Development and implementation of pharmacy department and pharmacy resident well-being programs

Purpose Burnout in healthcare can have serious consequences, as it decreases patient care quality. Recent studies have found pharmacy employees have high rates of burnout, but formalized pharmacy well-being programs are not reported in the literature. Methods We developed a departmental pharmacy well-being program and focused residency well-being program in October and July 2020, respectively. The program committees sent anonymous surveys to all pharmacy employees to identify opportunities to improve well-being. The feasibility and impact of ideas were assessed by committee members and presented to pharmacy leadership who endorsed and supported all proposed initiatives prior to implementation. Pharmacist distress scores were measured using the Well-Being Index (WBI). Results The WBI was completed by 49% of invited pharmacists (137 of 278) in November 2020 and 41% (116 of 283) in June 2021. There was a numerical improvement in mean (SD) WBI scores from 2.06 (2.47) in November 2020 to 1.52 (2.49) in June 2021 (P = 0.09). Pharmacy residents had significantly higher distress scores than nonresident pharmacists (P = 0.01). However, pharmacy resident scores improved by almost 50% between the 2 time points, from 4.43 (2.13) to 2.40 (2.42); P = 0.03. Conclusion The development of a system-wide pharmacy well-being program creates a structure to collect ideas from employees, implement well-being initiatives, measure burnout using a validated tool such as the WBI, and continue to build, evaluate, and adapt new interventions. Importantly, the program went beyond addressing individual needs and addressed institutional opportunities that impact well-being. This can serve as a model for other pharmacy departments looking to implement similar programs.

Automated summary

Burnout among pharmacy employees can negatively affect patient care quality. This study developed a pharmacy well-being program to address this issue. The program collected ideas from employees through anonymous surveys, and implemented initiatives endorsed by pharmacy leadership. Using the Well-Being Index (WBI), the study measured pharmacist distress scores and found that the well-being program had a positive impact on reducing distress, especially among pharmacy residents.