Presidential Initiative
Promoting Well-Being and Mental Health for Pharmacy Staff
Lenora S. Newsome, PD, NABP President
The recent uptick in resignations among pharmacy staff at all levels and a drop in the enrollment at pharmacy programs and colleges is the beginning of an alarming trend of a shortage of qualified pharmacy personnel at pharmacies that promises to continue. Coupled with a growing list of responsibilities and increased demand and it is no wonder that pharmacists and pharmacy technicians are burning out. These conditions can lead to mistakes that can have potentially life-altering consequences.
To promote a healthier pharmacy environment and combat unsafe working conditions, NABP President Lenora S. Newsome is focusing her initiative on providing resources to support the mental health and well-being for pharmacists and pharmacy staff. As part of her initiative, an NABP task force will be convened comprising those directly impacted and from a wide array of pharmacy backgrounds to gather information on their needs.
There are 2 main objectives for this initiative:
- Including mental health and well-being considerations in NABP accreditation programs and
- Adding a new resource page on our website to access a variety of tools and information to help manage these issues.
Learn More
- Read our blog post about national and state efforts to address pharmacist burnout.
- Review the report from the 2022 Task Force on Workplace Safety, Well-Being, and Working Conditions for recommendations addressing challenges related to unsafe working conditions.
- Explore the National Library of Medicine’s review of burnout in pharmacists.
- Read CDC’s health care worker report and the impact on worker well-being.
- Discover how the National Academy of Medicine’s National Plan for Health Workforce Well-Being could be adapted to reshape the well-being of veterinary health care teams.
- Learn about the campaign to eliminate intrusive mental health questions from nurse licensing applications, advocating for nurse well-being.
News
- Officials from APhA, ASHP, and NABP held a Solutions Summit to to discuss pharmacy workplace conditions with members of the pharmacy workforce and identified actionable next steps.
- Following the Solutions Summit, APhA, ASHP, and NABP identified changes to improve pharmacy workplace conditions and released a report that outlines 5 themes to enhance the well-being of the pharmacy workforce.
Explore our Mental Health and Well-Being Resource page, designed for pharmacists and pharmacy technicians to assess, support, and enhance mental health.