Nursing Shortage in the United States

Jackie was one of the growing numbers of nurses who are impaired because of addiction. Sullivan (1994) cited that “nurses who abuse substances not only place themselves at risk for physical, emotional, and professional harm, but also create hazards for the institutions in which they work as well as the public” (p. 20). To deal with the issue posed by an impaired nurse, “nursing leaders must consider legal, regulatory, ethical, humanistic, and practical considerations in

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,

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.

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

Nurses today are likely to encounter patients who are intravenous drug users at some point in their career. The United States is in the midst of a rampant heroin/opioid epidemic which currently claims 91 lives a day to overdose (CDC, 2016). As nurses we have a unique opportunity to provide compassionate and impactful health care to the most marginalized groups of our society. Harm Reduction is a public health approach to intravenous drug use/opioid addiction which strives to reduce the harm of risky behaviors associated with illicit drug use. Nurses who implement harm reduction into practice have a powerful opportunity to educate patients on preventing the transmission of disease, vein care, and available resources within the community.

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.

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

Alcohol and drug abuse among the nursing profession has been the cause of nurses increasing impairment on the job. Due to the rise in these problems in the nursing population, it has had a negative impact on many aspects of nursing. According to Blais and Hayes (2011), ”There are three victims of the nurse who is impaired: the client, whose care may be compromised by the nurse whose judgement and skills are impaired; the nurse’s colleagues, who must pick up after the impaired worker; and the impaired nurse, whose illness may go undetected and untreated for years” (p. 89). Impaired nurses contribute to absenteeism, the nursing shortage, increased costs to train another nurse to replace them even if it is only temporary, patient safety is compromised, and high turnover rates The nurses, in essence, are unable to provide safe and

Addiction can be hard to spot in people, especially when the addict has learned to hide their addiction. Even in those who know how to hide it there are some signs to look for that an addict will unknowingly show. Some signs to look for are “smell of alcohol on breath or frequent use of strong mouthwash or mints; impaired coordination, sleepiness, shakiness, and/or slurred speech; bloodshot eyes; mood swings and memory loss; neglect of personal appearance; excessive use of sick leave, tardiness, or absent after a weekend off, holiday, or payday; frequently ‘forgetting’ to have another nurse witness wasting of a controlled substance;”(Sommer, 2013). Educating nurses and nurse manager of these signs to look for is the first step in decreasing the amount of accidents caused by impaired nurses. A nurse is obligated to protect patients and

Addiction is a complex disease and does not discriminate. Individuals may develop the disease regardless of their age, skin color, religion, sexual orientation, education, or occupation (Kunyk & Austin, 2012). Drug and alcohol use among nurses is a current problem for health care facilities with issues ranging from lost productivity, injuries, fatalities, theft, and low employee morale (NCADD, 2015). It has been estimated that 10 to 15 percent of all nurses, including nursing students, in the United States are addicted to some type of illegal or controlled substance (Heacock, 2013). Nurses work in a very stressful environment and have access to strong addictive medications which increases the risk for substance abuse or misuse (Nauert,

Drug addiction in the medical profession can have different aspects than addiction with most everyday people. Nurses, being part of the medical profession, do not have an adequate amount of medical research done on the abuse related to their line of work. The silent environment that surrounds abuse in the occupation of nursing can begin with looking into the general population’s substance abuse problems. One of the substances that are

In many places around the world, substance abuse has become a frequent issue. Many people may not be aware of substance abuse in nurses, from prescription drugs to alcohol and even cigarettes. Abuse from nurses poses a new challenge to the profession due to their jobs as caretakers and their access to controlled substances. It is a perplexing thought that people whose profession is to care for other don’t do the same for themselves. Nurses do in fact have stressful jobs, however, it is certainly unexpected that nurses interact with substance abuse patients and continue to abuse themselves. Therefore, one would think nurses of all people, would know how damaging certain substances can be to the body. Patients are more likely to be influenced by the actions of their caretakers, being their beacon of health and care. It is crucial for nurses to be aware of the drug abuse that occurs within their profession. The negative behavioral impacts of substance abuse disorder is far spreading and greatly impacts the safe and trusted care that nurses give.

All coworkers within an organization need to be educated to recognize potential issues of narcotic abuse within the workplace. Since healthcare professionals are able to hide some signs of abuse such as work absences, it may be more difficult to recognize a problem in the early stages. Some physical signs to be aware of include: irritability, forgetfulness, isolation, and decreased levels of motivation. Issues in personal life may also increase the chances of drug abuse, such as: stress, family problems, a previous history of mental illness, and a history of prior abuse (any type). Potential issues must be reported to the Nurse Manager as soon as possible. In order for the organization to protect the safety of its personnel and patients, ethical standards of practice must been routinely stressed within the workplace. Many

When a healthcare professional has an addiction, sometime mistakes are made and the patient’s life is never the same. Sometimes, the issue can never be corrected, and the patient will have to live with the consequences for the rest of their life. This is true for the many patients that have been mistreated or misdiagnosed, because of a professional in healthcare that was high, hungover, or itching for the next fix.

Over the course of this class, I have learned so much that I believe will help me as a future nurse understand, and recognized substance abusers. According to Doweiko (2015), most health care professionals are generally ill prepared to work with substance abusers. Also, nurses who frequently have more contact with patients than physicians, spend only the required amount of one to five hours of instruction on alcohol and drug abuse content during their undergraduate (Doweiko, 2015). Thereby, being exposed to the concept of chemical dependency, I understand the reasons, behaviors, and various models about substance use disorder.