Running a community pharmacy is challenging. As a pharmacist, you put your all into your store by keeping it stocked and running smoothly. You make sure your staff is on top of their duties as you work hard on yours. You fill prescriptions, provide counseling for your patients, perform basic health screenings, and much more. It’s exhausting. Plus, more often than not, you go home feeling depleted and defeated.
Believe it or not, a lot of what you feel is called compassion fatigue. And if it’s not dealt with properly, it can be a serious occupational hazard.
Characteristics of compassion fatigue include physical and emotional exhaustion along with a significant decrease in the ability to empathize. In other words, you feel stressed out because you want to help those in need. This is also known as the cost of caring for others who are in emotional or physical pain.
You may have heard the term compassion fatigue referred to as burnout. However, they’re not the same. Compassion fatigue may be easier to treat than burnout, but it can be less predictable. What’s more, it can come suddenly or without much warning. On the other hand, burnout develops over time.
Don’t let compassion fatigue go untreated. It can wreak havoc on your self care and physical health. What’s worse, it can also have serious legal and ethical overtones when providing therapeutic services to people.
As a healthcare professional, it’s important to protect yourself from this condition. Here are some ways you can prevent compassion fatigue in your pharmacy:
Education
Are you at risk for compassion fatigue? If so, take the time to learn the signs and symptoms. The most common signs and symptoms include:
- Feeling chronic exhaustion (emotional, physical, or both)
- Noticing reduced feelings of sympathy or empathy
- Feeling a dread of working or caring for someone else and feeling guilty because of it
- Suffering feelings of irritability, anger, or anxiety
- Depersonalization
- Headaches
- Restless sleep
- Weight loss
- Hypersensitive or completely insensitive to emotional material
- Impaired decision-making
- Poor work-life balance
- Diminished sense of career fulfillment
Knowing these signs of symptoms and continuing to check in with yourself can help you better prevent and manage compassion fatigue.
Self Care
When you practice self care, you can protect yourself against compassion fatigue. Don’t neglect your needs while taking care of someone else’s. Instead, lessen your stress by practicing good self care. Your self-care routine should include:
- Eating a balanced, nutritious diet
- Getting regular exercise
- Setting a routine schedule of restful sleep
- Setting a healthy balance in your life between work and leisure
- Honoring your emotional needs
Emotional Boundaries
If you begin to feel overwhelmed at work, it can manifest in many ways, such as:
- insomnia
- overeating
- skipping meals
- addictive behavior
- isolating oneself
- depression
- anxiety
- anger
Instead, set firm emotional boundaries to protect yourself. This will help you remain empathetic, compassionate, and supportive of others without taking on their pain or stress. By setting these boundaries, you’ll help maintain a connection while honoring your own energy and needs.
Hobbies
Do you spend all of your time at work or thinking about work? If so, you can easily feel burnt out. Work-life balance is important. Therefore, take time for leisure activities and personal hobbies outside of work to help lower stress levels and improve your overall happiness.
Friendships
No matter how busy you are in your pharmacy, make it mandatory to maintain healthy relationships outside of work. For example, connect with friends who aren’t a part of your pharmacy world. Believe it or not, they can relieve your stress levels by providing emotional and professional relief.
Journaling
Writing in a journal is a brilliant way to process and release your emotions and frustrations from your pharmacy. Connect with your personal thoughts and feelings. Believe it or not, it can help keep you from suppressing your emotions.
Workplace strategies
An important part of compassion fatigue prevention are developing strategies in the workplace. If you don’t currently have any in place, it’s important to implement them. In fact, these strategies are proven to be beneficial:
- Holding open discussions about compassion fatigue in the workplace
- Taking regular breaks
- Holding routine check-ins
- Taking mental health days
- Having onsite counseling
- Offering relaxation rooms, meditation classes, etc.
Personal therapy
Have you been feeling emotionally weak, highly stressed, or overwhelmed? If your answer is yes, consider finding a therapist who can help you process your feelings and implement strategies to help you fight against fatigue and maintain a healthy work-life balance.
There are numerous resources to help you recognize the symptoms and causes of compassion fatigue. Healing begins by paying attention to you. In other words, employ practices such as regular exercise, meditation, healthy eating habits, social activities, journaling, and restful sleep. Remember: You don’t have to make a choice. You can practice healthy, ongoing self care while also successfully caring for others.
A Member-Owned Company Serving Independent Pharmacies
PBA Health is dedicated to helping independent pharmacies reach their full potential on the buy-side of their business. Founded and owned by pharmacists, PBA Health serves independent pharmacies with group purchasing services, wholesaler contract negotiations, proprietary purchasing tools, and more.
An HDA member, PBA Health operates its own NABP-accredited secondary wholesaler with more than 6,000 SKUs, including brands, generics, narcotics CII-CV, cold-storage products, and over-the-counter (OTC) products — offering the lowest prices in the secondary market.
