A National Survey of Pharmacy Skills Laboratory Faculty Perceptions of Evaluation, Promotion, and Workload Policies

The study assessed perceptions of workload and evaluation policies among pharmacy skills laboratory faculty.

A survey was developed and disseminated to American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) Skills Laboratory Special Interest Group faculty members. The survey contained questions on faculty and institution demographics, satisfaction with current workload, and perceptions of fairness, transparency, workload policy and calculator parity, and promotion climate. Quantitative data were reported using descriptive statistics; exploratory factor analysis assessed item structure, and regression models were used to examine predictors of workload satisfaction. Qualitative data were analyzed using an inductive thematic approach.

A total of 75 faculty members from 66 of 130 institutions (response rate [RR], 50.7%) responded. The majority were White (90.7%), female (76.0%), and held the rank of associate professor (48.0%), with an average teaching effort of 62.4%. Most reported having a template for faculty evaluation (77.3%); however, transparency in calculating teaching workload remained a challenge (44.0%). While most indicated that workload and evaluation policies did not differ from those for nonlaboratory faculty, a significant number indicated that expectations were not fair (41.3%), and that promotion took longer for skills laboratory faculty (22.7%). Perceptions of fairness were the strongest predictor of overall satisfaction. Free responses highlighted invisible workload requirements, including concerns related to time, equity, and understanding.

This study is among the first to examine skills laboratory faculty perceptions of workload policies, evaluation processes, and promotion climate across a national sample. These findings underscore the importance of developing workload policies and evaluation processes that reflect the unique contributions of skills laboratory faculty to pharmacy education.