An Investigation of Pharmacy Faculty Attitudes Toward Faculty Development

Abstract

Objectives. This study investigated the attitudes and experiences of pharmacy educators towards faculty development programs. Methods. A random sample of 600 faculty surveyed via mail resulted in 222 useable surveys (38.3% response rate). Results. Few respondents have completed formal faculty development programs, while a larger number have completed informal programs. Clinical faculty reported a greater desire for pursuing formal faculty development than non-clinical faculty (P=0.036) and were more favorable toward partnering with a school of education in delivering formal faculty development programming (P=0.001). Top motivating factors for pursing formal or informal faculty development programming were to improve teaching, research skills, and quality of work. The majority of respondents were not positive toward the level of mentoring provided in their first academic position as well as ongoing institutional support. Conclusions. These findings provide valuable information from the perspectives of faculty and establish a baseline of activity of faculty development in academic pharmacy and possible actions to be taken.

Roadmap to 2015: Preparing Competent Pharmacists and Pharmacy Faculty for the Future. Combined Report of the 2005–06 Argus Commission and the Academic Affairs, Professional Affairs, and Research and Graduate Affairs Committees

“…53 These mentoring programs have traditionally focused on assisting new faculty with their research, while others have components dealing with acculturating new faculty to the profession of pharmacy. Faculty mentoring programs are the responsibility of each institution, but it appears that each operates without the benefit of sharing information on what works and what does not work, particularly in assisting new faculty to understand the profession of pharmacy.…”

Experiential Education Delivery—Ensuring Success Through Support and Development of the Faculty and Administrative Team: Report of the 2004–2005 Professional Affairs Committee

“…Faculty were also neutral in their opinion about the benefit of receiving formal mentoring, a result that most likely reflects their lack of prior experience with such programs. 14 Campus administrators' support may also be increased by clearly defining the expectations for teaching, scholarship and service for clinician faculty through the use of different types of tenure track appointments. Carter described two types of tenure tracks: researcher/educator and practitioner/educator.…”

The Influence of Faculty Mentors on Junior Pharmacy Faculty Members’ Career Decisions

“…1 Mentoring is considered an important aspect of faculty development, faculty retention, professionalization, and career path decision making. [2][3][4][5][6][7][8] The most common pharmacy postgraduate training paths (eg, residency, fellowship, graduate education) are built on mentor models, with the implicit assumption that more experienced, skilled, and/or knowledgeable mentors can impart knowledge, wisdom, and other attributes along the way to foster the development of the mentee or protégé. The mentor model as a training modality is well understood and has been examined extensively.…”