About

Margarita DiVall is a Senior Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs and Belonging and a Clinical Professor in the Pharmacy and Systems Sciences Department at Bouvé College of Health Sciences, Northeastern University. She holds a PharmD and an MEd, and is a Fellow of the National Academy of Practice (FNAP). Her role involves faculty affairs and fostering a sense of belonging within the college. Her professional focus is within the pharmacy and health sciences field, contributing to academic leadership and faculty development.

Research topics

• Medical education
• Medicine
• Political Science
• Computer Science
• Nursing
• Sociology
• Psychology
• Management
• Pedagogy
• Engineering
• Social psychology
• Engineering management
• Economics
• Business
• Economic growth

Selected publications

• Influence of Demographic Characteristics on Perceptions of Pharmacy Faculty Workload Equity: A Post Hoc Analysis

  American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education · 2025-05-26 · 1 citations

  articleOpen access

  OBJECTIVE: To examine how specific demographic factors affect pharmacy faculty perceptions of workload equity. METHODS: A post hoc analysis of previously published survey results was conducted. Faculty were asked about the comparison of actual vs assigned workload, fairness of assigned workload, domains used by primary decision maker(s) when assigning workload, and the importance of factors to improve perceived fairness. Responses were grouped by gender identity (female vs nonfemale), race and ethnicity (White vs non-White), and clinical practice status (clinical vs nonclinical). RESULTS: A total of 662 complete responses were received (15.9% response rate). The distribution of effort for research/scholarship differed significantly between females and nonfemales (14.8% vs 22.2%, respectively). Female respondents reported significantly lower alignment between actual and assigned workload and indicated performing more actual service than assigned, compared to nonfemale respondents. This misalignment was also observed among non-White faculty. White faculty were more likely to believe that those assigning workload considered individual context and contributions. Differences were also found in workload allocation across gender identity, race and ethnicity, and clinical practice status, with the most substantial variations in time dedicated to research/scholarship vs clinical practice. CONCLUSION: Faculty self-reported workload allocation/assignment and perceptions of actual vs assigned workload varied based on gender identity, race and ethnicity, and clinical practice status. These findings highlight the importance of clear, transparent workload policies and equitable assignment of responsibilities. Considering individual faculty roles and contributions to the overall program is crucial for improving perceived fairness and job satisfaction.

  PublisherDOI

• A Deeper Reflection on the Integration of the Pharmacists’ Patient Care Process

  American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education · 2024-05-31

  articleOpen accessCorresponding

  OBJECTIVE: Given the importance of developing student understanding and application of the Pharmacists' Patient Care Process (PPCP), programs may be able to use successful approaches from other institutions to enhance their curricular and experiential learning and assessment of student outcomes. The study objective was to explore successful methods of integrating the PPCP and outline areas of challenge. METHODS: This study used a qualitative study design with semistructured interviews to gain insight from participants' lived experiences. Pharmacy faculty members participating in a national survey or who were authors of articles about PPCP initiatives were recruited to provide greater detail about building successful and innovative curricula. Thematic analysis identified commonalities and differences among the interviewed participants. RESULTS: A total of 10 interviews were conducted. The following 4 overarching themes arose from the data: discussions around intentional integration of the PPCP across multiple core courses may foster innovations in teaching strategies; intentional integration alone does not equate to PPCP integration across the curriculum; intentional integration may enhance program assessment; and PPCP data from experiential coursework may not be widely used in curricular continuous quality improvement. CONCLUSION: Pharmacy programs will ideally involve the entire faculty, including experiential and basic and social/administrative science members, in weaving the PPCP throughout the curriculum. Rigorous assessment can better inform interventions related to student competency in various steps of the PPCP. Pharmacy programs should also clarify how data obtained from preceptors observing student performance in each of the PPCP steps are used to assess student mastery of this critical skill.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Leading Across Health Professions: Reflections on Opportunities and Challenges

  American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education · 2024-10-02 · 1 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  Pharmacy leaders are well equipped to serve as academic leaders overseeing additional health profession programs and/or faculty. Organizing multiple health professions programs under one umbrella offers a number of opportunities, such as efficiencies in financial and human resources, expanded and more diverse leadership talent which offers advantages in succession planning, organizational effectiveness in its operations, expanded opportunities for interprofessional education and collaborations in research and scholarship, greater visibility as a partner for establishing pipeline agreements and clinical partners affiliations, and personal professional development and growth for those in senior leadership positions. However, pharmacy academic leaders with oversight over multiple health professions programs and faculty also face challenges in understanding the professional identities and culture of their faculty, complexities of equity of workload across numerous departments, mistrust from departments other than pharmacy, and their own increased workload and possible burnout. The American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy has recently established a new Multi-Professional Health Care Administrative Leaders Connect Community, which should be further promoted to increase membership. Programming to allow additional networking, sharing of best practices, mentorship and professional development of leaders who oversee, or aspire to oversee, multiple health professions programs can be beneficial. Further research can describe different models of organizing multiple health professions programs and identify best practices for successful organizational and operational structures.

  PublisherDOI

• Letter to the Editor

  American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education · 2024-03-01

  letterOpen access

  To the Editor: Dr. Cox’s commentary, “The Complicated Middle of Academic Deanery” resonated strongly with us as we are in the middle academic deanery and separately, but simultaneously had been thinking, which set of responsibilities match which title?1 We agree completely with the authors that the responsibilities for Assistant & Associate deans (A-deans) have significantly expanded and promotion & tenure guidelines disadvantage middle management who have not yet achieved the academic rank of full professor or have been tenured. However, there are additional aspects to the problem of middle academic deanery that the authors didn’t highlight. 1.Whose role is it anyway? The lack of clarity on who holds primary responsibility for various responsibilities continues to be a challenge. In addition to the A-deans, the department chair and dean often carry some overlapping responsibilities in faculty and curricular oversight. This can vary across institutions because everyone wants a title and so we often create titles for people instead of creating job descriptions and hiring people into them. This title hoarding then creates duplicate efforts and lack of clarity to faculty on who is ultimately responsible. Perhaps title hoarding is how we got here, but now administrative bloat has resulted in no standardization of titles which makes it challenging to tell what people are doing from a title. For example, does “Academic Affairs” cover assessment or are there separate titles for those in charge of assessment? It used to assume accreditation, but many institutions now have a separate individual with “accreditation” in their title. Or possibly the most common example, student progression and dismissals…does that fall under Academic Affairs or Student Affairs? 2 NASPA Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education . Accessed January 23, 2024 . https://www.naspa.org/about/about-student-affairs. Google Scholar This lack of clarity and overlap threatens the administrator’s ability to have adequate mentoring and peer relationships nationally. This in turn creates career advancement challenges and inequality across pharmacy education administrative positions given that the most qualified individual for a CEO dean position should be based on responsibilities and not titles. This issue becomes even more complicated if pharmacy is not the only profession at the college and A-deans oversee multiple responsibilities across programs. The problem with roles and titles is not unique to pharmacy and is prevalent across other health professions, as pointed out by Dr. Cox and colleagues. Examining current job postings for academic dean positions at several job forums reveals a nearly infinite number of titles across nursing, health sciences, medicine, dentistry, public health, and other health professions. 3 Higher Education Jobs . Accessed January 23, 2024 . https://www.higheredjobs.com/executive/search.cfm?JobCat=249. Google Scholar , 4 The Chronicle Of Higher Education . Accessed January 23, 2024 . https://jobs.chronicle.com/jobs/?Keywords=dean+AND+health#browsing. Google Scholar 2.What about gender? Gender inequity exists in middle management’s path to CEO dean leadership positions. Current data from the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) indicate there are 589 assistant and associate deans at colleges/schools of pharmacy, a decrease from 627 reported in December 2022. 5 Nancy Nguyen , Director of Institutional Research at AACP; email communication, January 2024 . Google Scholar Of the deans at colleges/schools of pharmacy, 33.34% of CEO deans are women whereas 54% of Associate and 61% of Assistant deans are women. This indicates a gender leadership gap at the level of CEO dean. While A-deans are potentially poised to lessen the gender gap at the CEO dean level, potential issues remain. As reported by Dr. Cox, et. al., only 44% of A-deans have achieved full professor rank. 1 Cox W.C. Harrell T.K. Brock T.P. Romanelli F. Buring S.M. The Complicated Middle of the Academic Deanery. Am J Pharm Educ. 2023; 87 (Article)100133https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajpe.2023.100133 Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF Scopus (0) Google Scholar This is due to the demands of achieving full professor rank while in an administrative role, and yet CEO dean position requirements often require eligibility for rank of full professor.

  PublisherDOI

• A National Survey of Perceptions Around Conditions Associated With Pharmacy Faculty Workload Equity

  American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education · 2024-02-02 · 9 citations

  articleOpen accessCorresponding

  OBJECTIVE: To assess pharmacy faculty members' perceptions of conditions associated with workload equity and factors that can improve workload equity. METHODS: A 26-item survey instrument was developed and distributed via email to members of the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy Council of Faculties. Questions pertained to the workload distribution, fairness in assignment, and perception of the conditions associated with workload equity (transparency, context, credit, clarity, norms, and accountability) as well as institutional and individual demographics. RESULTS: A total of 662 responses were obtained (response rate 15.9%). Respondents' demographics were comparable to available national data. Approximately 41% of respondents reported their institutions did not have a written faculty workload policy. Most respondents reported their workload assignment was fair (highest with research/scholarship) but reported only moderate alignment between assigned and actual workloads. The rating level for what domains the primary decision maker uses to assign workload was highest for context, followed by credit, clarity, and transparency. Transparency was reported as the most needed condition to improve faculty perception of workload equity. Respondents also rated increasing trust between leadership and faculty and increasing productivity and accountability as the most important reasons to minimize workload inequities. CONCLUSION: This was the first national survey of pharmacy faculty perceptions around the conditions associated with workload equity. Though additional research is needed in this area, programs can work to implement strategies associated with all of the conditions, particularly transparency, to improve faculty perceptions of equity.

  PublisherDOI

• Developing Allies: Preparing Pharmacy Students to Practice With Cultural and Structural Humility

  American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education · 2024-11-17 · 6 citations

  reviewOpen accessSenior author

  OBJECTIVES: The Curricular Outcomes and Entrustable Professional Activities learning outcome of Cultural and Structural Humility was updated, prompting programs to evaluate how this content is included. The authors reviewed relevant literature published within the past 10 years (2014-2024) and provided a summary and relevant recommendations, as well as resources. FINDINGS: Calls to action were made within the Academy for programs to develop a holistic programmatic approach to developing students' cultural and structural humility. Current shortcomings identified were that most programs incorporated related competencies into their curriculum at the introduction level; lacked intentional development of related skills and behaviors, instead focusing on knowledge and attitudes; seldomly used validated, reliable, and standardized assessments; and allowed this work to fall on a few designated experts rather than all faculty and preceptors. SUMMARY: Programs should aim for a holistic approach to prepare graduates to practice with cultural and structural humility, which should begin with creating structures to support it, such as appointment of an administrator or a diversity, equity, and inclusion committee. Integration of Cultural and Structural Humility content should be intentional and spiraled, with competencies mapped across didactic, experiential, and cocurricular activities at all learning levels to ensure development of knowledge, skills, attitudes, and behaviors. Students should have multiple assessment opportunities, including formative and summative, and programs should use standardized, valid, and reliable assessment tools. Intentional development of all faculty, preceptors, and students is critical for success. Institutions are encouraged to share their initiatives with the Academy.

  PublisherDOI

• Design and Evaluation of Imposter Syndrome and Stereotype Threat Interprofessional Workshop

  American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education · 2023-08-01

  articleOpen access
  PublisherDOI

• Perceptions and Practices for Evaluating Faculty Workload by Pharmacy Education Administration/Leadership

  American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education · 2023 · 16 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding
  • Computer Science
  • Political Science
  • Medical education

  OBJECTIVE: To assess how department chairs/administrators define, measure, and evaluate faculty workload to better understand practices within the Academy. METHODS: An 18-item survey was distributed to department chairs/administrators via American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy Connect. Participants identified if they are a primary decision maker for faculty workload, whether their program has a workload policy, how workload is calculated, and how faculty satisfaction with workload equity is measured. RESULTS: Of 71 participants initiating the survey, data from 64 participants from 52 colleges/schools were eligible for analysis. Leaders of practice departments reported that their faculty spend an average of 38% of their time on teaching (compared to 46% for non-practice departments), 13% on research (vs 37%), 12% on service (vs 16%), and 36% on clinical practice (vs 0%). Most survey participants (n = 57, 89%) are at schools/colleges with a tenure system, and about 24 participants reported that faculty workload metrics differ across departments/divisions. Teaching assignments and service are reportedly negotiable between faculty and supervisors, and workload expectations are widely variable. The majority indicated they do not analyze faculty satisfaction with workload fairness (n = 35) and faculty do not provide evaluative feedback on how supervisors assign faculty workload (n = 34). Of 6 priorities considered when determining workload, 'support college/school strategies and priorities' ranked highest (1.92) and 'trust between the chair and faculty' ranked lowest (4.87). CONCLUSION: Overall, only half of the participants reported having a clear, written process of quantifying faculty workload. The use of workload metrics may be needed for evidence-based decision-making for personnel management and resource allocation.

  PublisherDOI

• Current State of and Opportunities for Enhancing Peer Evaluation Practices Across the Pharmacy Academy

  American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education · 2022-01-05 · 4 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  <b>Objective.</b> To examine and summarize policies and procedures for peer evaluation of teaching/instructional coaching (PET/IC) programs within departments, schools, and colleges of pharmacy and to identify opportunities for improving these based on best practices. <b>Methods.</b> A survey was sent to all Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE)-accredited pharmacy programs to collect information regarding procedures to support and evaluate PET/IC programs across institutions. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize the general features of PET/IC programs, and inferential statistics were used to make group comparisons based on institutional control (public, private) and institution age (0-10 years, older than 10 years). <b>Results.</b> Surveys for 91 institutions were completed (response rate=64.5%). Most institutions (78.4%) reported having a PET/IC program. Most institutions with PET/IC programs reported using a combination of formative and summative evaluations (57.4%). The top purposes for PET/IC programs were faculty development (35.8%) and improving teaching (35.8%). Almost half of the PET/IC programs (46.3%) were mandatory for all faculty at the institutions. Most institutions (66.7%) had one standardized instrument used in their PET/IC program. Few institutions (11.9%) reported evaluating or being in the process of evaluating the effectiveness or success of their PET/IC program. Private institutions were more likely to incentivize observers than public institutions (17.1% vs 0). <b>Conclusion.</b> Overall, PET/IC programs are needed to assess and provide feedback to instructors about their teaching practices. While most institutions report having a PET/IC program, wide variability exists in how the programs are implemented. Opportunities exist for institutions to evaluate the effectiveness of their program and identify best practices.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Gaps and Opportunities for Faculty Workload Policies in Pharmacy and Health Professions Education

  American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education · 2022 · 23 citations

  • Political Science
  • Medical education
  • Medicine

  Faculty workload is difficult to delineate and quantify equitably because of the various factors and diverse roles that define faculty positions. This is especially true in health professions education, including pharmacy. Nonetheless, ensuring fair and transparent distribution of faculty workload is necessary for equity and engagement of the faculty workforce. While it is impossible to develop a uniform policy for all faculty, there can be a guide for how workload is developed and measured, especially for promotion or awarding of tenure, focusing on equity and transparency. Developing clear definitions of workload, setting mutually agreed expectations, and sharing transparent workload assignments and distribution within the institution may be needed. It is imperative to discuss an optimal policy for equitable and transparent workload in each institution and in academic pharmacy as a whole; a lack of this effort can create undue hardship for faculty, decrease productivity, potentially worsen faculty morale, and ultimately impair faculty retention.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Michael J. Gonyeau

  21 shared

• Jennifer Trujillo

  University of Montana

  11 shared

• Jennifer L. Kirwin

  Northeastern University

  10 shared

• Lisa Lebovitz

  University of Maryland, Baltimore

  8 shared

• Kelly C. Lee

  University of California, San Diego

  7 shared

• Mark A. Douglass

  Northeastern University

  7 shared

• S. James Matthews

  6 shared

• Lauren S. Schlesselman

  University of Connecticut

  6 shared

Labs

• Department of Pharmacy and Health Systems SciencesPI