Chemically-Impaired Nurse Essay

According to the American Nurses Association, an impaired nurse is unable to meet the requirements of the code of ethics and standards of practice of the profession. This nurse has cognitive, interpersonal or psychomotor skills affected by psychiatric illness and/or drug or alcohol abuse of addiction (American Nurses Association, 2010). Not only do these nurses create a potential threat to their clients, but they have also neglected to care for themselves. 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 Chemically-Impaired Nurse Essay

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Friendship is always at stake. Fear is also factor. There is a fear of jeopardizing another’s job or license, fear of being a “whistle blower” or snitch, fear of being criticized, fear of being sued if one is wrong, and fear of being a hypocrite. For example, going out for a drink after work with a few nursing friends is an accepted social phenomenon in the United States. A nurse who is suspicious of another nurse may feel guilty reporting a potential problem because he or she is one of the group having a few drinks after work. Some nurses do not want to be involved or confront another who may become angry or plead of another chance as well. Some nurses may even rationalize that if a patient has not been harmed already, then there is no reason to report the impaired nurse. Sometimes, it is always easier to look the other way and deny that a problem exists. The teleological theory may support the idea that in the end, reporting the impaired nurse may not have the best outcome, but the deontological theory continues to argue against it because it still does not protect anyone from harm. Reporting an impaired nurse provides help and support for that individual. Although patients may not have been harmed, reporting will prevent any future harm by the impaired nurse. This not only helps the patients and impaired nurse involved Chemically-Impaired Nurse Essay

Our clinical question was based on the topic of impaired nurses. Impaired nurses are the
ones who provide patient care while they are impaired by the drugs or due to addiction. Most of
the people believe that the nurses are immune from addiction since they are educated, and they
are the ones who provide health care to the patients at the hospital. However, the nurses always
handle drugs and since they are familiar with the medications, they may develop a substance use
disorder. Recently, substance abuse has become one of the major factors that is threatening safe
nursing practices. Substance abuse can have numerous consequences on the health of the nurse
and the delivery of the duty of the nurse to the patients.
Substance use disorder is characterized by the use of chemicals, even though one is
aware of the adverse effects of the chemicals. The compulsive use cycle may have periods where
the use is controlled, but it is normally followed by at least one episode of the out – of control
use, which may lead to adverse effects on the health of an individual (Kathy & Stephanie, 2011).
If the condition is left untreated, substance abuse disorder can risk the life of a person and also
the safety of the patients. In our paper, we are going to focus on the causes of the rising number
of impaired nurses and the ways through which the nurses can be helped to access help that will
enable them to do away with the problem.
As a way of finding the rising number of impaired nurses, we had to look at the statistics
that are associated with drug and substance abuse. The statistics will help us to understand the
consequences that are associated with impaired nurses. According to a report that was released in
the year 2014 by the Kentucky Medical Examiner, an increasing number of accidents that were
the cause of the rising number of death cases. Out of the total number of deaths that were caused
by accidents, 59.29% were drug related. Of the total number of drug-related deaths, 77.86% were
accidental (Smith, 2014). The statistics also showed that the nurses were also affected by drug
IMPAIRED NURSES 3
substance abuse. The nurses also buy into the myth that they should be able to handle their
substance use disorder, since they are health care providers at the various levels. However, it is
good also to learn that what can be seen as a burden to another person can become a lighter load
when it is shared with someone else. We identified The Kentucky Alternative Recovery Effort Chemically-Impaired Nurse Essay
(KARE) as one of the nursing programs that is offered by the Kentucky Board of Nursing (KBN)
(Smith, 2014). The purpose of KARE is to identify and assist the nurses who are affected by the
substance use disorder in the delivery of their nursing care duties so that they may be helped to
return to competent and safe nursing practice. In answering the above question, we also went
further to identify and read the various books on the topic.
In our research, we identified a common term that is used to refer substance to the
condition. The term that we identified is ‘impaired nurses.’ Impaired nurses is a common term
that is used to refer to the nurses whose delivery of proper nursing care is compromised by drug
and substance abuse. By using the two words, we were able to gain access to information that is
available on the internet about the condition. One of the books that we identified are the ones that
are guidebooks to impaired nursing practice in nursing and the interventions that can be taken.
The book has been written and published by Massachusetts Nurses Association. Another book is
called Substance Uses Disorder in Nursing published by the National Council of State of Boards
Nursing. The above sources contained a detailed approach to the topic which was of great benefit
to us. We were able to understand various issues surrounding the topic even though they were
not relevant to our research.
After collecting the above sources, we went further to identify the ones that answer our
question in more direct manner. The causes of drug and substance abuse among the nurses and
how they can be avoided. We had to look for two articles that would address the topic in a clear
IMPAIRED NURSES 4
manner. One of the articles that were chosen was dealing on how to address the chemically
dependent colleagues. It was found in the Journal of Nursing Regulation. It is written by Kathy
Bettinard- Angels and Stephanie Bologeorges. Another article was discussing KARE as Nursing
Program and its significance.
Impaired nurses are found in the society, and it is upon the affected nurses to seek the
appropriate medical care. The first step towards handling the problem is for the nurses to admit
that there is a problem and then after they have admitted, it would be easier to handle the
problem. Chemically-Impaired Nurse Essay

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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, accessibility to drugs in the work environment has played a significant role. Substance abuse among nurses is an arising issue in need of attention, it is alarming to know that patient safety and care is in danger when a chemically impaired nurse is in the workplace. Chemically-Impaired Nurse Essay

Thesis

Nurses are the ones whom trust is placed to care for the sick, but with the growing population of chemically impaired nurses, patient care is in danger. Factors that are contributing to substance abuse among nurses need to be further explored to combat the issue and provide better quality care for patients.

Analysis

There are several contributing factors to substance abuse among nurses such as family, and stress. Nurses who have family members with emotional problems and inability to cope, alcoholism, and drug use, have been linked to a higher risk of substance abuse (Talbert, 2009). Coming from a family that relies on substances tempts the nurse to be chemically dependent when experiencing high job demands. Chemically-Impaired Nurse Essay

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…clusion

Substance abuse in the field of nursing has become a serious problem. Every day exposure to drugs in addition to other factors have contributed to the issue of substance abuse among nurses and the impact on patient care. Some may still be unaware of the substance abuse problem nurses struggle with, and they don’t realize until they see the consequences on overall patient outcomes and work productivity. Learning to recognize the chemically impaired nurse has allowed the health care field to expand its awareness and begin to take action on this issue. “To ensure productivity, safety, and quality of care, most hospitals have instituted drug-free workplace programs…that identify prohibited behaviors and the consequences of violating the policy” (Epstein et al., 2010, p. 515). In hope of change to this issue, further action continues to be a work in progress. Chemically-Impaired Nurse Essay

Chemically- Impaired Nurses

Jaime Littles
Christina Mazzeo
Sociology 101
Research Paper
When deciding to enter the stressful and demanding field of nursing, I asked myself how will I physically, mentally, and emotionally deal with the demands of the profession? It takes a lot of long hours, knowledge of procedures and practices, and devotion to patients and their families. So how do nurses deal with the demands of their job? It has surprised me that in researching the profession that ten to twenty percent of practicing nurses have substance abuse problems. Substance abuse is defined as using excessive amounts of drugs or alcohol beyond their specified purpose. I chose to research this particular social problem because it concerns me that so many individuals are choosing to enter the nursing field to specifically help or care for the well-being of others, but are putting lives in danger by working under the influence of drugs and alcohol. Nurses handle, measure, and administer most of the medication given to hospitalized patients, giving them the most access to controlled substances. The reasons given for most of the drug abuse among nurses is psychological distress, physical exhaustion, and job dissatisfaction. It was interesting to learn that 10 percent of drug abuse begins while attending nursing school. At Salem Community College, drug testing is administered during the nursing program to prohibit the use of drugs and anyone with a previous drug charge may not apply to the program. I believe schools are trying to limit the amount of potential drug users from entering the profession. Chemically-Impaired Nurse Essay

When trying to propose solutions on how to combat this issue, one must use the three main sociological perspectives. First, the symbolic interactionist perspective uses symbols to consider details of everyday life and how people interact with each other. A symbolic interactionist may believe that drug use is a learned experience. Chemically-Impaired Nurse Essay