Defining contemporary roles of the pharmacy educator: The essential first step in developing equitable faculty...

Area of Science:

• Pharmacy Education
• Academic Administration

Background:

• Faculty burnout is increasing, negatively impacting productivity, morale, and retention.
• Existing faculty workload policies may not adequately value the diverse roles of contemporary educators.
• Defining faculty roles is essential for academic institutions to understand and value their contributions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the approach used by a task force to develop a teaching workload policy.
• To identify and define the essential roles of contemporary pharmacy educators.
• To inform the development of fair and equitable faculty workload policies.

Main Methods:

• A task force was convened to develop a teaching workload policy.
• The task force evaluated forces driving change in pharmacy education.
• A stepwise approach was used to define nine essential roles of pharmacy educators.

Main Results:

• Contemporary pharmacy educator roles are multifaceted and have become more complex.
• Traditional definitions of educator roles do not capture their full scope.
• Nine essential roles of contemporary pharmacy educators were identified.

Conclusions:

• Recognizing and valuing contemporary educator roles is a critical first step for workload policy development.
• Clear definitions of faculty roles enhance institutional clarity on teaching effort and faculty value.
• This approach supports the creation of equitable workload policies that address overall faculty needs.