The state of the academic pharmacy workforce specializing in geriatrics

To describe the training, career experiences, and roles and responsibilities of faculty members in American and Canadian schools/colleges of pharmacy involved in geriatrics-focused teaching, research, practice, or service.

A cross-sectional, web-based, self-administered survey was developed and pre-tested. Pharmacy faculty members with experience and/or expertise in geriatrics-focused practices or scholarships and/or who taught geriatrics-focused topics in US or Canadian pharmacy programs were eligible for participation. Participants were recruited using a multi-pronged approach between June and November 2022.

A total of 131 completed and non-duplicate surveys were received. Ninety percent of respondents were from US programs and 64.9% worked in public institutions. Sixty-two percent reported greater than 40% teaching efforts, and 39% indicated they were the only person in their program to advocate for geriatrics-focused content. Most reported expectations for scholarship (96.2%), and 77.1% maintained a clinical practice. Among those with research expectations, 53.5% agreed they had an adequate percentage allocation dedicated to research.

Geriatrics pharmacy faculty report geriatrics and non-geriatrics teaching expectations, clinical practice workloads, and less time for scholarly productivity. Most respondents have extensive experience in geriatrics; however, many perceive themselves to be the only advocates for geriatrics-focused topics in their programs.