Feeling the burn? A systematic review of burnout in pharmacists

Abstract

Burnout is high among health care professionals. In physicians, burnout is linked to suboptimal well-being and patient care, but the overall landscape of pharmacist burnout is unknown. Synthesis of available data regarding pharmacist burnout is needed to better understand its effects on well-being and professional practice. This systematic review sought to determine the prevalence and intensity of burnout in pharmacists. The aim of the study was the systematic review of articles on pharmacist burnout. PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and Psy-cINFO were searched for articles through February 13, 2019. Search strategies combined terms for pharmacists and burnout (including job satisfaction, stress, and resilience). The primary outcome was the proportion of pharmacists who met criteria for burnout. Secondary outcomes included the mean scores for Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) subscales, difference between pharmacist practice settings, and factors contributing to burnout. Raw scores and threshold proportions were pooled using a Hartung-Knapp random-effects model. Five articles reported the proportion of high emotional exhaustion (EE) and depersonalization (DP) and low personal accomplishment (PA), and nine articles reported individual MBI subscale scores, which were included for quantitative analysis. The proportion values of pharmacists with MBI subscale scores consistent with burnout were 41% (95% CI 27%-54%), 20% (95% CI 7%-32%), and 32% (95% 14%-50%) for high EE, high DP, and low PA, respectively. Mean MBI subscales scores were 23.53 (95% CI 21.68-25.39), 7.07 (95% CI 6.22-7.92), and 36.51 (95% CI 34.34-38.67) for EE, DP, and PA, respectively.Substantial heterogeneity was observed. The burnout prevalence among pharmacists is lower than previously reported, but notable. The average MBI subscale scores for high EE or DP or low PA in pharmacists did not meet criteria for burnout. K E Y W O R D S burnout, depersonalization, occupational health, pharmacists, pharmacy Burnout is a work-related syndrome defined by high emotional exhaustion and depersonalization, and a low sense of personal accomplishment. 1 In health care professionals, some of the factors contributing to burnout include a rapidly changing industry, declining reimbursement for services, increased clerical and documentation needs, and the emotionally intense role of patient care. 2 These

Addressing Burnout in Pharmacy Residency Programs

“…8,10 The prevalence of burnout in pharmacy residents has not been reported directly, however several studies suggest rates of pharmacist burnout between 46% to 62%. [9][10][11] A J P E A c c e p t e d…”

“…Individual factors associated with increased risk of burnout include: younger age, female gender, having young or no children, being unmarried, perceived stress, hours worked, days on-call, and moral distress. 1,4,7,[9][10][11][12][13] Professional stressors nearly double the risk of burnout and have been reported as inadequate administrative and teaching time, uncertainty of health care reform, difficult colleagues, too many non-clinical duties, and underappreciated contributions. 9 Lack of autonomy and control, heavy workload, no or minimal margin for error, interruption-driven environments, workplace disorganization, and ambiguity in the work itself are all early predictors of burnout related to the practice/learning environment.…”

“…9 Lack of autonomy and control, heavy workload, no or minimal margin for error, interruption-driven environments, workplace disorganization, and ambiguity in the work itself are all early predictors of burnout related to the practice/learning environment. 1,4,7,[9][10][11][12][13] These risk factors provide a glimpse into why many clinicians are predisposed to burnout. However, specific risk factors for pharmacy residents are not defined.…”

“…However, autonomy, flexibility, and a sense of control have been determined to be protective factors against burnout. 11 For pharmacy residents, autonomous decisions may take the form of topic selection for a research project or continuing education lecture, availability and number of elective rotations, and mentor/advisor selection. Potential interventions to broaden flexibility include allowing residents to alter their schedule as their career goals change and developing projects/presentations based upon the resident's areas of interest.…”

Comment on Haase et al. Addressing burnout in clinical pharmacy: What can we learn from other health care disciplines?

“…With a burnout rate of up to 37% reported by McQuade et al, we call for the profession to use the COVID-19 disruption as a unique and necessary opportunity to reevaluate work flexibility in clinical pharmacy practice 4. There is an increasing desire for work flexibility.…”