In an era of global post-pandemics, what about the health and mental workload of our pharmacists?

In concrete terms, what is mental workload and where does it come from?

This term was first introduced in the 20th century to define women's daily lives and the unequal distribution of domestic tasks.

Eventually, the term came to be used very schematically in professional circles: mental workload is summed up as all the demands made on the brain during the performance of work.

Nearly one in four French employees¹ is concerned by this issue, due to a range of activities to manage in their own workspace, often in addition to personal burdens. This may be due to a need for high standards in one's tasks, or simply to an anxiety-provoking environment.

Our pharmacists also suffer

And this is indeed the case for pharmacists, who have to deal with ailing patients, long working hours, the risk of accidents and administrative difficulties on a daily basis, and are therefore prone to mental overload.

This overload has obviously increased since the health crisis, which forced pharmacists to redouble their efforts and demonstrate unparalleled composure in a limited timeframe.

The latter were obliged to deploy considerable measures such as screening tests, multiple vaccinations, and the distribution of masks, gloves and all forms of protection. All this to help a population in a state of shock, despite their own physical and mental health.

Kyrielle Manuela Ongbatanga, owner of Pharmacie Fontaine, Paris 75009, tells us:

Faks - What's the hardest thing about being a pharmacist?

Holder: "Administration is an important part of our work, since we have to manage everything: stocks, expired products, orders, invoices, accounting, complaints...".

Faks - How did you get through the Covid-19 period?

Holder: "The mental load actually increased during the Covid period, as we had different and additional activities such as screening tests to do, vaccination or even mask distribution."

Faks - Did this period give you more anxiety or stress?

Owner: "Yes, because beyond the daily workload, we were accumulating a lot of fatigue. Patients were impatient, unpleasant, and constantly conveying their stress to us. We were also subject to verbal aggression, and that was often a heavy burden to bear."

Faks - What have you done to reduce your mental workload?

Owner: "I don't call laboratories back all the time, preferring to work through pharmacist purchasing groups. Because managing 50,000 labs is unmanageable. That's another reason why I don't feel so overburdened managing all the appointments.

I use a platform. I don't know if it's since Covid that this has been set up, but in any case it's a lot easier, because it's the platform that manages the labs. And with just one invoice, I think it's great. I use Directlog, tri'Meds, comptoir des pharmaciens, medistore..."

1 : according to the article in Capital with Management.

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