National survey of pharmacists, intern pharmacists and pharmacy students in Australia: the nature and extent of stress and well-being.

OBJECTIVES: A national survey of the Australian pharmacy workforce was conducted to determine the extent to stress experienced, the extent to which it is work-related, how stress is managed, the barriers to getting help and how well prepared the workforce is for stressful situations. There were three objectives: provision of guidance on possible interventions; provision of a baseline for further studies; and provision of information to the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Authority (AHPRA). METHODS: An online survey incorporating the 10-item Perceived Stress Scale was developed, piloted and launched in October 2016. Pharmacy-related organisations alerted their members to the voluntary survey. Popular pharmacy social media was used. Responses were analysed using SPSS and Excel. The a priori for significance was P < 0.05. KEY FINDINGS: In relation to the nature and extent of stress in the workforce and work-life balance, information provided by 1246 respondents out of a workforce of 29 819 revealed high levels of stress (PSS-10 score 20.1 ± 7.3), with those under 30 years of age and/or with 10 years or less in the pharmacy workforce reporting the highest levels. Just under half the respondents reported dissatisfaction with their work-life balances. CONCLUSIONS: Workplace stress is high, particularly among younger members of the workforce. Professional pharmacy associations, schools of pharmacy at Australian universities and AHPRA have been alerted to this issue. The survey should be repeated reasonably soon to determine if any of the key characteristics have changed, particularly if interventions are made to reduce the occurrence of workplace-related stress.

Intravenous potassium chloride prescribing and administration practices in Victoria: an observational study.

OBJECTIVE: To identify current prescribing and administration practices in relation to intravenous potassium chloride (IV KCl). DESIGN AND SETTING: A prospective multicentre assessment of IV KCl prescribing and administration at six public hospitals (three large metropolitan hospitals, a smaller metropolitan specialty hospital, and two rural hospitals) in Victoria between August and December 2006. Data were collected for either a 4-week period or for 200 IV KCl orders, whichever occurred first, in clinical areas where concentrated KCl ampoules were available. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Number and type of IV KCl prescriptions and dose administrations; method of preparation and administration of each dose. RESULTS: A total of 888 prescriptions and 1088 administrations were assessed across the six hospitals. There were 69 different types of orders for IV KCl, varying in either concentration or volume. KCl ampoules were used in 59% of all administrations of IV KCl. In instances where the prescription matched an available premixed IV KCl infusion, the premix was used on 89% of occasions. CONCLUSIONS: There is significant variability in the prescribing and administration of IV KCl in these Victorian hospitals. New formulations of premixed IV KCl infusions may enable the removal of ampoules from patient care areas. The medical profession can play a major role in driving the adoption of consistent practice and supporting and leading this important safety initiative.