Thriving (Surviving) as a New Ambulatory Care Academic: Finding Your Path in Practice, Teaching, Scholarship, Service, and Life

Kimmy Nguyen
Oct 1
6 min read

Written by Chelsea Huppert, PharmD, BCACP; Aaron Brown, PharmD; Christina Berg, PharmD; Jessica Witt, PharmD, BCACP

So, you want to be an academic?

Maybe you’ve been dreaming about this for years or you fell into this by chance. Maybe you’re new to this or have been practicing for decades. Any which way, you’re here. Now what? The world of academic pharmacy can be intimidating. You have many priorities to balance and people vying for your time. So, how do you start? How do you keep going? In this blog, you’ll find condensed guidance from four ambulatory care academic pharmacists who began their careers within the last three years.

We divide academic pharmacy into five “buckets:” clinical practice, teaching, scholarship, service, and life. Your job description may label these differently, but they generally encompass most facets of the position. Start by knowing what’s required of you; keep that consistently visible to ensure you are spending the right amount of time on each category. Read on for answers to your top questions in each “bucket” when starting off as ambulatory care clinical faculty. See Table 1 for a concise summary of recommendations and Table 2 for additional resources.

Clinical Practice

Q: What are best practices for establishing yourself within your clinic?

Christina: Schedules within academia can be variable, making it difficult to establish yourself. Because of this, have dedicated days/times in clinic so others know when to expect you, and sit in a designated spot! Communicate proactively for days you’ll be off-site and know that it’s ok to not be at clinic all the time.

Aaron: Explore the clinic. Shadow other team members. Where can you be involved? Don’t be afraid to say “yes!” to projects. Also, don’t be afraid to say “no!” if the ask doesn’t align with your interests or training. The work will come quickly; it just seems slow at first!

Q: I’m stepping into a clinic that didn’t have anyone before. What should I do?

Aaron: Boost your confidence by managing patients with disease states you are most comfortable with to begin. Start picking up the phone and calling patients. You can quickly build your panel by obtaining patient lists that help meet clinic metrics - or by finding patients lost to follow-up.

Teaching

Q: How do I know I’m ready to start precepting?

Chelsea/Christina: You are going to be ready much sooner than you think! The first step is to ensure that your clinic is up and running and you’re providing patient care, but it doesn’t have to be perfect. It will seem stressful at times and some logistics won’t be figured out, but having a learner earlier than expected is the perfect “test run.”

Q: What tips do you have in building your ambulatory care rotation?

Jessica: Determine the most important skills you want your student to learn on rotation and set those expectations early. Block time for an in-depth midpoint and provide as many points of feedback as possible. At the end of a rotation, I submit the student’s evaluation and then ask honest questions aimed at improving the rotation. Asking after submitting the evaluation will allow for better actionable items to improve upon.

Q: How do I be a great teacher in the classroom?

Aaron: Try new things and gain inspiration from books or podcasts! Flip the classroom, record podcasts, and add gamification. Figure out the “status quo” and then ask students what they want. Even if it seems silly, try it. If it fails, do something different the next time!

Scholarship

Q: I feel like I know nothing about research. How can I become better?

Aaron/Chelsea: Take advantage of faculty development your organization offers, especially when it involves other departments. Also, carve out weekly (or daily) time for scholarship and stick to it, even if it’s only an hour. This aids in drawing connections between things you observe and ideas you have.

Christina/Jessica: Scholarship can come from unique workflows/practices in clinic, unusual drug information questions or patient cases, and more. Collaborate with colleagues inside and outside of pharmacy. Your other colleagues (i.e., medical residents) may just have your next project waiting for you: ask!

Service

Q: What organization(s) outside of work should I join and how involved should I be?

Jessica: Join organizations (pharmacy and non-pharmacy) that work toward your goals and where you want your career to end up, taking advantage of any funding your school provides. If it’s no longer serving that purpose, explore others. Additionally, join committees that work toward your goals and start small with subcommittees in the organization you call “home.” You don’t have to do everything all at once.

Q: How do I choose which committees to serve on at my University and/or practice site?

Christina: If you can choose/preference, observe a meeting and/or talk with the committee head to decide which one(s) you would enjoy the most. Join groups and task forces that relate to your practice that you can provide expertise on.

Life

Q: How do I balance all the “things”?

Chelsea: Not sure how you are supposed to be spending your time? Ask a mentor for their perspective. Don’t have a mentor at your institution? Find one from a professional organization, such as ACCP. Things that can help you spend your time wisely include: depending on Outlook (or Google) calendar (for both personal and work “things”), utilizing an online or handwritten to-do list, and learning to say “no.” It’s ok to block off “focus” time where no meetings can be scheduled, giving you the space to get work done.

Q: Is a work-life balance even possible?

Aaron: Yes (if you allow yourself). Academic pharmacy allows for flexible hours, so take advantage. Finished patient care responsibilities for the day? At a nice stopping point? Out of productive energy for the day? Take a break. Go home. Go for a walk. You will always be “over” on hours.

Conclusion

Do not work in silos. Clinic can be your research lab or your service organization. A classroom can be your research lab. Teaching can be your service. Most importantly, don’t walk this path alone, and reach out to mentors when you need help. Someone in your circle has walked this path before.

Conflict of Interest

The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.

Table 1: Top Recommendations for Thriving (Surviving) as a New Clinical Faculty Member

*https://www.accp.com/academy/researchAndScholarship.aspx

Table 2: Additional Resources on Becoming a Successful Clinical Faculty Member (^1-17*)

*Note: This is not an exhaustive list.

1. Zlatic TD. Clinical Faculty Survival Guide. American College of Clinical Pharmacy (ACCP); 2010. 345.

2. Evoy KE, ACCP Ambulatory Care Practice and Research Network. ACCP Ambulatory Care Pharmacist’s Survival Guide. 5^th ed. ACCP; 2024. 576.

3. University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy [Internet]. IForumRx.org Podcast. Available from: https://iforumrx.podbean.com/.

4. Kittleson M. Mastering the Art of Patient Care, 1^st ed. Springer; 2023. 209.

5. Teaching and Learning [Internet]. ACCP Academy. Available from: https://www.accp.com/academy/teachingAndLearning.aspx.

6. Brookfield SD. Becoming a Critically Reflective Teacher, 1^st ed. Jossey-Bass Inc Pub; 1995. 296.

7. Honeycutt B [Internet]. Lecture Breakers Podcast.

8. Stachowiak B [Internet]. Teaching in Higher Ed Podcast. Available from: https://teachinginhighered.com/episodes/.

9. The Curbsiders Teach [Internet]. The Curbsider Teach Podcast. Available from: https://thecurbsiders.com/teach.

10. Research and Scholarship [Internet]. ACCP Academy. Available from: https://www.accp.com/academy/researchAndScholarship.aspx.

11. Browner WS, Newman TB, Cummings SR, et al. Designing Clinical Research, 5^th ed. Wolters Kluwer Health; 2022. 468.

12. Bishop-Clark C, Dietz-Uhler B. Engaging in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning: A Guide to the Process, and How to Develop a Project from Start to Finish, 1^st ed. Routledge; 2012. 160.

13. Silvia PJ. How to Write a Lot: A Practical Guide to Productive Academic Writing, 2^nd ed. APA LifeTools; 2018. 110.

14. Fink A. How to Conduct Surveys: A Step-By-Step Guide, 6^th ed. SAGE Publications Inc; 2016. 198.

15. Zinsser W. On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Non-Fiction. Harper Perennial; 2016. 336.

16. Vellurattil RP. Pharmacy Research: A How-To Guide for Students, Residents, and New Practitioners, 1^st ed. American Pharmacists Association; 2015. 100.

17. Gray T. Publish and Flourish: Become a Prolific Scholar, 3^rd ed. Teaching Academy, NMSU; 2005. 132.

18. Sword H. Stylish Academic Writing, 1^st ed. Harvard University Press; 2012. 240.

19. Schimel J. Writing Science: How to Write Papers That Get Cited and Proposals That Get Funded, 1^st ed. Oxford University Press; 2011. 221.