Assessing Pennsylvania advanced pharmacy practice experience student perceptions of pharmacist burnout in various areas of pharmacy practice

<h2>Abstract</h2><h3>Background</h3> With burnout continuing to impact the pharmacy profession, this research aims to explore how it may influence pharmacy student perceptions of different practice settings. Through final-year rotations, pharmacy student gain exposure to a range of practice settings and working conditions, offering valuable insight into this issue. <h3>Objective</h3> This research aimed to assess Pennsylvania-based advanced pharmacy practice experience (APPE) student perceptions of pharmacist burnout and how that may affect student career trajectory. <h3>Methods</h3> A survey-based design was conducted to assess APPE student perceptions of pharmacist burnout across various areas of pharmacy practice, specifically looking at coping mechanisms, work environment, pharmacist advice to students, and their influence on student career paths. The electronic survey was distributed to 6 pharmacy schools in Pennsylvania, with recruitment occurring in 4 of the 6 colleges of pharmacy. Data collection occurred from March 2024 to May 2024 through Qualtrics and used a variety of question types, including binary, multiple-choice, and Likert-scale questions. The survey results were analyzed using descriptive statistics in Microsoft Excel. <h3>Results</h3> Through this research survey, it was found that students observed signs of burnout among pharmacists to some extent in each area of pharmacy practice, with the numerically highest among community chain (90%), community independent (69%), and hospital and health system (65%). More than 50% of respondents changed their career interests after starting APPE rotations, mainly owing to perceived work-life balance, work environment, and preceptor or pharmacist influence. <h3>Conclusion</h3> Continuous preceptor development and company adaptability are important to retaining and recruiting student pharmacists and minimizing burnout during a time of declining pharmacy enrollment and pharmacist retention.