Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2023 May 9;11(3):84.
doi: 10.3390/pharmacy11030084.

Subjective Perceptions of Occupational Fatigue in Community Pharmacists

Taylor L Watterson  1 , Michelle A Chui  2
Affiliations

Subjective Perceptions of Occupational Fatigue in Community Pharmacists

Taylor L Watterson et al. Pharmacy (Basel). .

Abstract

Introduction: Community retail pharmacists are experiencing unsafe levels of stress and excessive demands within the workplace. One aspect of workload stress that has been overlooked among pharmacists is occupational fatigue. Occupational fatigue is a characteristic of excessive workload including increased work demands and reduced capacity and resources to complete the work. The goal of this study is to describe the subjective perceptions of occupational fatigue in community pharmacists by using (Aim 1) a previously developed Pharmacist Fatigue Instrument and (Aim 2) semi-structured interviews.

Methods: Wisconsin community pharmacists were eligible to participate in the study and recruited via a practice-based research network. Participants were asked to complete a demographic questionnaire, a Pharmacist Fatigue Instrument, and semi-structured interview. Survey data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Interview transcripts were analyzed using qualitative deductive content analysis.

Results: Totally, 39 pharmacists participated in the study. From the Pharmacist Fatigue Instrument, 50% of the participants stated they had times where they were not able to go above and beyond standard patient care on more than half of the days they worked. A total of 30% of the participants reported that they found it necessary to take short-cuts when providing patient care on more than half of the days they worked. Pharmacist interviews were separated into overarching themes including mental fatigue, physical fatigue, active fatigue, and passive fatigue.

Conclusions: The findings highlighted the pharmacists' feelings of despair and mental fatigue, fatigue's connectedness to interpersonal relationships, and the complex nature of pharmacy work systems. Interventions aimed at improving occupational fatigue in community pharmacies should consider key themes of fatigue that pharmacists are experiencing.

Keywords: community pharmacy; fatigue; mental fatigue; pharmacist; workplace.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Pharmacist Fatigue Instrument.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Pharmacist Occupational Fatigue Conceptual Model and Key Interview Themes.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Doucette W.R., Gaither C.A., Mott D.A., Schommer J.C., Kreling D.H., Bakken B.K., Witry M.J., Arya A.V. National Pharmacist Workforce Study 2019 Final Report. Pharmacy Workforce Center; Iowa City, IA, USA: 2020. - PubMed
    1. Mott D.A. Pharmacist Job Turnover, Length of Service, and Reasons for Leaving, 1983–1997. Am. J. Health Syst. Pharm. 2000;57:975–984. doi: 10.1093/ajhp/57.10.975. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Rupp M.T., DeYoung M., Schondelmeyer S.W. Prescribing Problems and Pharmacist Interventions in Community Practice. Med. Care. 1992;30:926–940. doi: 10.1097/00005650-199210000-00005. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Dore D.D. A Day in the Life of a Corporate Retail Pharmacist. Ann. Intern. Med. 2013;159:366. doi: 10.7326/0003-4819-159-5-201309030-00014. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Chui M.A., Look K.A., Mott D.A. The Association of Subjective Workload Dimensions on Quality of Care and Pharmacist Quality of Work Life. Res. Soc. Adm. Pharm. 2014;10:328–340. doi: 10.1016/j.sapharm.2013.05.007. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources