Accuracy and applicability of a tool designed to address pharmacy personnel stress

Background: Many pharmacy workplaces are so stressful that pharmacy personnel are unable to meet both clinical and nonclinical duties. Adjustments to training, roles, and responsibilities are not able to be made quickly enough to adapt to change and meet expanding responsibilities. Objectives: Misalignment between a person's unique personality type and their work dynamics can be associated with a stress reaction, what that reaction looks like, and what strategies would be most effective for reducing stress. The objectives for this study were to: (1) assess variability in the personality types of pharmacy personnel, (2) explore variation in most satisfying job activities and perceptions of stress by personality type, and (3) receive feedback regarding the accuracy, applicability, and recommendations for improving a tool for addressing stress. Methods: A self-administered online questionnaire was used for collecting data from 1098 pharmacy personnel licensed in Minnesota. After answering four Preferred Communication Style Questionnaire items, a personalized De-Stress Rx report was generated for each respondent's feedback by answering questions about the tool's accuracy, applicability to them for helping reduce or manage stress, and recommendations for improving its usefulness. Data were analyzed using content analysis and descriptive statistics. Results: The findings showed variability in the personality types of pharmacy personnel and that both the most satisfying job activities and stress perceptions vary by personality type. A tool that was designed to address pharmacy personnel stress was found to be both accurate and applicable. Study participants encouraged the expansion of the tool to include resources for follow-up and implementation. Also, they recommended expansion to teach groups and leaders about how to apply this tool to whole organizations, group dynamics, and evolving practice settings. Conclusion: We propose that the De-Stress Rx Tool can help reduce the stress that is inherent in current pharmacy work settings.