This paper is forthcoming and will be posted here upon publication (projected in fall 2024).
Background
Burnout is an occupational phenomenon resulting from chronic workplace stress. While burnout rates vary among healthcare professionals, a recent systematic review estimated pharmacist burnout rates as high as 75%. Although there is no established method to determine patient panel sizes and workloads among healthcare professionals, inappropriate panel sizes may lead to pharmacist burnout.
Objectives
Survey psychiatric pharmacists with direct patient care responsibilities to determine the average psychiatric pharmacist workload and level of burnout.
Methods
An online survey using Qualtrics will be administered to members of American Association of Psychiatric Pharmacists (AAPP) between January 8, 2024 and February 29, 2024. The survey will be distributed to Board-Certified Psychiatric Pharmacists (BCPPs) who have been Pharmacist Members of AAPP for 5 consecutive membership years as of September 1, 2023, excluding members of this research group. Participants will be emailed 2 times during this period. Participants who do not submit a response after the second email will be contacted directly by members of the research team by email and/or phone to encourage survey completion. Survey respondents will be entered in a drawing to receive a discount code valued at $100 that can be used toward AAPP products for their participation. The survey contains 14 demographic questions, 22 questions from the Maslach Burnout Inventory Human Services Survey for Medical Personnel (MBI-HSS [MP]), and 11 questions related to practice activities and workload. They will receive 4-10 additional customized workload questions based on their primary practice setting.
Outcomes
The primary outcome is to determine the average workload, including panel size, for psychiatric pharmacists across practice settings. Secondary outcomes include the amount of time spent on non-clinical activities, the level of burnout as defined by the MBI-HSS [MP] domains among psychiatric pharmacists, and the relationship between average workload and levels of burnout across different practice settings.