Drug and Substance Abuse among Nursing Professionals - Research Paper Example

Drug and Substance Abuse among Nursing Professionals Part One: Argumentation Drug and substance abuse is a topic that has gained recognition among people of all ages, social backgrounds, and professions. However, the topic has gained less recognition among nurses, physicians, and other health care professionals. The society has the basic perception that those people who abuse drugs are ignorant about the dangers associated with the abuse. At the same time, anyone working as a health care professional is deemed fit to advise people against taking and abusing drugs (Shaw 564). It is undisputed that nurses and other medical practitioners have a vast knowledge of drug activity and abuse. They know the effects of drugs in detail, including the biochemical and pharmacological impacts and processes associated with drug use. With this knowledge, it is assumed that people in this profession should only teach and guide others on drugs. Nurses and other health care professionals are taken as mentors to other people in the society. At no point would the society expect health care professionals to be mentored by non-health experts on what they should do to stop relying on drugs. People working in the health care sectors seem to have been forgotten or neglected by the society as a whole. Although they are aware of the short-term and long-term dangers associated with the abuse of drugs, they would also want to know the best mechanism to stop using drugs. Some nurses have become addicted to drugs that quitting is a major problem. Similarly, they are faced with the predicament of being required to mentor their patients and advise them to stop using drugs. Patients also expect that nurses know what should be done in order for one to quit drugs. In such a scenario, nurses who abuse alcohol and drugs continue suffering, with no one to help them out (Fickenwirth 12). The primary factor that influences high drug abuse recognition is the assumption that drug abusers are either economically depressed or ignorant about the dangers of drugs. Nurses and other health care professionals are taken by society as people who are financially well-up and able to manage stress and depression. The society seems to ignore the fact that no one is his or her own doctor. Even those who take care of the social and psychological needs of the society need social and psychological help. Contrary to the general societal misconception, the number of nurses abusing drugs and alcohol has increased over the years. Researchers have found a significant number of nurses who report the lack of moral support from the society as the major factor that influence them to take drugs (Hemenway, Sara, & Graham 252). The society seems to be over-expectant on the role of nursing, forgetting that nurses are also human beings and can get depressed. Ta the same time, a nurse who is found taking drugs such as alcohol is seen as an irresponsible profession who needs to be fired for being a bad role model to the society. Nurses are expected to be morally upright all the time as far as human health is concerned. The society does not expect them to take drugs and preach against them at the same time. Based on the misconception of the society towards nursing, many health care professionals are forced to take drugs while hiding. They develop the feeling that people will not trust their services if they see them taking alcohol, smoking, or taking any other type of drug that society deems immoral. As some researchers have reported, the number of nurses abusing drugs in records is far much from the truth. The highest number goes to those who abuse drugs behind the scenes as a way of protecting the ethics of their career. The society only comes to learn about the problem when it is too late to control, especially in the addiction stage. In the field of practice, nurses encounter with patients with different problems that need careful attention. Similar to the patients they serve, nurses also have personal challenges that may deter them from giving the best service to the patients. The use of tobacco, alcohol, and other drugs is a common practice in many cultures and a common trend in the health care profession. Some nurses start using the drugs long before joining the nursing school while others get influenced by their nursing colleagues. Health conditions associated with drug and substance abuse affect about one in every four individuals in the society (Naegle 250). Health professionals, including nurses, must be able to intervene by educating the society on the dangers of abusing drugs. Ironically, some of these professionals are addicted drug users and may, therefore, have difficulties opening up fully to the patients about the dangers of abusing drugs. Part Two: Annotated Bibliography Naegle, Madeline. "Nurses and Matters of Substance." Imprint-New York-National Student Nurses Association- 53.5 (2006): 58-63. The use of drugs such as tobacco and alcohol is a common practice in many cultures. At the same time, people from all cultural backgrounds are qualified to join a school of nursing and practicing as a nurse. The authors explain that nurses are not different from other people in the society and are faced with similar personal challenges that face other community members. Before joining a nursing school, they are taken as people who depend on the society for moral and health support. However, the society expects practicing nurses to offer moral and health guidance, especially on issues to do with drugs. Parents entrust the practicing nurses with their children with the expectation that the children will copy good morals from them. At no point does the society expect the nurse to demand moral and health support from it. According to statistics reported in the article, substance abuse among nurses is parallel to abuse among people in other professions. This places nurses at an equal chance of suffering from the consequences of drug use. On the contrary, the society seems to concentrate on the drug exit strategies of other people but not nurses. The article under review reports the prevalence of smoking among nurses at 15 percent. This is a significant value compared to the societal perception that many health care professions are non-drug users. The article under review is a good source of understanding the prevalence of drug use among nurses. The opening paragraph of the article is particularly important because it introduces the reader to the profession of nursing as any other profession where people are faced with personal challenges. At the same time, the fact that drug and substance abuse among nurses is often overlooked by the society makes the article compliant with the topic of discussion. The article is also reliable based on its use of statistical data and concepts of relevance to the topic. The various sub-topics in the article also help to develop different ideas on the topic of discussion. The use of a table to highlight the prevalence of drug and substance abuse is also important to the reader. Even without getting down into the written details, the reader can understand the extent of the problem by following the statistical data provided. Shaw, Matthew F., et al. "Physicians and nurses with substance use disorders." Journal of Advanced Nursing 47.5 (2004): 561-571. Substance use disorders are common even among physicians and nurses. In the late 1970s and the 1980s, drug and substance abusing in the health care professional was a breach of the professional conduct and could lead to sacking of the individual. The situation created fears among nurses and other health care professionals using drugs. Presently,, the researchers report that the number of nurses and other practitioners abusing drugs is almost impossible to establish. Many practitioners are aware of the dangers of abusing drugs both on their health and the health of their patients. For this reason, they chose to abuse drugs in hiding. The study reports that both physicians and nurses are at similar risk of the dangers of abusing drugs as the general population. The problem with the abuse and addiction is no longer associated with ignorance about the dangers of abusing drugs. Even the health care professionals are faced with the problem of addiction and difficulties in quitting drugs. The abuse of clinical drugs is highest among nurses because they can access them more than the general public. However, when discussing the topic of drug and substance abuse, health care practitioners are always taken as educators of the subject. The society never expects the practitioners to depend on non-medics for moral support as far as drug and substance abuse is concerned. The article is fully academic reporting the findings of scholarly research. It is divided into sections starting with the background of the study, aim, and methods of the research. The authors also report the results obtained directly from the study. This makes the article reliable because it gives firsthand information on a study conducted in a real population. The partitioning of the article also makes it suitable for academic study because learners can follow the specific information they need in a specific section of the article. The authors of the article are qualified academicians, professors, and postdoctoral fellows in reputable institutions. This makes the article reliable and worth citing in the study. The article also brings a direct relationship between health care practitioners and drug use as well as the perception that the society has on the profession. The findings of the study that many health care professionals abuse drugs are also relevant and important in the current study. Hemenway, David, Sara J. Solnick, and Graham A. Colditz. "Smoking and suicide among nurses." American Journal of Public Health 83.2 (1993): 249-255. The problem of drug abuse is common even among the health care practitioners. The study covers a period of 12 years starting from 1976 to 1988 with a total of 103,602 nursing participants. Within the interval of the survey, more than 3,000 nurses among the participants had died as a result of smoking and depression-related suicide. At the same time, about 14, 000 nurses refused to continue with the study with the fear that they were exposing immoral practices that should not be exposed to the public about their profession. The study also established that, among the participants, the lesser drug addicts smoked up to 24 cigarettes per day while others smoked more than 25 per day. The study concluded that the prevalence of smoking among nurses is higher than expected. At the same time, the nurses were expected to offer guidance and counseling to members of the society on how to quit smoking. The article is important for the study based on a number of factors. The participants of the study reported in the article were all nurses, and smoked cigarettes. The statistics reported in the article also adds emphasis on the topic of discussion. The article is also published in a reliable journal and is, therefore, appropriate for academic study. It is also divided into sections that reflect how the study was conducted. Moreover, its use of firsthand information from the study makes it reliable and worth citing. Fickenwirth, Debra K. Substance Abuse Treatment Program Outcomes: Potential Implications for the Nurse Anesthetist. ProQuest, 2007. The book discusses substance abuse among the certified registered nurses. The authors argue that substance abuse is a continuing problem in the nursing profession that the society seems to have overlooked. The problem has impacted the profession through mental disorder problems and deaths of nurses. The factors that may lead to drug addiction among nurses are also discussed. Among them include the high stress levels associated with the profession, neglect by the society, and easy access to the drugs, at the same time; nurses do not receive moral support from the society as society members expect them to be mentors to drug users. The society tends to overlook the abuse of drugs among nurses with the misconception that the nursing profession prohibits the use of drugs. The book is a reliable source because it specifically deals with the topic of discussion and includes the results of studies conducted on the topic. The source also reports data in different formats, including the use of tables and graphs. This makes the information easily traced by the reader for quicker analysis of the problem. Works Cited Fickenwirth, Debra K. Substance Abuse Treatment Program Outcomes: Potential Implications for the Nurse Anesthetist. ProQuest, 2007. Hemenway, David, Sara J. Solnick, and Graham A. Colditz. "Smoking and suicide among nurses." American Journal of Public Health 83.2 (1993): 249-255. Naegle, Madeline. "Nurses and matters of substance." Imprint-New York-National Student Nurses Association- 53.5 (2006): 58-63. Shaw, Matthew F., et al. "Physicians and nurses with substance use disorders." Journal of Advanced Nursing 47.5 (2004): 561-571. Read More