Article Text
Abstract
Background and importance The pharmacy profession has experienced significant changes in recent years. Initially the main tasks of the pharmacist were medicinal preparation, but more recently it involves logistical, clinical and regulatory tasks. Currently, Israeli pharmacists work under increasing workload pressures due to an increase in the ageing population and an increase in drug consumption and regulations. We used a sample of 242 pharmacists to measure the degree of burnout with respect to their working environments and demographic backgrounds.
Aim and objectives To examine the degree of burnout among pharmacists, an issue that has not been studied with respect to the professional transformation that has occurred in the recent decade.
Material and methods The research questionnaire was published in Google Forms, an online survey administration application, and distributed using the social media network. Overall, 242 pharmacists participated in the survey. The questionnaire was based on the MBI-Maslach Burnout Inventory, which is a burnout index that relates to three aspects: depersonalisation, emotional and personal accomplishment. Data analysis was done using ANOVA in Microsoft Excel. A p value <0.1 was considered a statistically significant difference.
Results Substantial lack of professional satisfaction was indicated by the fact less than 50% of pharmacists expressed satisfaction for any of the questions in the questionnaire and 76.8% of pharmacist would not recommend pursuing this profession to a relative. A high burnout index was found among pharmacists who worked in shifts. The Israeli Arab sector expressed the highest burnout index for every parameter.
Conclusion and relevance This preliminary study, although a small sample size, strongly suggests that pharmacists in Israel have a high burnout index according to the Maslach scale. Future studies are required to better quantify the burnout status and prevalence, in addition to propositions that could potentially confront the modern challenges of pharmacy as a career.
References and/or acknowledgements No conflict of interest.