WASHINGTON, DC— Today the American Pharmacists Association (APhA) and the National Alliance of State Pharmacy Associations (NASPA) released the tenth installment of the Pharmacy Workplace and Well-being Reporting (PWWR) trends and learnings report series.
Launched in October 2021, PWWR serves as a safe space to submit both positive and negative pharmacy workplace experiences in a confidential and anonymous manner. The goal of PWWR is to tell the stories of those who submit their experiences so that the profession may begin to act on the findings and learnings. This report’s cycle is the second quarter for 2024.
To date, more than 2,200 reports have been submitted to PWWR from pharmacy supervisors to pharmacy support personnel in nearly every state, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. The learnings from all PWWR report analyses provide a roadmap for pharmacy personnel, employers, and the profession at large to address patient/consumer/coworker harassment concerns, out of sync metrics and staffing, and barriers to staff–management communication.
“The findings from this cycle mirror those of the past nine, highlighting a continued trend of a hostile workplace,” said Brigid K. Groves, PharmD, MS, APhA Vice President, Professional Affairs. “Pharmacy personnel should not face safety fears or abuse from patients, supervisors, or coworkers. Organizations must review harassment policies and reporting procedures and adopt a zero-tolerance stance against abuse. In response, APhA has released a zero tolerance flyer for pharmacies to post in public areas of the pharmacy.”
In this reporting cycle (2024 Q2), 108 reports were received. Positive experiences reported ranged from receiving positive feedback from coworkers on actions to help keep patients safe and improve quality medication use to adoption of technology that prevents medication errors from reaching the patient. These positive experiences may seem as if they took minimal effort at first read; however, these actions do take time that is not always available. As in past cycles, those who submitted positive experiences indicated that their experiences would have a beneficial long-term effect on their well-being.
The negative reported experiences in this cycle included many of the same threatening and abusive stories described in detail in the previous analysis. As in previous reports, the reported experiences in the negative reports give highly personal accounts of the difficulties in working in community pharmacy practice. As seen in the Root Causes table, reporters identified multiple reasons for a given negative experience. There were 460 total root causes listed for the 99 negative experiences reported, averaging nearly 4.7 root causes per event. Nearly all the negative experience reports (91%) were described as a “recurring problem.”
As has been the findings since the 2021 launch of PWWR, female reporters were the target of 80% of the discrimination and microaggression incidents; 100% of the sexual harassment incidents; and 78% of the verbal or emotional harassment/bullying incidents reported. A difference was observed with this cycle in that several reports of discrimination, harassment, and aggression resulted in staff taking legal action.
“We must understand the challenges faced by all pharmacists, regardless of their practice setting,” said Krystalyn Weaver, PharmD, JD, NASPA executive vice president and CEO. “The PWWR report provides critical insights into the issues impacting our profession. It is vital that we recognize these experiences to foster a comprehensive understanding and identify needed support for pharmacy personnel.”
PWWR is an ongoing online confidential and anonymous service for pharmacy personnel to report positive and negative experiences across all pharmacy practices. Pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, and student pharmacists are encouraged to submit positive and negative experience reports as often as they would like. In-depth analysis reports with trends and learnings will be periodically issued. A short snapshot of submissions will be issued each month. To submit an experience and read PWWR Reports, visit www.pharmacist.com/pwwr.
The Alliance for Patient Medication Safety, a federally listed patient safety organization, analyzes the reports submitted to PWWR. Reports are protected by the confidentiality and privilege provisions of the Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act of 2005. Actual submitted experience reports to PWWR cannot be disclosed or subpoenaed and are not subject to discovery in a legal proceeding.
PWWR Reports I through IX and monthly snapshot reports can be found at www.pharmacist.com/pwwr.