Diversity of Pharmacy Faculty Members between UK and US

Abstract

Abstract: Objective: The aim of the research was to characterize the diversity of current pharmacy faculty members in the US and UK. Methods: An online self-completion survey was designed and sent to the faculty members from the top 40 accredited pharmacy institutions in USA and top 20 in the UK. Data were analyzed to identify differences between pharmacy faculty members in both regions. Results: The response rate was 9.4% (411/4355). In both UK and US, more female faculty members stand at junior academic positions (e.g. assistant professor/associate professor in US or lecturer/senior lecturer in UK), while male professors were significant more in senior academic level (e.g. professor in US or reader/professor in UK). The results indicated the obstacles for female faculty members to pursue the further professional progression in pharmacy academics. Caucasians accounted for high proposition of faculty members at UK (95.4%) and US (89.6%), while there were very few Hispanic or African/Caribbean-descent faculty members in both countries. Thus, there was significant underrepresentation of minority in pharmacy faculty in both countries. Among the pharmacy discipline, pharmacy practice comprised over half of respondents (53% in UK and 58% in US), while science-related subjects (e.g. medicinal chemistry, pharmaceutics and pharmacology) took the rest positions. The results showed that the training models of pharmacy education in UK and US emphasized on clinical pharmacy and practice. Conclusion: Our research provided a comparative view of the professional development to current pharmacy faculty members in the US and UK. It is also an effective reference to the administrators in pharmacy school. Keywords: Diversity, Pharmacy faculty, Comparison, US, UK.