Clinician Burnout During COVID-19 Prior To Vaccine Administration

Bakken, Brianne K.; Winn, Aaron N.

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.