Association between burnout and workplace climate in transplant clinical pharmacists

An assessment of workplace culture is needed to further elucidate the factors that contribute to solid organ transplant (SOT) pharmacist burnout and attrition. Therefore, the primary objective of this study was to describe the association between workplace climate and burnout of SOT pharmacists within the United States.

A 79-question survey was distributed to transplant pharmacy organization listservers from May 30 through July 25, 2023. Burnout was assessed with the Maslach Burnout Inventory Human Services Survey for Medical Personnel (MBI-HSS-MP) in 3 subscales: depersonalization, emotional exhaustion, and personal accomplishment. Scores on the Organizational Constraints Scale (OCS), Quantitative Workload Inventory Scale (QWIS), Interpersonal Conflict at Work Scale (ICAWS; repeated 3 times-once each for interactions with clinical pharmacists, pharmacy management/administration, and nonpharmacist members of the transplant team), and Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES-9) were compared between those with and without burnout to assess the impact of workplace climate. The likelihood of respondents' leaving their current job was also measured. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression modeling was conducted to identify risk factors for burnout.

A total of 135 responses were received from 664 survey recipients (response rate, 20.3%). The mean age of survey participants was 36.2 years (SD, 7.2 years), and participants were predominantly Caucasian (86.7%), female (84.4%), and/or married/partnered (68.9%), with a median (IQR) of 7 (3-12) years posttraining practice experience. A total of 65.9% of responders met MBI-HSS-MP criteria for burnout. In univariate analysis, burnout was strongly associated with the intent to leave their current position (odds ratio [OR], 8.05, P = 0.001). The univariate analysis revealed that higher ICAWS scores were associated with higher risk of burnout in all 3 domain categories: pharmacy team (OR, 1.39; P = 0.001), pharmacy management (OR, 1.45; P = 0.002), and nonpharmacy SOT team members (OR, 1.24; P = 0.017). In multivariate analysis, higher OCS scores (OR, 1.21; P < 0.001) and higher QWIS scores (OR, 1.22; P = 0.003) were associated with a higher incidence of burnout, whereas higher UWES-9 scores (OR, 0.85; P < 0.001) were associated with a lower likelihood of burnout.

Burnout was observed in a majority of survey respondents, with different workplace climate factors serving as significant risk factors for its development. Burnout mitigation and prevention strategies within the workplace should be researched, trialed, and implemented to reduce the impact on individuals, to improve quality of life, and to prevent attrition of the SOT pharmacist workforce.