PHarmacist Caring for CRITically Ill and EMergency Medicine Patients and Big Five personality traits: PHARM-CRIT and EM BIG 5.

Document Type

Article

Publication Title

American journal of health-system pharmacy : AJHP : official journal of the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists

Abstract

PURPOSE: The role of the critical care pharmacist (CCP) and emergency medicine pharmacist (EMP) has transitioned into a decentralized role providing bedside patient care. Despite their role as integral members of the healthcare team, high rates of burnout have contributed to premature attrition. A better knowledge of personality traits and impact on job satisfaction, performance, and burnout may assist in determining their association with the premature attrition of clinical pharmacists. The objective of this study was to characterize personality traits of CCPs and EMPs using the Big Five Inventory (BFI).

METHODS: The PHARM-CRIT (Pharmacist Avoidance or Reductions in Medical costs in CRITically ill adults) study and the PHARM-EM (Pharmacist Avoidance or Reductions in Medical costs in patients presenting the EMergency Department) study were multicenter, observational studies performed between August 2018 and January 2019. A survey of CCPs and EMPs who participated in those studies, including questions addressing the BFI, was conducted and the results compared to those for a random sample of controls obtained from data collected online in a personality test including BFI-related items.

RESULTS: Two hundred eighty-nine CCPs and EMPs were compared to 497 controls. According to the BFI, pharmacists who participated in the study had lower mean (SD) scores for agreeableness (30.6 [2.8] vs 31.8 [3.6], P < 0.001), openness (31.9 [3.1] vs 33.1 [3.7], P < 0.00), and neuroticism (24.8 [4.2] vs 30.5 [6.5], P < 0.001). Traits of extraversion and conscientiousness were similar between the pharmacist and control groups.

CONCLUSION: According to the BFI, pharmacists had lower agreeableness, openness, and neuroticism as compared to controls. While this may suggest CCPs and EMPs possess traits that are advantageous in high-stress environments and promote safe medication use in critically ill patients, cautious extrapolation of these findings is warranted due to limitations in the control group and sample size. Future studies should aim to identify how the personality traits of CCPs and EMPs impact job performance, satisfaction, and burnout and contribute to the premature attrition of pharmacists.

DOI

10.1093/ajhp/zxaf364

Publication Date

12-26-2025

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