Assessing stress among pharmacy faculty at five schools: Preliminary lessons learned and coping strategies recommended

Abstract

Background: The 2016 ACPE Standards note that Pharm.D. programmes should ensure that “assessments include measurements of perceived stress in faculty, staff, and students and an evaluation of stress’ potential for a negative impact on programmatic outcomes and morale.” This study examines the perceptions of stress and satisfaction among pharmacy faculty and identifies their primary ways to cope with stress using a pilot survey instrument Scale To Recognize and Evaluate Stress and Satisfaction (STRESS).   Methods: A PubMed literature search was conducted utilising key search terms: “faculty stress or burnout” and “stress survey”. A draft survey was assessed by 20 experts resulting a 10-question online survey (STRESS) that was administered across five US pharmacy schools. Descriptive statistics were used to analyse data.  Results: The 117 faculty who completed the survey consisted of 55% females, 73% pharmacy practice department, and 36% assistant professor rank. When asked to rate stress levels on a scale of 1 (low stress) to 5 (high stress), the mean was 3.54, SD 0.94. The item with the highest stress rating was “feeling that I have too heavy a workload” (mean 3.63, SD 1.22), and 34% felt fatigued and/or overwhelmed on most days/daily. Conclusion: Preliminary findings can serve for stress reduction strategies and as indicators for targeted wellness initiatives.