Advocating for a designated portion of time in educator’s job descriptions for scholarship

Background: Scholarship is a fundamental expectation for academic faculty members. Many institutions do not allocate dedicated time for scholarship. Providing dedicated time for scholarship is crucial for the success and advancement of both academic faculty members and institutions. This white paper identifies methods and recommendations to incorporate dedicated time for scholarship within workload expectations. Methods: Educator Development Workgroup members within the FIP Academic Pharmacy Section collaborated to explore strategies for promoting faculty scholarship. The workgroup defined scholarship to encompass the broad range of research pursuits, reviewed literature, and identified institutional practices supporting scholarly productivity. Results: Academic faculty members engaging in scholarship advance the profession, bring recognition to their institutions, and experience professional fulfilment. Strategies to incorporate dedicated time for scholarship include: establishing reasonable working hours per week, setting clear scholarship time minimums, and collaborating with faculty to balance teaching, service, clinical responsibilities, and/or research obligations. Conclusion: Implementing strategies to provide dedicated time for scholarship can empower pharmacy educators to make meaningful contributions to research, teaching, and practice innovations. These efforts not only advance the profession but also enhance faculty satisfaction, improve overall workplace satisfaction, inspire other faculty, and improve institutional reputation.