Date of Graduation

1997

Document Type

Dissertation/Thesis

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine what pharmacy deans believed to be the major internal and external challenges facing schools of pharmacy over the next ten years. The instrument for data collection was a descriptive opinion survey, consisting of two questions, that was sent to all U.S. school of pharmacy deans (n = 79). The deans were asked to provide what they believed to be the five major internal and external challenges facing their schools, and to provide two strategies for hastening the desirable or delaying the undesirable effects of each challenge. A response rate of sixty-percent (47 of 79 schools) was received. All data were obtained and recorded in a confidential manner. A research simulation instrument which focused on the development of higher education administrative skills and leadership was used to place all response challenges into eight standard categories of higher education administration. Code letters were assigned to each of the challenges for the purpose of reporting the number of responses in one of the the following eight education administration categories. Forty-seven deans provided two hundred eighty-two challenges that were placed into the eight tables which depicted the top five internal and external challenges. Frequency tables were selected because they simplify and organize the information into a more comprehensible format for presentation and identification of trends to others. The tables also present all reported strategies for dealing with the challenges. The top challenges reported in each category are: (1) Policy--establishing pharmacy's place in the health sciences as a health care provider. (2) Community Relations--the need for initiating or improving communications with alumni, hospitals, community health care systems, state organizations, pharmacists, and other community individuals and groups. (3) Administration--putting into place the best administrative and organizational structure to perform necessary school-wide operations. (4) Administrative Finance--obtaining adequate budgets or funding. (5) Student affairs--recruitment of superior students. (6) Professional Personnel--recruitment and retention of quality faculty. (7) Curriculum--need for outstanding development, revision, and reform. (8) Personal Professional Development--program evaluation. Numerous useful strategies for dealing with the challenges are suggested by the deans and provide a basis for the conclusions and recommendations of this study.

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