(164) Exploring the Experiences of Pharmacy Editorial Leaders: A Cross-Sectional Study

Objective : One way leadership is demonstrated in the pharmacy profession is through editorial positions (e.g., editorial board member, associate editor, editor-in-chief) with a peer-reviewed journal. The study objective was to explore the experiences of pharmacy editorial leaders to better understand one mechanism for leadership skill development and advancement of the profession.

Methods: A cross-sectional online survey was sent to editorial leaders (n=683) of 19 pharmacy journals that were: a) English-language; b) CiteScore ≥1.0 and/or identified by a pharmacy expert; and c) focused on pharmacy practice. The survey was researcher-developed with face validity established through pilot testing with pharmacists previously holding editorial leadership and academic leadership roles. Survey items focused on demographics, editorial responsibilities, barriers to participation, and benefits. Data was analyzed descriptively using frequency counts, percentages, and means.

Results: A 26.4% response rate (n=180) was obtained. Respondents were on average 53 years old, mostly female (51.1%), white (78.9%), and Pharm.D. (52.2%) and/or Ph.D. (49.4%) trained. Editorial responsibilities averaged 10 hours per month and nearly all respondents (94.4%) served to contribute to the profession. Over half experienced barriers to obtaining an editorial leadership position including being unsure if they had sufficient experience (54.0%) or needed time (52.4%), not knowing how to apply (40.5%), and being unaware of opportunities (31.7%). Nearly half (47.8%) were not recognized for their editorial leadership. Benefits included enhanced knowledge of the editorial submission/review process (88.3%) and professional network expansion (73.6%).

Conclusions: While serving as an editorial leader is important for the profession and confers individual benefits, there are clear barriers that must be addressed to ensure these individuals are appropriately identified/recruited. Future research/analyses will focus on better understanding differences in experiences based on demographics.