Objective. To identify and weight sets of activities performed by faculty members in the areas of teaching and scholarship. Methods. A panel of faculty members diverse in rank, gender, and discipline convened in a focused discussion and a modified Delphi procedure to identify 29 activities in teaching and 44 activities in scholarship for weighting by the general faculty. Twenty-three of 33 faculty members responded to an anonymous questionnaire eliciting values for each of the activities in a process designed to produce a set of weights on a ratio scale to facilitate comparisons among teaching and scholarship activities. Nineteen of 23 faculty members responded to a second-round survey instrument. Results. A set of weights was derived for all 73 activities. Respondents placed considerable value on developing a new course, chairing completed doctoral dissertation committees, obtaining high-impact grant monies, and winning University and national teaching awards. Conclusions. The results assisted School administrators in allocating organizational rewards and communicating with University administration. Faculty members were aided by the opportunity to reflect upon the perceptions of colleagues and provided assistance with prioritizing their time commitments.
Pharmacists remain a readily accessible and trusted source of information about health. In order to assess the quality of counseling on health matters and the progress of the profession in this activity over the last decade, a study similar to one reported in 1978 was conducted. We visited 46 community pharmacies and requested advice from the pharmacists concerning the proper treatment of an infant with diarrhea. Interviewers volunteered no additional information, but questions asked by the pharmacist were answered according to a predetermined hypothetical case involving an 18-month-old infant with diarrhea and vomiting. Findings include the following: approximately one-third of the pharmacists recommended a product without caution and less than 20 percent inquired about fever, nausea, vomiting, diet, or the infant's condition. We believe pharmacists should approach health counseling with an increased awareness of the harmful potential in providing inappropriate medical information.
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