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The authors have no disclosures to report.

For further information, please contact:

Michael Abrahamson, Alisia Bahadir, or Jarred Kay • abrahamson@pharmacy.arizona.edu • bahadir@pharmacy.arizona.edu • kay@pharmacy.arizona.edu

Quality Improvement Poster

University of Arizona College of Pharmacy

Perceptions of Job and Workplace Satisfaction Among Community Pharmacists in the Tucson Area

Michael Abrahamson¹, Alisia Bahadir¹, Jarred Kay¹ and Sandra Leal² PharmD, MPH, FAPhA, CDE

¹University of Arizona, College of Pharmacy ²SinfoníaRx

Within the past two decades, the role of the pharmacist has expanded into providing additional health services such as administering vaccines, performing health and wellness screenings, and providing medication therapy management.¹

While pharmacy schools, professional organizations, and continuing education programs have accommodated the widened scope of practice, there is concern as to whether the pharmacist’s work environment has also adapted. ^{2, 3}

Surveys completed by pharmacists on workplace conditions in Oregon show half of pharmacists disagreed that they had a “work environment conducive to providing safe and effective patient care.” ⁴

Working environments that have not adjusted workflow to accommodate the expanded role of the pharmacist or have added quotas to the expanded services may create high levels of stress and jeopardize the pharmacist’s ability to provide safe and effective care.³

Identify differences and/or similarities of potential workflow problems between Tucson pharmacists and results of a similar survey conducted by the Oregon State Board of Pharmacy

To determine if a pharmacist’s satisfaction/burnout rate is related to the amount of hours worked per week, number prescriptions verified per week, number of years as a licensed pharmacist, and number of vaccines administered at their worksite per week.

REFERENCES

Peterson, G. M., M. S. H. Wu, and J. K. Bergin. "Pharmacists’ attitudes towards dispensing errors: their causes and prevention." Journal of clinical pharmacy and therapeutics24.1 (1999): 57-71.
Mossialos, Elias, et al. "From “retailers” to health care providers: transforming the role of community pharmacists in chronic disease management." Health Policy 119.5 (2015): 628-639.
Tsao, Nicole W., et al. "Factors associated with pharmacists’ perceptions of their working conditions and safety and effectiveness of patient care." Canadian Pharmacists Journal/Revue des Pharmaciens du Canada 149.1 (2016): 18-27.
Oregon Board of Pharmacy. Assessment of Pharmacist Comments from the Oregon Board of Pharmacy 2011 “Working Conditions Survey” By David Dowley. 2013. Multnomah County Health Department, Oregon Health Authority
Graphpad Scientific Software. (n.d.). Retrieved April 19, 2018, from https://www.graphpad.com/quickcalcs/ttest1/

RESULTS (continued)

RESULTS

BACKGROUND

OBJECTIVES

METHODS

DISCUSSION

2. Hours Worked per Week: Tucson vs. Oregon

3. Number of Years as Licensed Pharmacist: Tucson vs. Oregon

4. Number of Prescriptions Verified per Week** (Tucson) vs. Number Verified per Day** (Oregon)

5. Number of Vaccines Administered Per Week Tucson

1. Responses to Potential Workflow Problems: Tucson vs. Oregon

This study used convenience sampling to survey community pharmacies in the Tucson area. Surveys were given on paper in person and any data that could have identified the pharmacist or stores was excluded.

The survey questions were derived from a similar survey conducted by the Oregon State Board of Pharmacy⁴ and included questions about workload, workplace environment, and satisfaction/burnout rates.

Survey results from Tucson pharmacists were compared to those of Oregon pharmacists⁴ to test for statistical differences or similarities.

For the yes/no questions in the survey, Chi-Squared tests were performed to determine statistical significance (alpha=0.05).

Two-tailed t-tests of unequal variance (alpha=0.05) were used to test for significant differences between those who reported burn out and those who did not.

A Cohen’s D test was performed to calculate the sample size required to demonstrate significance in means between the groups.

Tucson and Oregon pharmacists sampled showed a statistically significant difference in opinions for both Question #1 (p=0.000021), and for Question #5 (p=.00019).
Question #2 and Question #4 showed results that were not statistically significant (p=0.63 and p=0.61, respectively).
The following variables were tested between pharmacists who reported feeling burnt out and those who did not:

Analyze how other facets of pharmacists’ expanded roles in the workplace influence workflow.
A state-wide survey given by the Arizona Board of Pharmacy with at least n=1720

FUTURE QUALITY IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS

The two highest rated potential problem areas in workflow for our sample of Tucson pharmacists were inadequate time for breaks and lunch and inadequate staffing.
The highest rated potential workflow problem for Oregon pharmacists was related to feeling as if they did not have enough time during their day to do their job.⁴
The problem areas that were significantly different between Tucson and Oregon pharmacists were inadequate time for breaks and inadequate staffing.
The results failed to find to find any significant differences between pharmacists who reported burn-out and those who did not in terms of variables tested.

LIMITATIONS:

Surveys between Tucson and Oregon pharmacists did not match entirely.
The small sample size in Tucson may not accurately reflect pharmacists’ true feelings.
This study was done at multiple pharmacy chains, without collecting which pharmacies gave which data.
Surveys were collected on different days of the week during different times.

IMPLICATIONS:

There was no correlation between vaccine rates and burnout rates in Tucson pharmacist, which could imply that pharmacists can manage additional health services and responsibilities.