Background COVID-19 has significantly disrupted pharmacy practice. Little research has been done to assess how COVID-19 has impacted pharmacists’ employment, workload, and feelings of burnout. Objectives The objective of this study was to characterize the impact of COVID-19 on pharmacists’ employment status, workload, feelings of burnout, and emotional health concerns related to COVID-19. Methods Wisconsin pharmacists were surveyed using an online instrument between August 25, 2020 and September 22, 2020. Data analysis was performed in December 2020, which examined employment status, three common burnout risk factors (workload, rewards, and social interactions), and emotional health concerns related to COVID-19. Results 439 of 1,300 pharmacists completed the survey (33.8%). The study analysis included pharmacists in community (N=127) and hospital/health system (N=107) settings. With regard to employment changes and workload, hospital (36%) pharmacists were more likely to have their hours reduced compared to community (13%) pharmacists (p-value <0.01) and conversely community (19%) pharmacists more likely to have their hours increased compared to hospital (8%) pharmacists (p-value=0.01). For the burnout domain of workload, 45% of pharmacists reported increased feelings of physical exhaustion at work and 53% reported increased feelings of emotional exhaustion at work, with no difference between settings. Regarding the burnout domain of rewards, 6% of hospital pharmacists and 1% of community pharmacists experienced a reduction in hourly wages or salaries as a result of COVID-19. For the burnout domain of depersonalization, 25% of pharmacists reported their ability to connect with colleagues and patients decreased during COVID-19. Additional emotional health concerns reported by pharmacists included 40% experiencing more anxiety and 25% experiencing more sadness or depression during the COVID-19 pandemic, with no difference between settings. Conclusions This study found that burnout domains related workload, rewards, and depersonalization were negatively impacted by COVID-19. Pharmacy managers need to proactively combat burnout as well as be reactive when employees show signs of burnout in order to maintain their workforce and meet the COVID-19 associated challenges.

National Pharmacist Workforce Studies (NPWS) have been conducted in the U.S. every five years since 2000. This article describes the online survey methods used for the latest NPWS conducted in 2019 and provides an assessment for nonresponse bias. Three waves of emails containing a link to the online survey were sent to a random sample of about 96,000 pharmacists licensed in the United States. The survey asked about pharmacist employment, work activities, work–life balance, practice characteristics, pharmacist demographics and training. A total of 5467 usable responses were received, for a usable response rate of 5.8%. To assess for nonresponse bias, respondent characteristics were compared to the population of U.S. pharmacists and a benchmark, while a wave analysis compared early and late respondents. The pharmacist sample–population comparison and the benchmark comparison showed that the NPWS respondents had a higher percentage of female pharmacists and a lower proportion of young pharmacists compared to the population of U.S. pharmacists and the benchmark sample. In some contrast, the wave analysis showed that the early respondents had a higher percentage of males and older pharmacists compared to the late respondents. Both the wave analysis and the benchmark comparison showed that the NPWS respondents (and early respondents) had a lower percent of pharmacists with a PharmD degree than did the late respondents and the benchmark group. These differences should be considered when interpreting the findings from the 2019 NPWS.

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Most research on pharmacist professional wellbeing has focused on measuring burnout. However, using valid and reliable instruments to assess professional fulfillment in pharmacists can expand understanding of pharmacists’ professional wellbeing. This study aimed to (1) establish the validity of the Professional Fulfillment Index (PFI) for a sample of pharmacists licensed in the United States (US) using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and (2) compare the professional wellbeing of pharmacists across demographics and work settings. Data for this study were obtained from the 2019 National Pharmacy Workforce Survey (NPWS). The survey assessed pharmacist professional wellbeing using the PFI. The model fit of the PFI was assessed using CFA. Multiple linear regression was used to compare pharmacist wellbeing across demographics and work settings. The CFA affirmed that the PFI possesses a satisfactory model fit for use in pharmacists. Regression analysis showed higher burnout (work exhaustion and interpersonal disengagement) was associated with decreasing age, being female, working more hours, and working in a community pharmacy. Higher professional fulfillment was associated with men, and working in non-community pharmacy work settings. The PFI is a psychometrically reliable and valid instrument for assessing the professional wellbeing of pharmacists.

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