At what point do most healthcare professionals turn to treatment for help?

Healthcare professionals are very good at hiding their problem and are not usually intervened upon until they have become impaired at work, which is when their addiction is in the end stage (CODA report, 2009). Most healthcare professionals do not display job impairment until late in their substance abuse problem because the workplace is usually their drug supply source. Since initial symptoms occur in the individual’s personal sector, these problems can continue unnoticed by colleagues. Some indications of professionals potentially diverting drugs include: “signing out more controlled substances than co-workers, reporting more medication spills or wastes, excessively administering PRN (take as needed) pain medications to patients, waiting until alone to open narcotics, evidence that someone has tampered with the medication containers, and being defensive when questioned about medication errors” (CODA report, 2009). New measures taken by The Joint Commission are in place to hopefully prevent this from happening and include limiting and securing opiates and narcotics in floor stock and implementing witnessed wasting of narcotics by a second licensed professional.

Rebecca Heck, BSN, RN, MPH, program director of the Nursing Peer Health Assistance program at Peer Assistance Services in Denver, stated that they are seeing more nurses come forward seeking assistance with their substance abuse, but it may be due to the increased media coverage of drug thefts by healthcare professionals in the (Mucci, 2009). This media coverage may be influential in convincing healthcare professionals to seek help, instead of waiting until a coworker recognizes them after becoming impaired at work.


Take a look at the video to see what Rebecca Mason, RN, CNS, CEAP, and a FEAP Consultant has to say… She states that there is a fear of loss of licensure and legal consequences, which, coupled with denial, causes a reluctance to seek treatment: VIDEO http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gM7zw7g_F4

Resources:

CODA report :Health professionals and substance use. (2009, May). Retrieved November 15, 2009 from the Council on Drug Abuse, website: http://drugabuse.ca/newsletter_pdfs_v01_i07/Health_Professionals_and_Substance_Use.pdf

Mucci, K. (2009, August 3). More Nurses seek help for substance abuse. Nurse Manager Weekly, 9(30), Retrieved from: http://www.strategiesfornursemanagers.com/content/236793/868.cfm

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