Evidence of burnout in critical care pharmacists

Purpose: Studies of critical care physicians and nursing personnel indicate a potentially high rate of burnout. To date there is a paucity of data in critical care pharmacists assessing burnout in this group. The purpose of this study was to assess the incidence of risk of burnout in critical care pharmacists.

Methods: Critical care pharmacists were solicited via email to complete an anonymous, electronic questionnaire regarding burnout. Subject demographic and employment characteristics were collected along with the validated, 22-item Maslach Burnout Inventory Health Services Survey in the study cohort. Burnout was assessed from 3 aspects, emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and lack of personal accomplishment. High degree of burnout was defined as a score >27 in emotional exhaustion, or score >10 in depersonalization, or score <33 in personal achievement. Risk factors of burnout were evaluated using descriptive statistics and logistic regression.

Results: Out of 3,140 critical care pharmacists, 193 (6.1%) completed surveys. The mean scores were 25.3, 7.5, and 36.7 for emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced personal achievement, respectively. Overall, 123 pharmacists (64%) reported at least one syndrome of burnout, and 28 pharmacists (14.5%) reported burnout in all 3 scales. No single risk factor was identified to be associated with the risk of burnout.

Conclusion: Risk of burnout is high in critical care pharmacists, at 64%, and is comparable to the risk in other critical care practitioner groups. This emphasizes the importance of continuing to evaluate risk factors for burnout and providing resources for burnout prevention to high-risk practitioners.