Behind the Skills Lab: A Qualitative Study of Skills Lab Faculty Workload

Pharmacy skills laboratories are essential courses in the curriculum and require a significant workload from faculty to ensure that students are adequately prepared for pharmacy practice. The objective of this study is to determine skills laboratory faculty perceptions of workload demands, institutional equity, and factors influencing job satisfaction and burnout in pharmacy education.

Following a national quantitative survey of skills laboratory faculty, semistructured interviews were conducted with 10 skills laboratory faculty members (9 women, 1 man) from geographically diverse US pharmacy programs who elected to participate. Interviews lasted 30 to 60 min and explored faculty workload experiences, institutional expectations, workload policy perceptions, perceived equity compared with didactic faculty members, and job satisfaction. Transcripts were analyzed using team-based coding with consensus building across three iterative stages.

Seven themes were identified: volume of demands in skills lab, challenges with time, value and understanding of skills laboratories, prioritizing students, burnout and work-life management, institutional differences and instability, and collaborative work culture. Participants described substantial invisible labor, including coordination, scheduling, curriculum preparation and maintenance, individualized student support, and advocacy efforts. Faculty unanimously expressed dedication to student development but reported difficulty quantifying workload, navigating unclear promotion expectations, and experiencing burnout from sustained high-touch engagement. Institutional budget constraints, leadership transitions, and limited lab support compounded workload pressures. Collaborative relationships with colleagues were an essential support mechanism.

Skills laboratory teaching demands intensive faculty effort, contributing to burnout and inequitable workload distribution. Transparent policies, adequate staffing, and formal recognition of invisible labor should be considered.