Topic of Choice - Addressing Burnout Within the Community Pharmacy Profession

-Updated with more thoughts- 

With the increasing responsibilities of the community pharmacist, in combination with shrinking district management support, it's not surprising that burnout is distinctly prevalent in community pharmacists. A study conducted by Patel et al. (2020) reveals that "308 (74.9%) of responding community pharmacists experienced burnout in at least 1 of the 3 subscales of the [scoring system]. Most of the pharmacists experienced burnout owing to emotional exhaustion (68.9%), followed by depersonalization (50.4%) and reduced personal accomplishment (30.7%)." My personal experiences in community pharmacy recall a poorly supported staff (which is often understaffed to begin with), overworking, and a general disdain for community pharmacists by the public and other HCPs. 

However, perhaps this behavior is not surprising, given the approach to a community pharmacy career within pharmacy schools. There is a heavy push toward residency and obtaining provider status, while often forgetting that the cornerstone of pharmacy is the community pharmacist. However, I do think that change in the community work environment should begin. It feels bizarre to be treated like a factory machine merely filling prescriptions and not having enough time to discuss important DDIs with patients due to understaffing issues. There must be more support for our community pharmacists, to address the burnout that they experience as a result of the understaffing and poor treatment by others. However, I recognize that oftentimes, a large company such as CVS or Walgreens may be more interested in making more money than increasing support for its emotionally burnt-out pharmacists.

Personally, I love the community pharmacy setting in theory, but I often find myself struggling to enjoy it in real life. I've been with CVS for about 4 years now. I've resorted to keeping myself sane through external hobbies and putting on a brave face when patients and corporate yell at me every day for things completely outside of my control. But, it genuinely does wear down on you, even if you tell yourself to not let it affect you. Metrics seem to always reign supreme above patient safety and pharmacist mental health, and that is the scariest part.

I recall one day on my Walgreens IPPE rotation, finding out our pharmacy manager quit without warning due to this exact reason - she felt so burntout, and felt that her license was at risk because she could no longer uphold patient safety to the highest regard. And you hear stories of patients getting the wrong medication because of a tired pharmacist, or a pharmacist committing suicide because they were so exhausted. It makes me question why corporate cares so little about us, and why so little has been done to change the status quo. But most importantly, it makes me question the future state of community pharmacy, and question where my place is within the field. 

Resource: Patel SK, Kelm MJ, Bush PW, Lee HJ, Ball AM. Prevalence and risk factors of burnout in community pharmacists. J Am Pharm Assoc (2003). 2021 Mar-Apr;61(2):145-150. doi: 10.1016/j.japh.2020.09.022. Epub 2020 Oct 15. PMID: 33069594.