Balance of academic responsibilities of clinical track pharmacy faculty in the United States: a survey of select American College of Clinical Pharmacy Practice and Research Network Members

Abstract

Study objectives: To characterize the balance of clinical and academic responsibilities of clinical track pharmacy faculty in the United States and evaluate organizational structures that promote satisfactory balance between these responsibilities.

Design: Prospective cross-sectional survey.

Setting: A 22-item online survey was developed and distributed via Qualtrics software.

Participants: Clinical faculty members of the American College of Clinical Pharmacy Adult Medicine, Ambulatory Care, Cardiology, Critical Care, Gastrointestinal/Liver/Nutrition, Immunology/Transplantation, Infectious Disease, and Pediatrics Practice and Research Networks (PRNs) were invited to participate via the PRN electronic mailing list.

Measurements and main results: The survey comprised questions related to demographics, organizational structure, and balance of clinical and academic responsibilities. A total of 344 participants responded to some or all of the survey questions. The demographics were relatively equally balanced between faculty at state and private academic institutions, academic rank, and practice setting. Expected and actual effort allocations were similar for each of the clinical and academic responsibilities, with direct patient care and clinical teaching representing more than 50% effort allocation cumulatively. Clinical faculty at state institutions devoted a larger proportion of time to clinical service, whereas clinical faculty at private institutions devoted a greater proportion of time to didactic teaching. When asked about time constraints, 157 (69.8%) of the 225 survey participants responding to this question did not believe they had sufficient time to fulfill their nonclinical academic needs. Clinical faculty who were provided "protected time" away from clinical service had a significantly more favorable opinion of this question.

Conclusion: Most of the clinical track pharmacy faculty indicated that they have insufficient time to fulfill their nonclinical academic responsibilities. Provision of protected time may alleviate some of these time constraints.

Keywords: academic responsibilities; academic structure; clinical responsibilities; clinical services structure; clinical track pharmacy faculty; faculty advancement; faculty development.