Substance Abuse In The Workplace Essay

As Heise states, substance abuse among nurses a growing problem that is often overlooked by society. Addiction has been a problem in the nursing profession for over one hundred years (as cited in Monroe & Kenaga, 2010). According to the American nurses association, it is speculated that 6%-8% of nurses have a drug or alcohol related problem (as cited in Trinkoff & Storr, 1998). Substance abuse not only affects the individual abuser, but also can negatively impact those around them, most significantly their patients. Chemical dependence if often viewed as a lack of will power, but through education and research, this issue should be looked at as an actual disease. The education of nursing students is the first step in helping those with a

Excessive absenteeism, which holds a significantly percentage of occurrences of drug users as cited above, costs an organization lower productivity, damaged moral and consequently lower product quality. The US Dept of Labor reports that annually, 500 million work days are lost solely due to alcoholism. In addition to absenteeism lowering moral, workplace theft is an experienced and related problem. Approximately 18% of cocaine users steal at work, from either the employer

Drug abuse by employees in the workplace is a major concern for many employers Approximately 16.4 million drug abusers and 15 million heavy alcohol users

The current substance abuse policies are affected by the political canges. These political changes went into effect April 24, 2013. (Jones, 2013). The Obama administration created a drug policy for the 21st century. (Jones, 2013). The new policy which is refered to as the strategy notes that substance abuse disorders are a major public concern (Jones, 2013). The author notes this new strategy is based on science, promotes prevention in programs offered community wide, they try to promote community responsibility in this new strategy, have treatment available to all, and support others in recovery. It also notes that medical and law enforcement professionals play a vital role in all of this whether it be in intervention, prevention, or in

The purpose of this paper is about two substance abuse preventing program in the United States. Team Awareness is a preventing program that deals with behavioral risk that is associate with substance abuse among employees and their families. The purpose of this preventing program is to help individuals with social health and communication to improve the attitude towards alcohol. The program is about six to eight months to help employees and prepare them for the program. According to NREPP “Team Awareness is a customizable wellness program that also incorporates substance abuse prevention; it has been adapted for many different contexts.” Therefore, programs like team awareness help organizations that have employees that are having a hard time with substance abuse. The goal of this substance abuse program is to help with community resources and if they need to be refer to a program 12 step program. According to NREPP “ To achieve these objectives, the training focuses on six components: the importance of substance abuse prevention; team ownership of policy (embracing policy as a useful tool for enhancing safety and well-being for the whole workgroup); stress, including stressors, individual coping styles, and other methods for coping; tolerance and how it can become a risk factor for groups; the importance of appropriate help-seeking and help-giving behavior; and access to resources for preventive counseling or treatment. Team awareness is funded by the Peer Assistance

In our changing world and changing society it is important that we understand the growing issue of legal or illegal drug use in the workplace. 70% of the estimated 14.8 million Americans who use illegal drugs are employed. Marijuana is the most commonly used and abused illegal drug by employees, followed by cocaine, with prescription drug use steadily increasing (“Drugs” 1). There are no requirements for private employers to have a drug-free workplace policy other than federal contractors as well as safety industry positions. The most common reasons we drug test; required by law, reasonable suspicion, random, prior history, and workplace accidents. Not all employers are required to drug test but nearly 80 percent of large corporations in the

My chosen contemporary social problem is drugs and alcohol abuse. Structural-Functionalist perspective on drug abuse is a response to weakening societal norms. Drugs and alcohol abuse is one of the most significant social problems not only in the United States but also around the world. As a matter of facts, drugs and alcohol abuse is a problem with innumerable effects both on the body and mind of a person. Many times, these adverse impacts affect the families, friends, and acquaintances of the addict whereby, for instance, the latter may lose their jobs or cause chaos. For individuals that abuse psychoactive drugs it can affect the body in many different ways, such as behavioral, cognitive and physiological problems, these problems occur when a person that abuse psychoactive drugs on a regular basis. Consequently, I chose this topic because it is a major problem that has affected the lives of the individuals and those around them in the communities. Not a single day has ever ended without me coming across a drug addict begging for money. To my dismay, some of these people are usually so drunk that they cannot even communicate or stand properly. Therefore, I have come to conclude that drug and alcohol is a problem that can cause long-term effects. I desire to learn more about the issue and help individuals with addiction problems now and in future.

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.

Annually in America, billions of taxpayer dollars are spent to pay for the unnecessary expenses caused by drug-impaired employees. Workers whose performances are negatively altered by drug use contribute to losses in business productivity and assist in lowering workplace safety. On average, according to the Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA), $100 billion is lost per year due to accidents, decreases in productivity, and other related expenses caused by incompetent, drug abusing employees (“Coalitions”). However, through a thoughtful system, businesses can be protected against the harms presented by deleterious contraband abusers. In an effort to curb staff member drug trends and to protect employee health, public safety,

Annually in America, billions of taxpayer dollars are spent to pay for the unnecessary expenses caused by drug-impaired employees. Workers whose performances are negatively altered by drug use contribute to losses in business productivity and assist in lowering workplace safety. However, through a thoughtful system, businesses can be protected against the harms presented by drug abusers. In an effort to curb staff member drug trends and to protect employee health, public safety, and business interests, drug screening programs should be implemented into company policy.

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.

Literature implies that employee drug use in the workplace may create high costs to firms in the form of lower productivity, increased absences, and an increase in workplace accidents. As a response to these costs, employers have implemented a variety of policies and programs to decrease employee drug use. Educational programs and standards such as “Zero Tolerance” policies, employers have turned to drug testing programs more in the past decades. About 46 percent of American workers report that their employer conducts drug testing, although other sources indicate that 90 percent of Fortune 200 companies use some type of drug testing (Flynn 1999). The factor behind workplace drug

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

An employee with a drug problem can be a serious obstacle in any workplace. Since they aren’t able to give their all in terms of job performance, and could easily display disruptive behaviour that affects the whole company, you’ll want to make sure that any potential problems are dealt with efficiently and properly.

Uncertain as to his next action, Roy turns to his PC and clicks on an icon that takes him to his firm’s intranet program “Management Advisor/Drug and Alcohol Abuse/Confronting an Employee.” This program, developed by the training department and several line managers, plays a video that describes the firm’s policy on providing help to an employee with a substance abuse problem. It also details the steps of a confrontation interview.