Local Pharmacists Feeling Burnt Out Amid COVID-19 Pandemic

Some healthcare workers across the country and in Oklahoma are feeling overwhelmed and burnt out due to the stress of the pandemic.

Friday, April 9th 2021, 5:36 am



Some healthcare workers across the country are feeling overwhelmed and burnt out due to the stress of the COVID-19 pandemic.

News 9 spoke with one local pharmacist about what she is experiencing and what she wants the community to know.

Though she wanted to remain anonymous she says this year has been especially hard on her and her staff.

“We work 12 hours without going to the bathroom, without sitting down, without drinking,” she said.

She said pharmacists stay busy filling prescriptions, checking insurance, going through, and verifying the prescription is correct, that the patient won’t have a reaction, taking phone calls, running the cash register, and now add in COVID-19 tests and vaccines.

“Sometimes when you are not really careful you are supposed to be focusing on patient safety but refilling your script, but that distraction of going back and forth or answering the phone that can create mistakes," she said.

Marty Hendrick The Executive Director of the Oklahoma State Board of Pharmacy said the board recognizes the increase in demand on pharmacists.

“Right now you are seeing a much larger influx of patients, the citizens of Oklahoma coming into the Pharmacy. And while that is a great thing because they are all getting Vaccinated, it also puts stress on that pharmacy because they can only work to a certain capacity,” Hendrick said.

He emphasizes the board is doing what it can to make sure the public is safe, and pharmacists have the resources they need.

“When the pandemic started, we created a waiver system to waive rules to help pharmacy's function better throughout the pandemic. So, we so to speak, fluctuated our rules and even allowed extra things that we wouldn’t do before in the pharmacy so we could help relieve the stress in the pharmacy we have worked with corporations some of your big-name pharmacies some of your chains that are out there to get more vaccines to more people," Hendrick said.

He is talking about are changes from 'The Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act' or PREP Act.

Meanwhile, the pharmacist News 9 spoke with believes that though the thought of offering more services to clients is great, quality may suffer.

She wants to speak up but says that as a pharmacist it is not always easy.

“The Board of Pharmacy is supposed to be in charge of taking care of the patient when there are issues. The patient can actually go to the board of pharmacy and make complaints. We cannot because there are people on the board of pharmacy who are part of the large corporations. So when you go to the board to complain, you see your boss out there," she says.

This pharmacist hopes the community will notice and say something.

“They can advocate for us, they can push laws, they can talk to the board of pharmacy because ultimately our goal, if we are well physically and emotionally, they will be well,” she said.

She also asks that customers show kindness and respect to those behind the counter.

“You will go to the doctor's office, you will sit for an hour and you will not complain even though your appointment was at 3 o’clock and they won’t see you until 4 o’clock. You will never speak to their face, you will never throw paper at their face, you will never insult them. But in the pharmacy, we don’t get that because we are not seen as health care, we are health care,” she said.

Hendrick said that pharmacists can reach out to the board anonymously if needed and they are always willing to listen to concerns and consider changes.

“I know that is hard for some pharmacists out there you know there is always the worry of what is going to happen but we are always listening and sometimes people send in complaints as just an anonymous complaint or anonymous concern and we always look at those concerns because its our duty as the board of pharmacy, the compliance officers, myself it is our duty to protect the citizens of Oklahoma and do what is best for the state,” He said.

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