Part-time and Job-Share Careers Among Pharmacy Faculty
Part-time and Job-Share Careers Among Pharmacy Faculty
Part-time and job-share policies may allow pharmacy practice faculty members to achieve work/life balance while pursuing their professional goals. Precedent for alternative work schedules within the health professions community can be found throughout the literature; however, little is known about part-time roles in academic pharmacy. The design and implementation of 3 different alternative faculty appointments are described and department chair and faculty perspectives are shared. Teaching, service, and scholarship responsibilities, as well as outcomes before and after changes in appointment, are described. Advantages and disadvantages, including advice for other colleges of pharmacy, are presented. Alternate appointments may be a key factor in retaining highly qualified faculty members who continue to bring their expertise to teaching, precepting, and scholarship within a college or school of pharmacy.
The demographics of pharmacy have shifted in the last few decades as more women than men are entering the profession. This has translated into an increase in the number of female pharmacy faculty members, and a greater emphasis on work/life balance throughout the pharmacy workforce. The percentage of part-time pharmacists, both male and female, increased in 2000 (14.9%), 2004 (17.7%), and 2009 (20.9%). This is much higher than the percentage of part-time faculty members in academic pharmacy (slightly more than 10%).
One way to allow for flexibility within a career is through job-sharing. Job sharing is "…two professionals forming a partnership to perform one job." While job sharing is a newer concept to the profession of pharmacy, it already has been embraced by other health professions. Recognizing that "part-time faculty may work less than full-time, but devote full effort to the institution," a job-share policy may allow pharmacy practice faculty members to achieve work/life balance while pursuing their professional goals.
Precedent for alternative work schedules within the health professions community can be found throughout the literature. The nursing community has long supported a variety of work schedules and the physician community, both clinical and academic, has success and struggles with alternate appointments. In a survey of 11 pharmacy practice department chairs, 9 requests for part-time status were reported. Six had been approved, 1 had been withdrawn, and 2 had been denied, which ultimately had led to the resignation of those 2 faculty members. During the same interview, only 1 department chair was aware of any existing university policy regarding changing a faculty member from full-time to part-time status.
Faculty members who wish to learn more about the process of changing their employment status may discover it difficult to find information. Approximately 10% of the pharmacy faculty workforce are in part-time positions. Although gaining interest in academia, part-time careers are still rare in this environment. A task force for the Alliance for Academic Internal Medicine made recommendations that included an increased respect for work-family balance, developing policies to allow flexibility in academic advancement, and allowing flexible time as well as part-time employment. The task force was convened because the profession realized that in order to "remain a vibrant and competitive profession, it must adapt to changing trends in society and lead the way in recognizing, recruiting, and supporting physicians who choose part-time careers."
As the profession of pharmacy, specifically academic pharmacy, continues to modify its perception of work/life balance, the need for adaptation becomes clear. While there have been concerns raised about the ability to meet the expectations to be a successful faculty member while working part-time, there are examples, with physicians and pharmacists, where such arrangements have worked well. Two pharmacist faculty members reported a successful job-sharing experience with several advantageous outcomes including meeting needs created by increasing class sizes and the opportunity to continue on their respective career paths because of the availability of a job-share program.
The high cost of recruitment and low supply of academic pharmacists may lead to changes in rigid hiring practices that support only full-time employment. Alternate appointments may be a key factor in retaining highly qualified faculty members who continue to bring their expertise to teaching, precepting, and scholarship. These arrangements may also help reduce training costs and time devoted to development of a clinical service and scholarship resulting from faculty turnover. Considering recruitment costs, hiring costs, and lost clinical income, the average annual cost of faculty turnover in the Departments of Medicine and Surgery at the University of Arizona College of Medicine was greater than $400,000, making faculty development and retention efforts important. While the numbers may change, the impact of faculty turnover and the high cost of recruitment and hiring costs for pharmacy faculty members are important considerations.
A report by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) found that female faculty members typically choose part-time careers for family reasons, whereas male faculty members choose to pursue part-time positions closer to retirement. There may be a shift for male academic faculty members to pursue part-time positions in the future as men are starting to share family responsibilities with their spouses.
In 2008 at the Department of Pharmacy Practice at Midwestern University Chicago College of Pharmacy (MWU CCP), a Retention Committee was appointed to evaluate faculty members' perspectives on workload and desire for alternative working schedules, and to assess drivers key to retention of faculty members. A survey showed that approximately 75% of faculty members reported an interest in an alternative appointment structure and approximately 59% believed it would affect their decision to stay employed with the university. Although the results of this survey did not directly lead to the formation of part-time positions, it did provide insight to faculty interests at Midwestern University. This paper describes the implementation and design of 3 different alternative faculty appointments, the department chair and faculty perspectives regarding the appointments, and compares teaching, service, and scholarship responsibilities before and after the changes in appointment.
Abstract and Introduction
Abstract
Part-time and job-share policies may allow pharmacy practice faculty members to achieve work/life balance while pursuing their professional goals. Precedent for alternative work schedules within the health professions community can be found throughout the literature; however, little is known about part-time roles in academic pharmacy. The design and implementation of 3 different alternative faculty appointments are described and department chair and faculty perspectives are shared. Teaching, service, and scholarship responsibilities, as well as outcomes before and after changes in appointment, are described. Advantages and disadvantages, including advice for other colleges of pharmacy, are presented. Alternate appointments may be a key factor in retaining highly qualified faculty members who continue to bring their expertise to teaching, precepting, and scholarship within a college or school of pharmacy.
Introduction
The demographics of pharmacy have shifted in the last few decades as more women than men are entering the profession. This has translated into an increase in the number of female pharmacy faculty members, and a greater emphasis on work/life balance throughout the pharmacy workforce. The percentage of part-time pharmacists, both male and female, increased in 2000 (14.9%), 2004 (17.7%), and 2009 (20.9%). This is much higher than the percentage of part-time faculty members in academic pharmacy (slightly more than 10%).
One way to allow for flexibility within a career is through job-sharing. Job sharing is "…two professionals forming a partnership to perform one job." While job sharing is a newer concept to the profession of pharmacy, it already has been embraced by other health professions. Recognizing that "part-time faculty may work less than full-time, but devote full effort to the institution," a job-share policy may allow pharmacy practice faculty members to achieve work/life balance while pursuing their professional goals.
Precedent for alternative work schedules within the health professions community can be found throughout the literature. The nursing community has long supported a variety of work schedules and the physician community, both clinical and academic, has success and struggles with alternate appointments. In a survey of 11 pharmacy practice department chairs, 9 requests for part-time status were reported. Six had been approved, 1 had been withdrawn, and 2 had been denied, which ultimately had led to the resignation of those 2 faculty members. During the same interview, only 1 department chair was aware of any existing university policy regarding changing a faculty member from full-time to part-time status.
Faculty members who wish to learn more about the process of changing their employment status may discover it difficult to find information. Approximately 10% of the pharmacy faculty workforce are in part-time positions. Although gaining interest in academia, part-time careers are still rare in this environment. A task force for the Alliance for Academic Internal Medicine made recommendations that included an increased respect for work-family balance, developing policies to allow flexibility in academic advancement, and allowing flexible time as well as part-time employment. The task force was convened because the profession realized that in order to "remain a vibrant and competitive profession, it must adapt to changing trends in society and lead the way in recognizing, recruiting, and supporting physicians who choose part-time careers."
As the profession of pharmacy, specifically academic pharmacy, continues to modify its perception of work/life balance, the need for adaptation becomes clear. While there have been concerns raised about the ability to meet the expectations to be a successful faculty member while working part-time, there are examples, with physicians and pharmacists, where such arrangements have worked well. Two pharmacist faculty members reported a successful job-sharing experience with several advantageous outcomes including meeting needs created by increasing class sizes and the opportunity to continue on their respective career paths because of the availability of a job-share program.
The high cost of recruitment and low supply of academic pharmacists may lead to changes in rigid hiring practices that support only full-time employment. Alternate appointments may be a key factor in retaining highly qualified faculty members who continue to bring their expertise to teaching, precepting, and scholarship. These arrangements may also help reduce training costs and time devoted to development of a clinical service and scholarship resulting from faculty turnover. Considering recruitment costs, hiring costs, and lost clinical income, the average annual cost of faculty turnover in the Departments of Medicine and Surgery at the University of Arizona College of Medicine was greater than $400,000, making faculty development and retention efforts important. While the numbers may change, the impact of faculty turnover and the high cost of recruitment and hiring costs for pharmacy faculty members are important considerations.
A report by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) found that female faculty members typically choose part-time careers for family reasons, whereas male faculty members choose to pursue part-time positions closer to retirement. There may be a shift for male academic faculty members to pursue part-time positions in the future as men are starting to share family responsibilities with their spouses.
In 2008 at the Department of Pharmacy Practice at Midwestern University Chicago College of Pharmacy (MWU CCP), a Retention Committee was appointed to evaluate faculty members' perspectives on workload and desire for alternative working schedules, and to assess drivers key to retention of faculty members. A survey showed that approximately 75% of faculty members reported an interest in an alternative appointment structure and approximately 59% believed it would affect their decision to stay employed with the university. Although the results of this survey did not directly lead to the formation of part-time positions, it did provide insight to faculty interests at Midwestern University. This paper describes the implementation and design of 3 different alternative faculty appointments, the department chair and faculty perspectives regarding the appointments, and compares teaching, service, and scholarship responsibilities before and after the changes in appointment.
