The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted major flaws in global healthcare, leading to high burnout rates and severe worker shortages, especially among pharmacists. Their extreme physical and mental exhaustion contributed to a critical shortage in the pharmacy workforce with lasting impacts. Before the pandemic, pharmacist burnout rates were 40% to 50%. Post-pandemic, nearly 90% faced high burnout, with 75% linking it to COVID-19. Staffing and scheduling issues, likely due to worker shortages, contributed significantly. A 2022 National Community Pharmacists Association survey found over 75% of community pharmacists struggled to fill positions, a problem also affecting CVS and Walgreens. In 2023, Walgreens’ then-CEO Rosalind Brewer cited a job candidate shortage, leading to reduced hours at many locations.
Employee shortages at large retail chains have led to long hours, poor working conditions, and increased burnout, prompting protests nationwide. In Kansas City, pharmacists at 22 CVS locations staged walkouts for several days in response to corporate decisions that reduced pharmacy technician and store hours, jeopardizing patient and staff safety. The walkout followed the firing of a manager who refused to enforce the new policies.
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics projects about 13,400 annual job openings for pharmacists over the next decade. Despite this, the Health Resources and Services Administration predicts a shortage of nearly 5,000 pharmacists in the next 15 years, largely due to retirements and departures of baby boomers and older Gen Xers driven by burnout and low pay. The National Pharmacist Workforce Studies by the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy found that 78.5% of pharmacists were working in 2022, down from 79.8% in 2019. Of the 4.9% who were unemployed, 65.7% cited voluntary reasons, up from 38.9% in 2019. Additionally, 36% of respondents were very likely to seek a different job within the year, and 25% were likely to leave their current position.
Pharmacy school applications have declined since peaking at 17,617 in 2013, with a 22% drop for the 2022-2023 school year. In 2022, 136 pharmacy schools graduated 13,323 new pharmacists, down from 14,223 in 2021. Shawn Spencer, PhD, RPh, former dean at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine’s School of Pharmacy, emphasized that the pharmacist shortage highlights the urgent need for accessible healthcare and diverse career options in the field. The crisis underscores the importance of addressing pharmacy deserts and improving healthcare access through creative solutions and increased public awareness.
(Input from various sources)
(Rehash/Sabrin Saba Hussain/MSM)