Faculty Well-being Research Articles

Phenomenologizing the Leadership Practices of the Selected School Heads in the Philippines

Educational leadership has been one of the interesting arguments of many academic researchers over the years. School heads have significant tasks to fulfill as they are responsible for the entire operation of the school as instructional and organizational leaders. In Catholic institutions, school heads are also accountable for the integral formation of the students, as well as the spiritual well-being of faculty and staff, parents and the stakeholder. Most often, they are challenged by various obligations and they need to have strong spirituality in their leadership practices. This qualitative study attempted to describe the leadership practices of a select group of heads of schools run by the Franciscan Sisters of the Sacred Hearts in the Philippines as basis for a proposed leadership formation framework. Thirty (30) heads of schools participated in the study. Among them, six (6) were Principals, six (6) were assistant principals, twelve (12) were academic coordinators and six (6) were heads of different offices. They underwent semi-structured depth interviews. The findings formed “The Whirl of Christ-Centred Leadership Model for Heads of Schools”describes the common practices and the critical instances which make the onset experience, and the value engagements that are observed in the institutions. The findings of this study provides valuable inputs to help school heads to become more inclined and spiritually empowered to influence people, work collaboratively that may result to a progressive and smooth working environment.

Phenomenologizing the Leadership Practices of the Selected School Heads in the Philippines

Educational leadership has been one of the interesting arguments of many academic researchers over the years. School heads have significant tasks to fulfill as they are responsible for the entire operation of the school as instructional and organizational leaders. In Catholic institutions, school heads are also accountable for the integral formation of the students, as well as the spiritual well-being of faculty and staff, parents and the stakeholder. Most often, they are challenged by various obligations and they need to have strong spirituality in their leadership practices. This qualitative study attempted to describe the leadership practices of a select group of heads of schools run by the Franciscan Sisters of the Sacred Hearts in the Philippines as basis for a proposed leadership formation framework. Thirty (30) heads of schools participated in the study. Among them, six (6) were Principals, six (6) were assistant principals, twelve (12) were academic coordinators and six (6) were heads of different offices. They underwent semi-structured depth interviews. The findings formed “The Whirl of Christ-Centred Leadership Model for Heads of Schools”describes the common practices and the critical instances which make the onset experience, and the value engagements that are observed in the institutions. The findings of this study provides valuable inputs to help school heads to become more inclined and spiritually empowered to influence people, work collaboratively that may result to a progressive and smooth working environment.

Joint Guidelines for Protected Nonclinical Time for Faculty in Family Medicine Residency Programs.

Family medicine faculty face increasing expectations for clinical productivity. These expectations impinge on academic and education time and make it difficult to pursue research or scholarly activities. A task force convened by the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine created national guidelines to protect nonclinical time for family medicine faculty. The task force reviewed existing guidelines for protected time, as well as data on current and past distribution of time for faculty in academic medicine, including a specific look at family medicine. Based on the evidence and expert opinion from task force members and leaders of family medicine organizations, the task force developed eight consensus recommendations. The guidelines include recommendations for allocation of protected time for program directors, associate program directors, and core faculty. These represent best practices to ensure programs have appropriate time to devote to the nonclinical duties of training and educating residents, while also promoting innovation in education, faculty well-being, and faculty retention. Faculty require nonclinical time for resident development, curriculum creation and maintenance, program assessment, and scholarship. Without these functions, programs can't meet accreditation requirements or fulfill their responsibility to develop strong family physicians. Residency programs, sponsoring institutions, universities, health care systems, and accrediting bodies should use these recommendations to develop budgets that provide appropriate time allocation to enhance faculty wellness, reduce turnover, and meet organizational missions and objectives around education and providing care for communities.

Manifestations of workplace ostracism: an insight into academics' psychological well-being

PurposeOstracism is a subjective and relative concept that renders itself to multiple manifestations and context-specific outcomes. Therefore, this study identified specific behaviours that are perceived as workplace ostracism by teaching faculty of Pakistani Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs). Building on belongingness theory, the ramifications of ostracism on psychological well-being are outlined along with the context-specific factors that shape these outcomes.Design/methodology/approachA phenomenological approach was adopted, and 30 semi-structured interviews from the teaching faculty of HEIs in Lahore, Pakistan, were conducted. The transcribed interviews were coded, and an inductive thematic analysis via NVivo 12 Plus software was used to generate themes and sub-themes.FindingsFive behaviours, i.e. biased treatment, exclusion from formal and informal interactions, interpersonal alienation, delayed sharing or hiding of knowledge, lack of work-related, social and emotional support constituted the acts of ostracism in studied HEIs. The psychological well-being of faculty suffered in terms of negative emotions, reduced job, career and life satisfaction in their work and family life. The contextual factors deciding the intensity of outcomes resulting from workplace encompassed head of department (HOD) support, pay, friendly relations, fear of confrontation, alternative job options and designation of faculty members.Originality/valueThis research is a pioneer in using an in-depth phenomenological approach to define a behavioural typology of ostracism in academia. Moreover, a much needed holistic outcome of psychological well-being is explored in work and non-work domains and further elucidated in light of context-specific factors.

Implementation and Assessment of a Visiting Scholar Exchange Program in Pediatric Anesthesiology to Promote Junior Faculty and Fellow Professional Development.

Junior faculty in academic medicine often struggle with establishing their careers, resulting in low promotion and high attrition rates. Fellows also grapple with the decision to pursue careers in academic medicine. We report on the implementation and evaluation of a novel faculty and fellows exchange program that promotes career development. In 2017, the University of California San Francisco created a reciprocal faculty exchange program called the Visiting Scholars in Pediatric Anesthesia Program (ViSiPAP). ViSiPAP expanded to involve 17 institutions across the United States. Fellows from 3 of the institutions were paired with faculty mentors to create Fellow/Faculty ViSiPAP. An initial postparticipation survey was sent after each exchange, and a follow-up survey in 2020 assessed ViSiPAP's impact. Fifty-three faculty participated in ViSiPAP and gave 66 presentations, and 20 fellows from 3 institutions gave 20 presentations. The initial postparticipation survey response rate was 88%, and the follow-up survey response rate was 74%. Survey responses indicated that ViSiPAP enhanced fellow and faculty well-being, improved didactic conferences, and provided opportunities for networking and collaborating. The follow-up survey indicated that participation in ViSiPAP led to 45 online academic publications, 39 additional invited presentations, and 8 authorships in peer-reviewed academic journals. ViSiPAP is a successful professional development program for both fellows and junior faculty in pediatric anesthesia. Our program successfully introduced the participants into the pediatric anesthesia community and jumpstarted academic careers. Participation in ViSiPAP led to increased scholarly output and assisted with faculty promotion. This combined fellow/faculty exchange program is a novel approach to professional development and is broadly applicable to other disciplines in academic medicine.

Origin Storytelling in Faculty Well-being: A Pilot Study.

In 2020, approximately 47% of family physicians reported burnout. For physicians, professional burnout is implicated in damage to relationships, increased rates of alcohol and/or substance abuse, depression, and suicide. Professional isolation can be a major contributor to burnout. Organizational interventions targeted at promoting workplace community and collegiality have been effective in decreasing professional isolation. This study sought to decrease professional isolation and promote collegiality among family medicine faculty through an origin storytelling group. Family medicine faculty of a residency program in the Midwestern United States were invited to participate in an 8-week origin storytelling group. At the end of the study, individual interviews were offered for participants to reflect on the perceived impact of the process. Additionally, 1 year poststudy, open-ended email responses were invited to assess lasting effects of collegiality. Fifty percent (12/24) of eligible faculty members participated in the study. Participants who completed one-on-one structured interviews shared their perspectives of the study, which allowed for the importance of the study and next directions to be identified. One-year postcompletion of the study, participants described continued changes they experienced from these groups, via open-ended, email response. Storytelling groups can provide acceptable, valuable, and easily-implemented contributions to initiatives that enhance physician faculty well-being.

Mentoring as a Buffer for the Syndemic Impact of Racism and COVID-19 among Diverse Faculty within Academic Medicine.

Within this article, we explore the dual impact of two pandemics, racism and COVID-19, on the career and psychological well-being of diverse faculty within academic medicine. First, we present a discussion of the history of racism in academic medicine and the intensification of racial disparities due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result of the syndemic of racism and COVID-19, the outlook for the recruitment, retention, and advancement of diverse faculty and leaders within academic medicine is at risk. While mentoring is known to have benefits for career and personal development, we focus on the unique and often unacknowledged role that mentoring can play as a buffer for women and people of color, especially when working in institutions that lack diversity and are now struggling with the syndemic of racism and COVID-19. We also discuss the implications of acknowledging mentoring as a buffer for future leadership development, research, and programs within academic medicine and health professions.

Addressing the mental health needs of learners and nonlearners in an academic medical center during COVID-19.

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has impacted life for people throughout the world, especially for those in health care who experience unique stressors. To support the psychological needs of staff, faculty, and learners at a biomedical sciences university, faculty at Baylor College of Medicine created a mental health and wellness support program consisting of multiple behavioral health care pathways, including phone support, a self-guided mental health app, a coping skills group, and individual therapy services. The authors present this program as a model for academic institutions to support the well-being of faculty, staff, and learners.

USG’s Well-Being Policy Regarding Tobacco Product Use: A Proposal for Changing from Opt-Out to Opt-In

The University System of Georgia (USG) has a state-wide initiative aimed at increasing the well-being of faculty and staff by deincentivizing the use of tobacco products by employees who are covered by a USG healthcare plan. This incentive is positive in that aid in stopping tobacco product usage is offered to each member; and negative in that each member who is a tobacco product user is penalized. A healthcare surcharge is added to the monthly health insurance premium paid by each faculty/staff member for themselves and covered dependents over 18 years of age who are tobacco product users. The current policy considers covered employees and their applicable dependents to be users of tobacco products unless they annually opt-out. This paper includes summaries of the incidence of cigarette and tobacco product usage in the U.S., a summary of USG’s policies related to the current tobacco initiative, a brief literature review regarding opt-in and opt-out programs, and a discussion of the possible negative impact of the current USG tobacco use policy. Support is provided for the present tobacco surcharge penalty being either eliminated or its implementation changed, and for the current opt-out default being changed to an opt-in program.

The Mental and Psychosocial Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on University Faculty and Students

The COVID-19 pandemic declared a public health emergency by the World Health Organization (WHO) in March, 2020 has disrupted teaching and learning and has brought about mental, social and psychological challenges for university faculty and students not only in Africa but worldwide. The closure of face-to-face teaching and learning in academic institutions has meant that millions of students and faculty have had to indefinitely stay, learn and work from home. Having to adopt an emergency migration to full online courses following the governments' directive to close campuses, many of the universities in Africa were ill prepared in terms of infrastructure, online skills on the part of faculty and students, appropriate devices, internet connectivity and in many cases electricity and power connectivity. These and the measures taken to limit the spread the COVID-19 has led to many mental and psychological effects including post-traumatic stress symptoms, depression, feelings of confusion, anger, fear and substance misuse. A review of articles from journals and advisories in addition to the experience working in USIU Africa was used to reflect on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the psychosocial wellbeing of faculty and students and the interventions universities have in place to address mental health issues during the COVID-19 period and beyond. The findings showed that faculty and students are vulnerable to the physical, mental and psychosocial effects of COVID-19 and recommends; awareness creation on the mental and psychosocial effects of COVID-19, embracing of change, training the mental health service providers, developing a culture where people seek mental health services and universities being inclusive, responsive and student friendly as they work towards resilience in the new normal. [End Page 73]

Stress, Emotion Regulation, and Well-Being among Canadian Faculty Members in Research-Intensive Universities

Existing research reveals the academic profession to be stressful and emotion-laden. Recent evidence further shows job-related stress and emotion regulation to impact faculty well-being and productivity. The present study recruited 414 Canadian faculty members from 13 English-speaking research-intensive universities. We examined the associations between perceived stressors, emotion regulation strategies, including reappraisal, suppression, adaptive upregulation of positive emotions, maladaptive downregulation of positive emotions, as well as adaptive and maladaptive downregulation of negative emotions, and well-being outcomes (emotional exhaustion, job satisfaction, quitting intentions, psychological maladjustment, and illness symptoms). Additionally, the study explored the moderating role of stress, gender, and years of experience in the link between emotion regulation and well-being as well as the interactions between adaptive and maladaptive emotion regulation strategies in predicting well-being. The results revealed that cognitive reappraisal was a health-beneficial strategy, whereas suppression and maladaptive strategies for downregulating positive and negative emotions were detrimental. Strategies previously defined as adaptive for downregulating negative emotions and upregulating positive emotions did not significantly predict well-being. In contrast, strategies for downregulating negative emotions previously defined as dysfunctional showed the strongest maladaptive associations with ill health. Practical implications and directions for future research are also discussed.

Gender Inequality, Stress Exposure, and Well-Being among Academic Faculty

Gender inequalities in salary, rank and access to leadership positions characterize institutions of higher education and disadvantage women faculty. Differential exposure to noxious working conditions and restricted access to social resources may underlie these inequalities by detracting from women faculty’s well-being, thereby perpetuating the status quo. This study applies stress process theory to analyze this inequitable state of affairs, treating gender as a social status in higher education that predicts differential exposure to stressors and access to resources. Stressors and resources, in turn, predict faculty well-being. Stressors include micro-aggressions and work-life conflict, and resources include collegiality with peers and support from administrators. Survey data were collected from academic faculty at a mid-sized Western university in the U.S. Results indicate that women faculty experience micro-aggressions and work-life conflict more often than men, and report less supportive relationships with their deans. Moreover, micro-aggressions and work-life conflict are positively associated with psychological distress and job dissatisfaction, while dean support has the opposite associations. Open-ended responses supplement the quantitative findings with vivid examples of how these phenomena play out in individual faculty members’ lives. Implications for how institutions of higher education might introduce change to address these findings are discussed.

Promoting a Culture of Civility in Nursing Learning Environments.

Incivility in nursing education imperils the well-being of both faculty and students, is damaging to professional relationships, and hinders the exchange of knowledge in nursing learning environments. Because supportive, respectful learning environments foster students' ability to flourish and reach their highest potential, it is essential that open dialogue and relationship building in nursing education are as valued as content taught. This study explored strategies for promoting a culture of civility in nursing learning environments. A 9-item survey was used to gather insights from nurses (n = 441) about how incivility could be managed or prevented in order to promote a culture of civility. The data revealed 2 major themes: personal action, and organization action. Nursing faculty, students, and schools/programs can promote civility in nursing learning environments through establishing a power balance, effective communication, self-reflection, setting clear expectations early, and instituting consequences for violating a culture of civility.

Understanding the Well-Being of General Surgery Residents.

In 2017, the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education program guidelines changed to include a section that requires programs to optimize resident and faculty member well-being. There is still a poor understanding of general surgery resident wellness, and there are few well-established wellness programs. We created a novel 50-question anonymous survey to assess burnout, depression, and wellness that was distributed to the general surgery residents as part of a pilot study. Univariate analysis was performed to assess wellness and wellness changes. Bivariate analysis was performed to determine the association between wellness variables and gender, age, and postgraduate year (PGY) level. Thirty-five of 55 residents participated in the survey. Over half of the residents (54%) reported gaining weight during residency. Nearly 70% reported working while having an ongoing family issue, and 77% worked at least once while ill. Fourteen residents (40%) reported that their wellness worsened over the previous academic year, while 7 (20%) reported that it remained the same, and 11 (31%) reported that it improved. These changes varied significantly by the PGY level (P < .01). Age (younger vs older than 30) and sex were found to be effective measure modifiers of the association between wellness change and PGY level. The overall wellness of the general surgery residents at our institution varies greatly. Poor wellness may lead to inferior patient care, burnout and depression, and negative resident morale. Residency programs need to implement programming to address wellness deficiencies.

Shedding Light on Restorative Spaces and Faculty Well-Being

The nature of academic work has changed dramatically in recent decades, resulting in part in decreased well-being among faculty. In this article, we discuss these changes and their effects, with a focus on coping through restorative spaces. While faculty members may frequently conceal their restorative spaces in fear of how our time spent in them may be criticized, we seek to shed light on this important coping tool through sharing six unique restorative space narratives. Drawing from these vignettes, we encourage faculty members to share their own stories of restoration in their academic communities to counter the busyness narrative that pervades many academic spaces, and we call on colleges and universities to acknowledge and support the creation of restorative spaces for academics within their institutions.

University of Minnesota Medical School.

University of Minnesota Medical School.

Unleashing Our Chemistry Superpowers: Promoting Student Success and Well-Being at a Black Women’s College during COVID-19

Spelman College, a small (∼2150 students) Black women’s liberal arts college located in Atlanta, GA, USA, is dedicated to empowering women of African descent to become global leaders and change agents. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the resulting abrupt and unforeseen campus closure, Spelman experienced pressure and urgency to maintain a high quality curriculum for its students, while balancing student and faculty well-being. This communication is a reflection of the teaching practices that the faculty in Spelman’s Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry implemented during the transition to emergency remote instruction (ERI). We first describe the initial week-long planning phase used to transition the Department to ERI, including detailed information on the faculty’s efforts to redesign lecture and lab courses via the adoption of new learning platforms, teaching strategies, and student learning objectives. Next, we use student survey data, collected by individual faculty, to reflect on the challenges, opportunities, and iterative course redesign that occurred throughout ERI. Student well-being, engagement, and adaptation were of particular concern and challenge to the Department during ERI. Nevertheless, by embracing a spirit of ”productive disorder”, the Department was able to channel its faculty ”superpowers” toward pedagogical change and transformation. More importantly, by allowing students to operate as independent and resilient learners in the time of COVID-19, we found that students rose to the challenge of creative expression and critique even in unconventional times.

The One Note System: Implementation and Initial Perceptions of Student Documentation in the Electronic Health Records Under the New Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Guidelines.

IntroductionMedical students have been documenting notes in the electronic health records (EHR) for many years but often wrote separate notes from housestaff and faculty because licensed providers (LPs) could not bill the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) for Evaluation and Management (E/M) services. However, in 2018, CMS updated its policy to allow LPs to simply verify any component of an E/M service under appropriate supervision, allowing LPs to bill a full medical student note.MethodsAt Virginia Commonwealth University Health Systems (VCUHS), a task force was formed to develop and pilot the One Note System (ONS), a system that incorporates the new CMS guidelines for certain note types. In June 2019, or 10 months after implementation of the ONS, the authors developed and distributed a survey that explored perceptions regarding the ONS among medical students, housestaff (residents and fellows), and faculty.ResultsThe results showed that most participants were aware of the ONS and preferred email as the form of training. Overall, the ONS had a positive impact on faculty and housestaff workflow, improved self-reported faculty wellbeing, and increased meaning in student work. Only a minority reported barriers to implementing the ONS.ConclusionsThe One Note System was successfully implemented at VCUHS and positively received. Other outcomes to measure include impact of the ONS on student and trainee education, compliance and billing, quality and quantity of documentation, and faculty and housestaff burnout rates.

From Flattery to Threats – The Effects of Student Influence Tactics on Faculty Well-Being

Professors are all too familiar with the various ways students attempt to influence them in order to obtain favorable academic outcomes. After numerous conversations and first-hand evidence exploring faculty members experiences of stress in academia, we have found that some faculty members experience a higher quantity and/or more aggressive student influence tactics than others. We have found that a potential reason for this is based on the social distance and similarity (or lack of similarity) in the professor-student dyad. Our essay outlines why these influence tactics often adversely affect faculty well-being, moderators to this relationship, and protective strategies against the negative effects of such influence tactics.

Courageous caring conversations: Promoting faculty wellbeing

Courageous Caring Conversations was designed to support faculty wellbeing and a culture of caring and civility in nursing academe. This innovative strategy involves an adaptation of Schwartz Healthcare Rounds for nursing education to establish a culture of respect and caring among nursing faculty. The process is guided by Chinn's Peace and Power process. Courageous Caring Conversations encourage faculty to discuss ethical dilemmas and challenging academic or collegial situations that occur over the course of the semester. The process begins with a shared meal offering an informal opportunity for faculty to connect and establish relatedness. Faculty then enter into a shared discussion intended to provide a venue to debrief the challenges of the semester with the goal of deepening understanding, empathy, and compassion among faculty. This practice supports the development of a healthy academic workplace where conflict is viewed as transformative and open communication and civility flourish.