(410) Empowering Excellence: Cultivating Growth Through Faculty and Staff Professional Development

In 2022, the University of South Carolina College of Pharmacy created a formal professional development (PD) committee consisting of eight faculty and staff members representing most departments and units of the college.

Objectives: Develop programming for faculty and staff, conduct a structured faculty orientation for new faculty and staff, increase the knowledge and awareness of the pharmacy profession among faculty and staff, and create best practice documents for being a successful chairperson and a quality course coordinator.

Methods: Committee members launched a needs assessment to determine professional development needs from faculty and staff incorporated into the registration form for the first PD seminar. Faculty and staff were requested to submit resources they commonly utilized for PD. The feedback received identified content to incorporate into future PD events. A Blackboard Organization page was utilized to organize resources and content from PD events. At the conclusion of the 2022-23 academic year, the committee hosted five PD events to include one focused on the role of the pharmacists linked to content for the NAPLEX and developed two best practice documents. An additional need for a formalized staff orientation was identified, and a checklist was created to ensure standardization for orientation across the college. Upon a successful first year, the committee continued into the 2023-24 academic year with additional charges to implement the best practices created, continue offering PD events, and consider innovative ways to explore the pharmacy profession for non-pharmacists.

Results: Thus far, 11 PD events have been offered this academic year with plans to conduct a formal assessment of PD opportunities and resources at the end of the semester.