Pharmacists struggle to keep up with a spike in demand for their services

Judy Woodruff:

Pharmacists and pharmacy workers have gotten far less attention than other health care workers during this pandemic.

But the stress and the pressure they face has been intense. Just weeks ago, as Omicron was surging and many staff were getting sick, major pharmacy chains and independent stores had to reduce their hours, even close down at times. While that immediate situation has improved, staffing shortages and working conditions have been a problem throughout the pandemic.

Moreover, pharmacy technicians earn very little.

Here is some of what we heard from pharmacists themselves.

Bled Tanoe, Oklahoma:

Hello. My name is Dr. Bled Tanoe. I am a pharmacist. I used to work for a major chain and pharmacy here in Oklahoma City. Now I work in patient as a pharmacist.

David Hale, Utah:

My name is David Hale. I'm an overnight pharmacist working for one of the large national retail chains. And I have been a pharmacist for about seven years now.

Lannie Duong, California:

Hello. My name is Dr. Lannie Duong. I'm a clinical pharmacist in California.

Jennifer Morrow, New York:

Hi. I'm Dr. Jennifer Morrow, I'm a pharmacist. And up until December 2021, I was working at CVS pharmacy as a pharmacy manager.

Ryan Albano, Delaware:

My name is Ryan. And I currently live in Delaware. And I have been a pharmacist now since 2004, so 17 years.

We had a lot of influx of new customers, a lot more responsibilities, such as COVID testing, sanitation procedures to keep everything safe for not only ourselves, but for the public, a lot more questions from the public, a lot of — that means a lot more phone calls.

We are also doing the vaccinations, which have become a huge challenge to try to incorporate into our normal workflow of just being a pharmacist.

Bled Tanoe:

Having maybe, I think, about 30 or 40 vaccines on top of your daily work with the same amount of people for my store was overwhelming.

I felt that I was not living up to the oath that I took as a pharmacist to take care of my patients, but also to take off my staff.

Jennifer Morrow:

Pharmacists are capable of every job that we have been given and even more. We're trained to help people self-diagnose, so that they can get the right over-the-counter medication, or if it's time to go seek further medical help. We're capable of giving all these vaccines.

I'm just not capable of doing it all at the same time.

Lannie Duong:

The burden that we put upon ourselves as health care providers is that we want to provide the best care for our patients.

But with an increased workload, and not being adequately staffed, if we are forced to work quicker, I'm more worried that I'm going to miss something for one of my patients.

David Hale:

Because pharmacists are getting sick as well, we have been asked to pick up extra shifts whenever possible. We have had pharmacists that have had to come to work while sick because they haven't been able to find anybody to cover their shift.

Ryan Albano:

If you had a doctor working on a loved one or a family member performing surgery, would you want the phone ringing in the background while the doctor is providing surgery to your loved one? You want that doctor having questions thrown at them, having the drive-through being rung, having e-mails pop up at you, having customers waving at you?

So it's challenging.

Jennifer Morrow:

I felt like I was an octopus pulled in eight different directions. And one of them is having to give vaccines.

Now I'm even concerned that I might give the wrong vaccine at the wrong time. Like, the white coat that I would wear became so heavy to put on every day, in the fear that I might be a danger to my patients, instead of that safety net that they need.

Bled Tanoe:

My decision to leave my old company completely was because I was afraid to harm my patients and realize that I was not coming back if I had made a mistake that I was actually monumental and I was going to hurt someone.

David Hale:

Just the idea of going to work, I start to feel physically ill to the stomach, back pain. And I do believe that's from the anxiety and stress of having to go back into the fray, so to speak.

Ryan Albano:

I think what our world right now needs as much as this vaccine to help us get through the pandemic is patience and understanding that every single one of us are being affected, your pharmacists, your pharmacy technicians, your Uber drivers, your DoorDashers, your post office workers, your doctors.

Everyone is being affected by this. We understand your frustration, but when you come in and see someone behind the counter working for you, try to smile and be appreciative that that person's there for you.

Judy Woodruff:

And we appreciate each one of those pharmacists speaking with us.

And this note:

CVS and Walgreens announced increases in pay last year for technicians, who earn around $35,000 a year or less. And the major chains say they are trying to hire more people and offer bonuses. But pharmacy workers say they need more significant changes in hours, working conditions and even better pay.