Although the safety issues associated with long and consecutive hours has been documented by other healthcare industries, there seems to be little research related to the pharmacy industry. However, I believe that it is important that we listen to our colleges in WV and NC and evaluate our work conditions…not only for the safety concerns for our patients, but for our own health.
I have been involved in a number of patient safety reviews in my career, and a common response to the cause of the error has been worker fatigue or mental lapse of judgement. It has been shown that jobs that require multitasking and prioritization are more susceptible to fatigue. As a pharmacist; we must manage prescription queue, the telephone, the MD line, the fax, the e-prescriptions, the drop-off window, the drive-up window, the counseling window, the operations or work-arounds of the technology, the technician staff, immunizations, fill 300+ prescriptions a day and get all of this done in 15 minutes or less per prescription. In a hospital setting; we have to manage medication reconciliation issues, complex drug regimens, IV compatibilities, distribution functions, clinical monitoring, drugs that increase fall risks, meds that impact renal function, discharge counseling and issues that impact readmissions, as well as order verification and clarification. The demands are high, as well as the expectation for near perfect processing. Long shifts, various shifts and multiple days on duty impact our ability to perform at a near perfect level.
As the industry has focused on pharmacist’s satisfaction, 12 hour shifts with multiple consecutive days have become the norm. However, these shifts increase the opportunity for fatigue and adverse effects on worker health. Working more than 40 hours per week or more than hours per day has shown to impact:
How many pharmacists do you know that suffer from a chronic disease or physical discomfort that could be related to their work shifts? In addition, it has been proven that the older we get, the more fatigue impacts our performance. As we all get older and are more susceptible to chronic diseases, we must do all we can to protect our own health…for ourselves, our families and our patients.
We owe it to ourselves and our patients to do better…I agree that we must improve pharmacist work conditions. I applaud the Virginia Board of Pharmacy for addressing this concern.