Substance Abuse In Nursing

Substance abuse occurs across all generations, cultures, and occupations, including nursing. For over a century, it has been recognized that there is a moderately high prevalence of addiction among nurses; currently, it is estimated that 20% of nurses have a substance misuse, abuse, and or addiction problem (Kunyk, 2013). Substance use among health professionals is a problem that threatens professional standards and the delivery of quality patient care. A chemically impaired nurse requires immediate concern and attention. Substance use in nursing impacts professional and personal relationships, put patients at risk and can cause possible health complications.
Violation of Ethical Principle by Chemically Dependent Nurses
There are many ethical …show more content…
However, if that nurse’s coworker or manager became aware that he or she was impaired, the principle of nonmaleficence would require it to be reported. “It is important administrators and staff understand that substance and drug misuse is a disease and view colleagues as peers who require treatment” (Miller, Kanai, Kebritchi, Grendell & Howard, 2015). It would also be the manager’s duty as a professional to assist the impaired nurse in getting help with the addiction to prevent further harm. “If at any time the manager suspects that an employee is chemically influenced and thus presents a potential hazard to patient safety, the employee must be immediately removed from the work environment” (Marquis & Huston, 2018). The principle of fidelity applies to both the patient and the nurse. It simply means that one will be faithful in meeting another’s reasonable expectations (Purtilo, 2015). The principle of fidelity is followed by reporting the nurse and removing them from active practice in order to be faithful to the …show more content…
Nurse managers with supportive attitudes can assist in helping impaired nurses through identification, intervention, referrals, rehabilitation, and reentry into the workforce. Through the process, the nurse manager can develop more of a compassionate attitude towards addiction and the employee. In this process, an impaired employee can obtain help instead of leaving the nursing profession, being prosecuted or dying from the addiction. The National Nurses Society on Addictions and the American Nurses Association have encouraged state nursing boards to adopt an alternative-to-discipline program (Monroe, Pearson, & Kenaga, 2013). These programs encourage each state to adopt non-punitive strategies to address the disease of chemical dependency (Monroe, Pearson, & Kenaga, 2013). The hope would be that once the impaired nurse has been discovered, he/she would be put on a leave of absence and put into a treatment program with the ultimate goal being the ability of the nurse to return to work in the nursing

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