I have been working as a locum pharmacist since 2021. Prior to this, I had a number of full-time permanent pharmacy jobs in other areas of pharmacy, which helped to keep me active and well.
Working as a locum can be isolating, so I joined a few locum pharmacist WhatsApp/Telegram groups, such as the PDA Locum Pharmacist group to help me keep up to date with the community pharmacy world.
Over the last year, I noticed that locums in these groups were increasingly mentioning stressful situations at work, such as increasing workload, inadequate staffing, lone working, problems getting paid, inappropriate Pharmacy First Service referrals, decreasing rates of pay and difficult encounters with patients and staff. I could relate to my fellow pharmacists’ comments, as although I enjoy my work, over the last 18 months, work had become more stressful. This was mainly due to the Pharmacy First Service and the need to spend more time on services such as Blood Pressure (BP) checks and clinical consultations.
The number of prescriptions in the pharmacies I worked in had stayed the same, but I had less time for prescription-related activities like clinical checks and final checks. Staffing levels had been cut over the last year in all the pharmacies I worked in because contractors were struggling, instead of being increased to cope with the increase in services.
Many pharmacy dispensaries have a very small footprint in terms of floor space, so although I felt tired after standing all day at work, I hadn’t moved around a lot. I gradually became less active and slipped into poor eating habits after a long day at work.
Last month I was diagnosed with a serious health condition which is known to be caused/made worse by physical inactivity, poor diet and stress. I was in shock as I’ve always been healthy, but looking back on the last 18 months, I can see clearly how this change happened.
I wanted to mention this situation to others in the same boat, as we really need to remember to look after ourselves in these changing and sometimes challenging times.
Changes I will be making to help my wellbeing
Here is what I’ll be trying to do from now on. At the start of each week, spend just 10 minutes thinking about what could I do to have a healthier week. Put a reminder in your phone and try to make it a habit. Make it simple, easy, achievable.
If we are driving to work, then standing all day, maybe try to park a bit further away so you can get a short walk in before/after work, or use a treadmill at home to get your steps in. When you’re at work, try to walk around the pharmacy once an hour. Who cares if it looks odd! When you’re sitting down in the evenings, try to get up and walk for 5 minutes every hour.
Regarding diet, many pharmacies ask for a working lunch, but this should still mean you get time to sit down, try to unwind and have something to eat. Perhaps take something healthy to work, or on your day off, prep vegetables/salad/fruit for the week to keep in the fridge to eat in the evenings.
Stress is the difficult one; maybe think of ways to manage stressful situations at work. Know when to react and when to ignore, raise issues which are causing us extra stress, make sure we take rest breaks and try to find a healthy way to unwind after work. Sometimes, just remembering to keep our sense of humour.
I hope this is a gentle reminder to take time to look after ourselves. We are a valuable resource to the public and spend our days looking after others, but the most important person to look after is you.
While the PDA can help members to tackle some negative impacts on wellbeing from the workplace, such as resolving situations of unfair treatment, and the PDA campaigns in general for pharmacist roles and careers which are ‘good work’, not every impact on wellbeing comes from the workplace. The PDA also supports members to manage their own physical, mental and financial wellbeing.
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