3 Lessons I Learned from Experiencing Burnout as a Pharmacist
Being a pharmacist can be a stressful job. A study published in the American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy in 2018 found that over 45% of hospital pharmacists reported high emotional exhaustion, which is one of the 3 main components of burnout. And while there isn’t much data available on pharmacist burnout since the pandemic hit, given the increased rate of burnout across the healthcare industry it’s likely this number is even higher today. Unfortunately, I’ve experienced burnout in my career as well so I'm going to share with you three important lessons I learned while being burned out as a pharmacist.
Self-care is crucial to preventing burnout.
The first lesson I learned is that self-care is crucial to preventing burnout. While self-care isn’t the only thing that is needed to prevent burnout nor is it going to stop your burnout on its own, it is an important piece of the puzzle. If there is one thing I have learned about pharmacists in my 12 years in the profession, it's that pharmacists are great at prioritizing patient needs over their own health and for a long time, I was no exception. Especially as a resident, I would work long hours, didn’t sleep much, and rarely worked out.
This eventually led to severe burnout, and I realized that I needed to do something different. If I didn’t make a change, I wasn’t going to be able to be a successful resident or provide safe care for my patients. So, I started doing kickboxing workouts in the morning before work, focused on getting more sleep, and made sure I took time off when I could to do things I enjoyed like reading or exploring the new city I was living in. These small changes made a huge difference in my well-being and helped me get out of burnout.
If you aren’t sure what the signs of burnout that may signal to you that you need to improve your self-care regimen, I created a free checklist that covers 10 of the most common signs of burnout that pharmacists experience. Click here to grab it now.
Today, I use self-care care mechanisms to help me prevent burnout. I have a consistent workout routine. I take breaks when I feel stressed and I incorporate small things that just make me feel good into my life-life doing my nails. Something so simple, yet it adds a little spark of joy when I see them.
Remember, self-care doesn’t need to be complicated, it just needs to be effective.
You have to say no.
The second lesson I learned is that you have to say no. People-pleasing is a normal response. We often want people to be happy with us and you are also taught in pharmacy school to “say yes to every opportunity” but the reality is that if you say yes to everything, even the things you aren’t interested in, it quickly becomes unsustainable. When you are in pharmacy school or residency, it may be difficult to say no or maybe you can’t say no to certain things, like a presentation that is part of your graduation requirements. In those cases, try to work with your preceptors to make those deadlines and your workload more manageable.
Burnout is not your fault.
The last lesson I learned was that burnout is not your fault. I have seen many healthcare organizations across the industry speak about improving the resiliency of healthcare workers, but when you see the most recent surveys that estimate over half of that same workforce is experiencing burnout, you can see the larger issue of burnout is based on how the workplace functions.
This has been extensively researched and while there are things that you can do to help prevent burnout, there are more things that are controlled by your workplace environment that contribute to burnout than you can control on your own. If you are experiencing burnout, know it isn’t your fault.
There you have it, three lessons I learned while being burned out as a pharmacist. Prioritizing self-care, saying no, and recognizing that burnout is not your fault are all important lessons to remember while trying to prevent or overcome burnout. Don’t forget to grab you burnout signs checklist below!
