Essay on Drug Abuse In the Nursing Profession

As the article The Impaired Nurse stated, “Impaired nurses can become dysfunctional in their ability to provide safe, appropriate patient care” (Thomas, C.M., & Siela, D. 2011). As we learned in class the four ethical principles include; beneficence which is the act of doing the most good, non-malfeasance which is the act of doing the least amount of harm, autonomy which focuses on allowing each individual to make their own decisions and justice which focuses on being fair to all involved. Nurses who are abusing substance typically can’t follow these for ethical principles to the best of their ability because they are too focused on themselves. As mentioned in the article Substance Abuse among Nurses, nurses who are abusing substances are not able to complete tasks and function as a typical nurse would (Talbert, J. J. 2009). These types of nurses are not able to apply the four ethical principles to their everyday work environment because they are too focused on the substances they need. These nurses would not be able to function and apply to principle of doing the most good because they will not be doing the best if on substances. As mentioned in both articles, these nurses will spend a good amount of time in the bathrooms hiding and using, take medications from patients, and forget tasks that need complete. Beneficence and non-malfeasance in my opinion could not apply to nurses who are abusing substances because they are not caring for their patients as

This includes reporting violence, abuse or neglect towards clients by other nurses and extends to reporting conduct involving third parties, including family members and other healthcare providers

With the mounting stress imposed by the conditions at work, “Jackie began to divert narcotics. Jackie was able to justify her actions because she perceived the drugs reduced her anxiety and stress, which enabled her to better care for her patients” (Badzek, et al., 1998). Initially, Jackie’s diversion of controlled drugs went unnoticed. But, ultimately her luck ran out, and Jackie’s actions were discovered.

As the nursing profession progresses throughout the years, its nature becomes more complex in meeting the professional standards and codes of ethics that are required by all nurses. The American Nurses Association has a specific code of ethics that each nurse should follow and adopt as their own beliefs. The public and the patients should be the priority when providing care in the healthcare setting. The knowledge and education that nurses’ gain is valuable and allows them to encourage health, avoid illness, restore health, and aid in coping for those who are all ill. (LeMone, pp.192) Given that the code of ethics is put into place, there are many registered nurses who violate these codes in various situations. The following will discuss

In a profession where others' health and well-being are priority, there leaves room for neglect of those who are delegated to care for these people. As a professional nurse, there are many obstacles that arise and affect the care provided to a patient, as well as the livelihood of the nurse. The current deteriorating and unsafe staffing conditions in hospitals and other institutions prompts workplace advocacy as the universally appropriate concept for maintaining professional nursing practice.  Common

The responsibility of regulating nursing practice that ensures public safety, health and welfare and accountability to the public for proper governance falls on the State Boards of Nursing (BONs). Substance abuse is the most common disease that affects healthcare workers (Darbro, 2009). The disease of substance abuse disorder is preventable (Darbro, 2009). The intent of this paper is to discuss the ethical issues of nurses with substance abuse disorder, stigma of addiction, challenges that nurses with substance abuse problems face to include acceptance of the disease, treatment, rehabilitation and monitoring, the incidence of addiction among nurses, how to recognize an impaired colleague, nurses’ attitudes about addiction within the profession and the ethical issues that the nurse, employer and society face when dealing with a nurse who is an addict. It was in the 1980s that professional nursing organizations recommended alternative to discipline (ATD) programs to help rehabilitate nurses (Sigma Theta Tau, 2014). In the past 20 years 46 states have gone with this approach as opposed to traditional discipline (Trussman, 2003). In most cases, these ATD programs provide nurses with intense monitoring for 5 years to aid in their recovery so they may return to work and provide safe patient care to the

Over the years, substance abuse in the United States has become a persistent issue affecting many individuals. In 2008, it was estimated that 17.8 million Americans over the age of 18 where substance dependent (Epstein, Burns, & Conlon, 2010). Many of these individuals being affected are nurses. Ponech (2000) stated that "approximately 10% of the nursing population has alcohol or drug abuse problems, and 6% has problems serious enough to interfere with their ability to practice" (as cited in Talbert, 2009, p.17). Studies show that nurses have a 50% higher rate of substance abuse compared to the rest of the public (Epstein et al., 2010). Among the many factors that contribute to the nurse’s issue of substance abuse,

Nurses prefer working in an environment where they feel appreciated in both their actions and decisions. In the event that they are ignored, they tend to experience subjection and they are likely to resist. At one time, our healthcare facility sought to implement the bedside shift reporting (BSR). This process would have required that nurses be informed and trained on the use of the documentation. However, this did not happen, on the start of the month each nurse received a formal letter form the chief nursing officer informing us that we would be reporting to a newly hired nurse educator who would evaluate our performance in implementing the BSR. This was met with anger and most of the nurses seemed to have decided that they would not accomplish

It is no secret that the United States is currently experiencing a shortage of nurses . “The U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics ( 2009 ) estimated that more than one million new and replacement nurses will be needed by 2018 to meet the increased demands of the health care workforce” (). The stressful conditions under which nurses work, due in part to the nursing shortage, are among the risk factors that contribute to nurses’ abuse of illicit drugs and alcohol. Nurses are unique in that they work in an environment where they not only have access to controlled substances, but also are exposed to critically ill patients, traumatic situations, death and dying, the stress of which can increase the risk of substance abuse. (Epstein, Burns, & Conlon, 2010). Unfortunately, it is the patient that suffers the most.

In first talking about substance use, abuse and addiction as it relates to the Nursing profession it is necessary to understand the aspect of addiction. Drug use is a broad idea that refers to the use of any chemical substance rather legal or illegal. This topic includes prescription drugs, street drugs, herbal supplements, and the like. The term Drug abuse is defined as “the use of a substance or substances in such a way that it leads to measurable personal, interpersonal, or social consequences” (Faupel, C., E., Horowitz, A., M., & Weaver, G., S., 2010, p.20). Drug addiction is then regarded as “a compulsive use of chemicals (drugs or alcohol) and the inability to stop using them despite all the problems caused by their use” (National

Within the recent years, hospitals and medical facilities have been experiencing nursing shortages that necessitate more nurses to be present to compensate for the care needed to be given. This requires nurses to be dealt with imperative extended work hours along with their normal shifts with no denial or excuse accepted. Working extra hours are accompanied with negative effects that have an impact on the nurse, coworkers, and patients. A major concern that occurs with overtime is that nurses become fatigued or burnout. Fatigue that is experienced is a result of sleep deprivation from working overtime that is associated with arduousness neurobehavioral functioning

A survey has been recorded about the prevalence of chemical dependency in nurses. About 2.6 million registered nurses are employed in the United States (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2010). The American Nurses Association estimates that about 10% of the RN

Nurses continually strive to bring holistic, efficient, and safe care to their patients. However, if the safety and well-being of the nurses are threatened or compromised, it is difficult for nurses to work effectively and efficiently. Therefore, the position of the American Nurses Association (ANA) advocate that every nursing professional have the right to work in a healthy work environment free of abusive behavior such as bullying, hostility, lateral abuse and violence, sexual harassment, intimidation, abuse of authority and position and reprisal for speaking out against abuses (American Nurses Association, 2012).

A nurse’s typical day isn’t without stress; it is usually a lot of complex planning, critical thinking, time management, an abundance of communications with all departments of the hospital, and documenting events that have happened throughout the day on their entire patient assignment. “Nurses who are mandated following the completion of their regular shift are often ill-equipped to continue working. They have not planned for that situation with: proper advanced rest, arrangements for

Stressful work environments, long work hours and inadequate sleep all contribute to an increase in physical and mental exhaustion amongst nurses. Typically, people choose nursing as a career to help others and to make a difference in their lives, without realizing the number of duties this career demands. Nurses may suffer in silence when they are experiencing stress. The effects can impact safe and reliable care by decreasing job satisfaction, decreasing productivity, causing poor personal health, and compromising patient care. Many facilities would benefit from implementing evidence-based strategies to address nurse fatigue and burnout.