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Benchmarking in academic pharmacy departments.
John A Bosso1, Marie Chisholm-Burns, Jean Nappi
1South Carolina College of Pharmacy - Charleston, SC, USA. bossoja@musc.edu
American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education
|December 24, 2010
Summary
Benchmarking in academic pharmacy departments helps measure program quality and allocate resources. Further efforts are needed to gather comprehensive data on departmental productivity for effective improvement strategies.
Area of Science:
- Pharmacy Education
- Academic Administration
Background:
- Benchmarking is a widely adopted practice in business and industry for process improvement and outcome measurement.
- Academic institutions increasingly use benchmarking to assess educational and research program quality.
- Internal benchmarking aids in resource allocation and managing competing departmental demands.
Purpose of the Study:
- To discuss the application and potential uses of benchmarking within academic pharmacy departments.
- To highlight the importance of gathering data on departmental characteristics and faculty productivity.
- To propose strategies for successful data collection in this area.
Main Methods:
- The paper discusses the concept and application of benchmarking in higher education.
- It proposes surveying chairs of academic pharmacy departments regarding departmental metrics.
- Suggestions are offered to improve participation in data-gathering efforts.
Main Results:
- Current attempts to gather benchmarking data in academic pharmacy have had limited success.
- There is a recognized need for comprehensive data on department size, composition, and faculty productivity.
- The paper emphasizes the potential value of such data for institutional improvement.
Conclusions:
- Benchmarking offers valuable insights for enhancing academic pharmacy departments.
- Continued and improved efforts are crucial for collecting essential departmental data.
- Successful data collection can inform resource allocation and strategic planning.
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