As a helping profession, sometimes nursing can be a demanding.
It takes long hours, devotion to caring for others, and.
a lot of emotional strain. So how do nurses deal with the demands of.
their job? Well, ten to twenty percent of nurses have substance abuse.
problems. Substance abuse is defined as using alcohol or drugs to.
become intoxicated or using prescription drugs beyond their stated.
purpose(Griffith 2). Six to eight percent of all registered nurses have an.
abuse problem that has actually impaired them from performing their.
job. The ten to twenty percent of nurses that have substance abuse.
problems correlates with the number of people in the general population.
that have substance abuse problems. "Health professionals are in a.
position to cause harm to individuals under their care if they"re under the.
influence of a drug," says Mary Haack, Ph.D., RN, an associate professor.
at the University of Maryland School of Nursing (Borkowski 1).
The nursing profession as a whole is seen to be more at risk than.
others because of the easy access to medicines, for starters. People tend.
to believe that since people in the medical profession have such easy.
access to drugs, they would have a more frequent rate of abuse. Another.
misconception is that nurses would know better than to become.
addicted, given their level of education on the subject. However, the.
medical profession as a whole has approximately the same number of.
impaired workers as does any other profession. The most notable.
difference between them that is the is that nurses and physicians have.
drugs more readily dispensable than do other professions. "Nurses and.
physicians tended to obtain their drugs of choice by legal channels, such.
as legitimate prescriptions that were written for them, or diversionary.
measures on the job, rather than purchasing them illegally on the street".
(Danis 3). Some addicted healthcare workers may steal prescription pads.
and write themselves prescriptions.
