Survey of career satisfaction, lifestyle, and stress levels among pharmacy school faculty

• Published in: American journal of health-system pharmacy 2015-09, Vol.72 (18), p.1573-1578
• Main Authors: Lindfelt, Tristan A, Ip, Eric J, Barnett, Mitchell J
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; College faculty; Dental schools; Faculty; Female; Humans; Job Satisfaction; Lifestyles; Male; Middle Aged; Officials and employees; Psychological aspects; Schools, Pharmacy; Social aspects; Stress (Psychology); Stress, Psychological - physiopathology; Surveys; Surveys and Questionnaires; Young Adult
• ISSN: 1079-2082; 1535-2900
• DOI: 10.2146/ajhp140654

PURPOSE.U.S. pharmacy school faculty were surveyed to assess their career satisfaction, lifestyle, and stress levels. METHODS.A 48-item survey, administered through Qualtrics (Provo, UT), was sent to current members of the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy and included questions regarding respondents’ academic institution and appointment status; lifestyle traits; career satisfaction; work–life balance; neurologic and psychiatric diagnoses; use of illicit drugs, alcohol, and tobacco; and stress levels. RESULTS.of the 4787 faculty invited to participate in the survey, 811 usable surveys were collected (16.9% response rate). Nearly all respondents (95.0%) reported working 40 or more hours per week. The majority had an average daily one-way commute of less than 30 minutes (64.2%), slept 5.5–7.5 hours per night (74.8%), and exercised for no more than 120 minutes per week (61.8%). A majority of respondents (63.7%) reported being very or extremely satisfied with their current position in academia. Only 36.9% reported being very or extremely satisfied with their work—life balance. Mean perceived stress scores were near those found in the general adult population. Although most respondents reported seeing a primary care provider and dentist annually, other findings regarding preventive health measures were not as encouraging. CONCLUSION.A survey of pharmacy faculty in the United States revealed high levels of job satisfaction among respondents, but lower levels of satisfaction with work–life balance and comparable levels of stress to the general population were found. Administrators and stakeholders should explore options to improve lifestyle factors to decrease potential burnout among faculty.