Aspects of Impaired Nursing - Essay Example

M.C. works as a medical surgeon who specializes in the oncology nursing unit. Among the nurses, they are seven of them who have less than two years of nursing experience. This has led to them developing close relationships as coworkers. They therefore often meet after work for cocktails (Scott, 2010).

Her friends consider her therefore to be the “life of the party”. This could be attributed to her drinking. The same friends she drinks with believe she is on the edge of problematic behaviour. Unfortunately, none of their friends has considered mentioning this to her. It is known that this could compromise her safety (impaired driving) (Naegle, 1998). Her friends consider her to be fun to be around, but they dare not help her hence the partying will continue. She is known to be an excellent nurse and at the same time a hardworking person (Scott, 2010). She even volunteers for extra shifts during her extra free time. The research from the journal shows also that 18 million Americans suffer from alcohol abuse.

History also shows that huge numbers of persons suffering from alcoholism have a family history of problems with drinking. The exact number of nurses who abuse alcohol is not known. But, a big number of professional nurses assumed to have a problem with drinking is 6 to 10 per cent (Naegle, 1998). This problem has led to the nurses being impaired. In the end, the patient has to fear for their well-being while the nurses need intervention to protect them from inflicting personal harm. Read More