A nontraditional faculty development initiative using a social media platform.

Objective: To assess the outcomes from an 11-year nontraditional professional development activity implemented by female faculty members at several colleges and schools of pharmacy.

Design: Within the context of an online fantasy football league, faculty members practiced community-based faculty development strategies, including peer mentoring, skills development, constructive feedback and other supportive behaviors.

Assessment: Data were extracted from curriculum vitae to characterize the academic progress of participants and to quantify scholarly work collaborations among league members. Analyses were limited to members who had participated in the league for 10 or more consecutive years. Seventy-one collaborative scholarly works occurred among team managers, including presentation of 20 posters and 2 oral presentations at national or international meetings, publication of 29 peer-reviewed articles and 15 book chapters, and funding of 5 research projects.

Conclusion: Social media platforms can foster nontraditional faculty development and mentoring by enhancing connectivity between pharmacy educators who share similar interests.