Evaluating Back Pain

According to the SAMHSA (2010) report on the national survey on drug use and health almost 22.5 million people are reported to be associated with substance abuse disorder (SAMHSA, 2010). This illness was found to be very common in all age groups, both sex, and seniors. There are several effects on these individuals and their families. Many people who suffer from substance abuse disorders fail to acknowledge these serious consequences. First of all, no response of pain relief can be seen with smaller doses of pain medications, as their bodies are used to high levels of various substances at the same time. Nurses become frustrated when they try to treat and help these patients with pain. Sometimes it is difficult to think about ethical principles when nurses have to deal with such patients with pain and suffering.

Working in the pharmacy next to a pain clinic, I witnessed a lot of drama. The pain clinic was eventually closed down for questionable practices. What I learned from working with the clinic is that doctors sometimes do not understand the severity of someone’s addiction. That’s why it’s important for doctors to see pharmacist more trustworthy because we are truly the drug experts. It’s no wonder these days that everyone seems to be in pain. That’s not say people do not feel pain but pain medication abuse is more prevalent now than ever before due to the increase in heroin users! Doctors and pharmacists must have quick and efficient ways of communicating. Even when communication isn’t an issue, doctors do not listen to pharmacist’s recommendation. When I become a pharmacists, I want to know why I am dispensing controlled medications especially if they are in large quantities. I want to be a part of the decision making process the doctor has with the

As a healthcare professional, we are responsible for the delivery of high quality patient care. Substance abuse among nurses is an issue that threatens professional standards and can lead to poor patient outcomes (Rohma,2012). According to Healthy People 2020, an estimated 22 million Americans struggled with drug or alcohol abuse in the year 2005 (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services [HHS],2013). Given that the nurses have easy access to controlled substances, this population is likely to be higher than the general public.

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

As a nurse, this issue puts a heavy weight on my shoulders because I have seen the effects of drug use and drug overdose.

Easy access to the drugs is another important factor contributing to nurses who substance abuse. As stated by Serghis (1999) the availability of medications in the workplace has been linked to substance abuse among nurses (as cited in Talbert, 2009, p.17). Part of the nurse’s duty every day is to give medication to their patients, which exposes them to have easy access to drugs. Nurses who take medication from their patients for their own personal use are "always using the maximum PRN dosage when other nurses use less" (DeClerk, 2008, p. 12). The healthcare field accepts the use of medication and so nurses may perceive the wrong idea by making use of patients drugs themselves. "Medications are easily accessible to nurses, who may believe erroneously that they have the ability to control their own medications use because of their experience with administering medication to patients" (Talbert, 2009, p. 17). In the case

Addiction is a compulsive need to habitually use a mind altering substance. Addiction can target anyone, even someone who works in the healthcare field who trained to aid patients with medication. When a healthcare professional is addicted to a substance, it should be immediately reported for the safety of that nurse 's client. Just because a nurse has an addiction does not mean that their career is over because there are many programs that can help them fight the addiction and regain their title as nurse. It is our moral obligation as a nurse to protect the addicted nurse and her clients by confronting them and reporting their behaviors.

Like the general population, the nursing profession is also plagued by the growing problem of prescription drug abuse. The stressful work environment, the ease of access to prescription drugs and perhaps a lack of training or education adds fuel to the problem of addiction. According to the American Nursing Association about 10% of the nursing workforce may be dependent on drugs or alcohol (Starr, 2015). There are roughly 4,148,730 active nursing professionals in the United States (Kaiser Family Foundation, 2017). This means that around 414, 873 of nurses suffer from the aforementioned addiction issues. Since nurses are at the forefront of health care, it follows that any form of abuse causes a significant problem in the quality patient care delivery.

What one person may say regarding the issue may vary from the next. When discussing the topic of substance abuse among nurses the severity of the action might differ when mentioning the problem to nurse manager or charge nurse. Views on substance abuse may also change when discussing the topic with a fellow nurses as well as patients. The roles of the nurse managers and charge nurses are to insure competence as well as the functionality of the nurses that are under their supervision. In looking at this topic from the perspective of a nurse manager or a charge nurse it may seem like the nurses is putting both their patients and the hospital at risk so their first action may be to address the problem.” The impact of workplace substance abuse includes increased workplace accidents and injuries and increased use of health benefits, workers compensation, and disability claims” (Epstein et. al., 2010, p. 515). There may be an underlying reason to why this nurse has chosen to go down this destructive path and it may also be the nurse manager or charge duty to address this problem. Substance abusing nurses are hazardous to have in the work place and removed from the floor and sending that the nurse to get some needed help may be the duty of that charge nurse or nurse manager, because the nurse may not be willing to listen to fellow floor nurses. From the perspective of fellow nurses, they may not want

He is the best nurse on the floor. Everyone admires him – patients, fellow nurses, doctors, administration. He works extra shifts in the emergency department, sometimes as often as six shifts per week despite chronic back pain. What about the seasoned staff nurse? You notice a change in her. She is moody, appears dazed, and is making mistakes frequently. She is late and unkempt, and is not as social as she once was. While one may be quick to assume substance use from the second nurse, in reality, the first nurse is just as likely to be working while impaired. Substance use disorders can – and do – have a very serious impact on the nursing community. Determining, labeling, and reporting a substance use problem is not always easy. This is why, when entering the nursing workforce, it is important to have a working knowledge and understanding of substance use. This includes familiarity with risk factors and signs of substance use, as well as knowing how to seek help for oneself or a colleague. With an awareness of the implications of substance use on nursing, new nurses may be better equipped to take action against this ever-present occupational hazard (NCSBN, 2011).

The NP must be aware of this, because the NP can be held criminally accountable for enabling these patients who abuse narcotics (Balestra, 2016).

The study of form phase movements attracts vital attention from many areas like animation production, computer game console, ergonomics, sport medication, rehabilitation and medical specialty analysis. This project was galvanized by the activity Health Department at Ryerson University. “Manual material handling, notably lifting poses a risk to several staff and is taken into account a serious reason for work-related low-back pain and impairment. The whole value of low-back pain disorders within the U.S was calculable to be $90 billion in 1998, and prices have continued to extend. The augmented prevalence of low-back pain within the world and its potential future magnitude has driven several researchers to go looking for the simplest ways for estimating the conditions which will doubtless increase the incidence of back pain.

Low-back pain is currently a major public health and economic problem particularly in developed countries (Maniadakis and Gray 2000). It is estimated that 70 to 85% of UK citizens have experienced back pain in their lives, either persistent or recurrent and that the annual healthcare cost of back pain is approximately £1632 million (Andersson 1999). Of the 70-85% of patients with low-back pain, 4.4% suffer from sciatica, 3.1% male and 1.3% female (Heliövaara 1989). Evidence suggests that occupations that involve physical and manual activities including materials handling and lifting, have one of the highest rates of reported sciatica (Konstantinou et al. 2008). This essay will explore the anatomy, aetiology, ergonomics and treatment of sciatica and the prevalence in manual workers.

Harvard Health Publication, Harvard Medical School (2012). “The real world benefits of strengthening your core”, it is mentioned in this article, “A healthy back. Low back pain- a debilitating, sometimes excruciating problem affecting four out of five Americans at some point in their lives- may be prevented by exercises that promote well-balanced, resilient core muscles, when back pain strikes, a regimen of core exercises is often prescribed to relieve it, coupled with medications, physical therapy, or other treatments necessary.”

Acute back pain - This is usually is sudden onset and lasts a few days or weeks, usually no more than 6 weeks.