Chemically Impaired Nurses

Paper Summary:

Health care workers face a number of challenges every day. Some have to work with nurses who are chemically impaired, while others are dealing with the impairment. This paper shows the importance of examining this growing problem in order to gain a better insight into those who are affected.

Paper Outline
Introduction
A Long History
Defining Impairment
Increased Awareness
Alarming Statistics
Impairment Causes
Denial
Dependency in the Workplace
Addiction Per Specialty
Treatment Implications
Recovery Process
Returning to Work
Conclusion

From the Paper:

"There are other complications which must be addressed during treatment of the impaired nurses. These issues include being considered a role model by everyone, having trouble becoming a patient instead of a caregiver, thinking instead of feeling, guilt over taking a patient's medication and possibly endangering the patient, and denial about the addiction due to taking prescription medications instead of street drugs. Since a nurse's work environment provides greater access to drugs, there may be concerns of a relapse upon returning to work."

More papers on Chemically Impaired Nurses:

• Term Paper # 46558 : "Nurses and Substance Abuse"
• Research Paper # 115224 : "Substance Abuse Among Nurses"
• Term Paper # 106880 : "Substance Abusing Nurses"

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