Assessment of burnout and pandemic fatigue among pharmacy leadership in the Veterans Health Administration healthcare system.

PURPOSE: Factors associated with burnout in Veterans Health Administration (VHA) pharmacy leadership positions were examined during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. METHODS: A questionnaire was distributed to all pharmacy executives of the VHA healthcare system. It collected demographic and employment characteristics, career satisfaction and work-related variables, indicators of burnout using validated single-item measures adapted from the Maslach Burnout Inventory, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on psychosocial and work-related variables. A χ2 test with Bonferroni correction was used to evaluate the data. Burnout was defined as a score of 4 or greater on either of the 2 single-item validated statements adapted from the Maslach Burnout Inventory to assess emotional exhaustion and depersonalization. RESULTS: In total, 407 (of 1,027; 39.6%) VHA pharmacy leaders representing Veterans Integrated Service Network pharmacy executives, chiefs of pharmacy, associate chiefs of pharmacy, and inpatient and outpatient supervisors completed the survey. The overall prevalence of burnout was 68.6% using the aggregate measure of emotional exhaustion or depersonalization. Pharmacy leaders who worked more than 60 hours a week reported significantly greater rates of burnout than those who worked 40 to 60 hours a week (86.7% vs 66.9%, χ2 = 7.34, degrees of freedom = 1, P < 0.05). Those experiencing increased workload related to COVID-19 also reported high burnout rates (72.1%, χ2 = 16.40, degrees of freedom = 1, P < 0.001). Burnout scores were similar across groups when respondents were stratified by leadership position, gender, age, or years in position. CONCLUSION: As of March 2021, two-thirds of pharmacy leaders were experiencing burnout. It is important for healthcare system leadership to identify patterns of burnout among their pharmacy leaders to ensure a productive and sustainable workforce.

Assessment of pharmacist gender bias: Egalitarianism of the Department of Veterans Affairs.

For the past 2 decades, the earnings gap between genders has narrowed for pharmacists, making it 1 of the smallest for a high-wage profession. Gender bias is reflected in 2 main areas, pay and opportunity. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is the largest integrated health care system in the country, and the authors performed an analysis to see if there was any evidence of gender bias within its pharmacist workforce. The distribution of pharmacists by gender, age, and years of service was examined and whether part-time employment had any impact was also studied. Overall, there is a high degree of gender egalitarianism in terms of pay and opportunity for pharmacists at the VA. The level of step achievement, and thus, pay for men and women, was not associated with gender but rather years of service.