4 Staffing Issue Factors Facing Hospital Pharmacies In 2023
Staffing issues have been on the top of every hospital and healthcare system's "pharmacy priority list" for over three straight years now. So it comes as no surprise to many as 2023 starts off with the issues of attracting and retaining top pharmacy talent remaining the dominating challenge that pharmacy managers and HR departments face again this year. As we've discussed before, in order to provide both quality service and ensure medication safety for their patients, healthcare systems and organizations must still focus on both the recruitment of new talent, plus the retention of their current personnel that they have staffing their pharmacy operations.
In order to be an efficient business, a pharmacy operation needs to have the right skill mixes plus the correct number of personnel available to deliver quality healthcare services. A focus on both recruitment and retention of pharmacy staff for 2023 is a solid strategy. Yet the current market conditions are making it increasingly difficult these past few years for both attracting and retaining top talent. With escalating pressure to reduce costs, improve patient access, improve clinical outcomes, improve patient safety, and meet the ever-expanding regulatory compliance requirements that the pharmacy profession requires, pharmacy poses some rather unique challenges when it comes to both staffing and workforce management. For 2023 pharmacy staffing experts agree that staffing issues will be a major challenge, driven largely by four key factors: Burnout, increased demand, a candidate-driven job market, and worker mobility.
1.) Burnout -
Work-related stress and burnout are always a concern for all workers in every profession, but healthcare workers have been facing vastly elevated challenges in this area over the past three years. The pandemic, added on top of the "normal" work-related challenges, has significantly increased work-related stress and the accelerated burnout rates for healthcare workers, and pharmacists are obviously no exception to these issues. Mounting evidence supports the realization that pharmacists across the USA are experiencing substantial work-related burnout and stress. Recent survey results demonstrate that 61.2% of pharmacists report experiencing a high level of burnout in practice, and this is one of the highest rates among all healthcare professionals, including surgeons, oncologists, and emergency room practitioners.
But the reality is that burnout doesn’t only affect the pharmacists. It also affects technicians and eventually leads to increases in staff turnover rates, which then results in hurting the business operation's overall patient care. Recent studies have shown that the average turnover rate in hospitals across the country was over 18 percent (18.2%) for pharmacists and in the 20-30 percent range for pharmacy technicians.
2.) Increased demand -
The pandemic has fueled increased demand for pharmacists and has contributed to numerous regional staffing shortage situations. With the publicly accepted recognition that the pharmacy profession has been receiving nationally as “frontline essential workers” throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, plus the rapid expansion of a pharmacist’s responsibilities and job duties, the current demand for pharmacists is quite significant. Then factoring in an aging population in the US requiring more prescriptions, plus the new telehealth roles for pharmacists, and the need for pharmacists in many areas of the country becomes critical in 2023. Additionally, this demand obviously also extends to pharmacy technicians and in many areas of the country you'll find the current demand for skilled pharmacy techs is even greater than the need for pharmacists is.
3.) Candidate-driven job market -
In many areas of the country the pharmacy job market has transitioned into a candidate-driven market. The end result is that there is now a much higher level of competition in identifying, attracting, and onboarding top talent for 2023. For many pharmacy job types and specialties, there's no longer a talent pool that's "waiting out there to select from" when trying to fill certain positions. The pool of talent available in certain geographical areas has, for certain pharmacy positions, shrunk down to a "talent puddle". Healthcare organizations would be well advised to increase retention efforts for staffing their pharmacy operation in 2023 and to work on creating a solid reputation as a strong employer to enhance their ability to attract and retain the high-quality, skilled pharmacy staff needed now and in the immediate future.
4.) Workforce mobility -
In years past, it was not uncommon for pharmacists to remain with the same employer for an extended period, maybe even for one's entire professional career. But you will find that this is no longer the norm, especially when comparing certain age groups against each other, like "Baby Boomers' vs. "Millennials". A recent study revealed that "Baby Boomers" on average had 1.4 jobs during their first ten years of work after graduating college versus the 4.2 jobs on average that "Millennials" had in their first 10 years after graduation. That's quite a difference!
Workers today are much more open to changing jobs than in the past if a better opportunity becomes available. Staff members are looking for ways to build or enhance their skills and move up the "career ladder", and they’re much more willing to switch employers today if necessary than ever before. Employees are also looking for a better work-life balance opportunity these days and the pandemic has created numerous new opportunities for “work at home” or remote job options and opportunities. As hospitals work to attract and retain talent, employee mobility and flexibility must also be taken into consideration these days.
Getting You the Right Talent For Your Pharmacy Operation
In business since 1989, HCC Pharmacy Staffing can find you the best qualified pharmacists and technicians available to meet your needs in almost every situation. With over three decades of experience in pharmacy staffing, HCC is known nationally for being able to match the right candidate to the right job in all fifty states.
The best solution available to owners and managers of pharmacies nationally when it comes to attracting the right talent to meet their current staffing needs is to ally with an experienced pharmacy staffing agency such as HCC Pharmacy Staffing. For well over three decades now, HCC has been providing temporary staffing for pharmacies in all 50 states, as well as providing relief pharmacy staffing during emergency situations. We work with owners, HR departments, and pharmacy managers of every type and size of pharmacy business and operation, from the small independent retail community pharmacies to the large national pharmacy groups. We are therefore able to meet almost every individual pharmacy's specific needs when it comes to finding the right staffing talent, including specialty pharmacies.
If you're interested in finding out how HCC can help your pharmacy business meet your specific staffing needs, then call us today at (800) 642-1652, or simply fill out our easy-to-use online form now, and an experienced, in-house HCC staffing expert will get back to you as soon as possible.
