Evaluation of burnout among emergency medicine pharmacists

Abstract

IntroductionBurnout syndrome is a prolonged response to chronic emotional and interpersonal stressors and is becoming an increasing concern in the medical community. Burnout in emergency medicine (EM) pharmacists has not been previously assessed.ObjectivesTo identify the prevalence of burnout among EM pharmacists, in addition to demographic, professional, seasonal, and job‐related associations.MethodsPharmacists practicing greater than 50% of their time in the emergency department (ED) setting were invited through the American College of Clinical Pharmacy Emergency Medicine Practice and Research Network listserv to complete a survey at three separate, 4‐week, time periods (July 2018, October 2018, and April 2019). The survey contained the Maslach Burnout Inventory for Medical Personnel to detect burnout. Questions regarding personal and job‐specific demographics were asked. Descriptive statistics were used to report demographics and burnout dimensions in each period. Spearman's rank correlation and univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to identify predictors of burnout and potential associations.ResultsA total of 485 surveys were completed across all periods (116 [July], 207 [October], 162 [April]) and response rates were 18.4%, 31.6%, and 22.7%, respectively. Burnout was identified in 69.8%, 67.1%, and 68.5% of respondents with no difference between periods. A majority of participants had high depersonalization scores (50.6‐76.3%) during the three survey periods.Younger age, more ED visits per year, level I trauma center designation, and lower percentage of direct patient care time were associated with increased odds of burnout in the July 2018 period. Intent to leave one's current position or the specialty of EM and consideration of a job with different hours had positive correlations with burnout.ConclusionsBurnout is prevalent in a majority of EM pharmacists throughout the year. It is difficult to identify exact predictors of burnout; however, potential contributors include age, trauma center designation, patient volumes, and direct patient care time.

A systematic review and pooled prevalence of burnout in pharmacists

“…All of the studies were cross-sectional, carried out across eight different countries, the majority from the USA ( n = 11/19), published from 1990 up to 2022, with a total of 11,306 pharmacist participants in patient-facing work environments. Nine studies [ 17 – 20 , 23 , 24 , 27 , 28 , 34 ] investigated pharmacists across multiple professional settings, six studies [ 21 , 26 , 28 , 31 – 33 ] measured burnout in hospital pharmacists and four studies [ 16 , 22 , 25 , 29 ] investigated community pharmacists. The number of participants in each study ranged from 116–2231.…”

“…Fourteen of the studies [ 17 , 18 , 20 , 21 , 23 , 24 , 26 – 31 , 33 , 34 ] (73.7%) measured burnout using a version of the MBI. Two studies [ 16 , 22 ] used the CBI and one study [ 29 ] used the Shirom-Melamed Burnout Measure (SMBM).…”

Assessment of the prevalence of burnout and well‐being in solid organ transplant pharmacists

“…Within the context of emergency medicine, where up to 69.5% of pharmacists demonstrated burnout, the factors associated with burnout include younger age, increased emergency department visits per year, level I trauma center designation, and lower percentage of direct patient care time. 21 Burnout in this evaluation was associated with intent to leave one's current position or the specialty of EM and consideration of a job with different hours. Within EM, depersonalization was a common manifestation as opposed to emotional exhaustion.…”

Premature attrition of clinical pharmacists: Call to attention, action, and potential solutions

“…12 The hematology-oncology pharmacist survey found that those with a high degree of burnout were more likely to report concern they had made a major medication error within the past 3 months and expressed intent to leave their current job within 2 years. 13,14 in one study as the greatest contributors to stress. 15 Among pharmacy residents, that some of the factors that contribute most to burnout include fear of error, publication pressure, and the variability of expectations throughout the year (Table 1).…”

“…The EM pharmacist survey found high rates of burnout (67.1%‐69.8%) that was associated with younger age, more trauma center designation, patient volumes, and direct patient care time 12 . The hematology‐oncology pharmacist survey found that those with a high degree of burnout were more likely to report concern they had made a major medication error within the past 3 months and expressed intent to leave their current job within 2 years 13,14 . Other studies have validated the high rates and predictors of burnout among clinical pharmacists.…”