With the increase of new pharmacy colleges and schools throughout the country, the number of open clinical academic pharmacy positions continues to grow. Considering the abundance of clinical faculty positions available nationwide and the increased likelihood of current pharmacy residents transitioning from residency directly into academia, pharmacy residents must be prepared to succeed in the role of new clinical faculty member. However, no blueprint or recommendations have yet been provided to facilitate this transition. The purpose of this review article is to evaluate the literature regarding transitioning pharmacy students and/or residents into faculty roles. The literature reviewed represents nursing, medical, graduate school, and engineering disciplines because no literature on this topic was available from the pharmacy profession. Based on the recommendations provided in the literature and on the authors' experience at their college, they created a blueprint consisting of 7 components to help residents transition directly into their roles as faculty members.

Clinical pharmacy faculty interventions in a pediatric intensive care unit: an eight-month review

OBJECTIVES

The American Academy of Pediatrics and the Society of Critical Care Medicine have documented the importance of pharmacist involvement in pediatric care. Numerous studies have reported the impact of clinical pharmacy interventions in various adult care settings. However, in the pediatric critical care setting, the impact has not been well documented. The purpose of this study was to describe clinical pharmacy faculty interventions in a pediatric intensive care unit (PICU).

METHODS

A pediatric clinical pharmacy faculty member performed and documented clinical interventions in a level I, 18-bed, tertiary care PICU. Information gathered included medication name, specific intervention performed, basic patient demographics, and length of stay from May to December 2009.

RESULTS

During the study period, there were 893 interventions performed on 159 patients over 66 days of service. (Average of 5.5 interventions/patient, and 34 interventions/100 patient PICU days.) Dosing recommendations and pharmacokinetics were the most common type of intervention (28.8% and 21.4%, respectively). Antibiotics and sedatives/analgesia were the most common drug classes in which interventions were made (34.4% and 20.3%, respectively). Ninety-eight percent of all interventions were accepted by the medical staff. The estimated annual cost savings from these interventions was $119,700.

CONCLUSIONS

The average number of interventions per patient in this study was higher than that reported in the literature to date. Dosing recommendations and pharmacokinetics were the most commonly recommended interventions documented. Although this study showed considerable cost savings by a pharmacy clinical faculty member, further study of economic benefits is needed.

The impact of student-faculty ratio on pharmacy faculty scholarship

OBJECTIVE

To determine the relationship and impact of student-faculty ratio on scholarship of pharmacy faculty members.

METHODS

The number and rank of faculty members, pharmacy program characteristics, and faculty productivity data were collected to determine the impact of student-faculty ratio on faculty scholarship.

RESULTS

Faculty scholarship was not predicted by student-faculty ratio. Factors impacting positively on faculty productivity included National Institutes of Health funding; presence of clinical associate professors, instructors, and lecturers; and programs located in public universities.

CONCLUSIONS

Faculty productivity is not related to the student-faculty ratio, wherein more faculty members and fewer students equates to increased scholarship. However, public universities may have different infrastructures which are associated with greater academic productivity compared to private institutions. Additionally, utilizing instructors and clinical or nontenure-track faculty members can significantly increase scholarship among faculty members.