Council of Deans Volunteer Opportunities

Task Force Rationale: The pharmacy profession is being faced with a sharp decline in pharmacist practitioners—this will affect not only pharmacy associations and their viability, but more importantly reduce society’s access to pharmacist-provided services and safe medication access and utilization. AACP has been and will continue to work on programs, products, and services to expand the awareness and impact of pharmacists and the profession of pharmacy in society. Colleges and schools of pharmacy also have a responsibility to create greater awareness of the role and impact of pharmacists in society – this will assist the profession in many ways including state legislative (scope of pharmacy practice) enhancements, creating collaborations within the communities that our institutions are located within, and improving the recruitment of student pharmacists. Outreach regarding the pharmacy profession is a very important cost of doing business as a college or school of pharmacy today—generating the value proposition to society about pharmacists and their impact is no longer a “nice to have”, it is a “must have” in pharmacy academia. Pharmacy educators are well positioned to educate external stakeholders as to what pharmacists do, can do, and will do for society. The ability to have a resource to assist all colleges and schools of pharmacy in this area is greatly needed.

Task Force Charges:

• Survey/Investigate what all colleges and schools of pharmacy are doing in their external outreach efforts regarding pharmacists and their impact on society: External outreach can be defined in many ways to many audience groups (e.g., higher education advisors, other healthcare programs/providers, general public, community leaders, legislative entities). The taskforce should be very broad when considering the various aspects that should be collected and analyzed. Measurable outcomes of external outreach and impact should be collected and analyzed.
• Development of a resource (e.g., toolkit, online resource guide) for colleges and schools of pharmacy to utilize to complement their external outreach strategies and efforts.

Task Force Rationale: The Council of Deans (COD) and Council of Faculties (COF) Faculty Affairs Committee will work together to address burnout and building a culture of support. With the impact of the pandemic and the subsequent great resignation, faculty and staff have been left with lingering effects on workload, wellbeing, morale, and job satisfaction. We know that burnout is real and present, yet AACP has produced ample programming and materials on wellbeing in support of individuals. Offering yet another mindfulness exercise or adding more time for self-care into our already busy schedules puts the burden of addressing what is a larger workplace issue upon individuals. We have an imperative to examine systems level issues that influence culture, psychological safety, and working conditions in pharmacy education. Addressing such issues will involve a systemic approach. Reconceptualizing how to create community will be important. This task force will explore systemic influential factors contributing to faculty wellbeing and professional satisfaction as well as make recommendations for creating community that foster belonging and connection to meaningful work. We envision their work producing valuable resources for best practices and programming that emphasizes strategies known to improve engagement and provide a culture of support.

Task Force Charges:

• In collaboration with members of COF and AACP staff, the task force is responsible for planning programming for the AACP Interim Meeting 2024. The deadline for this programming is the end of September 2023.*  The topic should be on Addressing burnout at the systemic level and building a culture of support.
• The task force is responsible for one of the following: preparing a webinar on this topic OR submitting a minimum of one formal proposal for a platform presentation at the AACP Annual Meeting in July 2024.*
• Creation of a summary report for publishing and distribution to the academy (e.g., commentary or white paper in AJPE) of the systemic factors contributing to faculty wellbeing and offer recommendations/guidance for creating community and fostering connection to meaningful work.

*Members of the community leadership group are not expected to provide all these programs, rather they are responsible for coordinating their development and implementation.

The 2023-2024 Council of Deans Mentoring Committee is charged to:

• Implement, monitor, and evaluate the pilot COD Mentoring Program.
• Recommend process and changes to the COD Mentoring Program for larger implementation for the COD in the 2024-2025 academic year.

The 2023-2024 Council of Deans Nominating Committee is charged to:

• Recruit and review candidates for COD Chair-elect (which must be a CEO Dean) for the Fall 2024 election.

The 2023-2024 Council of Deans Programming Committee is charged to:

• Develop topics and speakers for the CEO Dean and Assistant/Associate Dean Networking Sessions at the 2024 AACP Interim Meeting.
• Develop topics and speakers for the three COD Networking Sessions at the 2024 AACP Annual Meeting.
• Recommend potential topics for the monthly informal networking sessions to the COD Administrative Board.

The 2023-2024 Council of Deans Resolutions Committee is charged to:

• Review current Council of Deans (COD) Standing Rules of Procedures and determine any updates that are necessary, including:
  • Potentially having the COD Secretary of Knowledge Management or the COD Representative to the Administrative Board position move to an alternate year in COD elections; and
  • Aligning with the potential changes to the AACP House of Delegates rules and process changes which will be voted on at the 2023 AACP House of Delegates.
• Solicit and recommend potential resolutions pertinent for current COD and pharmacy academia issues.