Drug addicted nurses

Nurses Recovery

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I am a nursing student and in one of my classes we have recently talked about nurses and substance abuse. I think that it is hard for me to wrap my brain around the issue. My questions are:

1. what do you do as a fellow nurse and friend of someone who is involved in substance abuse...especially in the workplace?

2. is this really prevelent and have any of you been put in this position?

Thanks!!

Specializes in CRNA, Finally retired.

Jack, Thank you for taking the time give such an eloquent response here.I perceive that people are getting more educated about the subject of addiction, but having said that, I feel like hitting my head on the wall when I'm confronted with ignorance from nurses. However, its simple-minded for me to expect that everyone has evolved from their own experiences with addiction. Most people don't have the emotional equipment or the insight to evaluate their reaction to the problem of addiction. I try to show people that addiction just IS and we have to accept it. If we can accept it in others without making moral judgements THEN and ONLY THEN, will healing be possible. I'm sorry it took two relapses for you to get out of anesthesia and I'm sorry for your loss of profession. But I'm delighted that you're giving back to others what you've learned the hardest way possible.

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Specializes in Med-Surg, Trauma, Ortho, Neuro, Cardiac.

Jack what an awesome post. Thanks for sharing.

Moving to the recovery forum, which as started after this thread was originally posted.

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Pyxis is not the complete safeguard you may think. Many times narcotics come in unit doses and some must be wasted. While a 2nd nurse is required, and is supposed to witness the disposal of the excess, when it busy this doesn't always happen, which makes it easy for an addict to keep the excess either for their personal use, or to sell to someone else.

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Specializes in Med-Surg, Trauma, Ortho, Neuro, Cardiac.
Pyxis is not the complete safeguard you may think. Many times narcotics come in unit doses and some must be wasted. While a 2nd nurse is required, and is supposed to witness the disposal of the excess, when it busy this doesn't always happen, which makes it easy for an addict to keep the excess either for their personal use, or to sell to someone else.

When there's a will, there's a way. Addicts can be very clever in what lengths they are willing to go to feed their addiction.

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Specializes in ED.
YES! I worked with one. She was allowed back, on the condition she had to complete rehab and have no access to the narcotics cabinet. The only reason she is no longer with us today, is she relapsed and quit rehab.

Temperamental Redhead,

I do realize I am responding to quite an outdated message... I hope you will still receive my response.

So, unfortunately, in 1996, my charge nurse coded on me in the med room one (already-short-staffed) evening in the ED. Whoa was I taken for a loop! There went my innocence. She would have been one of the last I would have even suspected.

I saw her a few years later working on the NICU of a hospital where a friend of mine had her baby. Wow! I am still flabbergasted.

CYA sista

Heather ;)

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I am new to these forums but I find this topic fascinating. Although I have never experienced addiction personally, I just wanted to send a word of encouragement out there to everyone on these forums who are recovering/still addicted. A very close relative of mine is addicted to narcs. Back in December he checked himself into a 5 day rehab only to relapse again a few months later. I think he was snorting oxycontin. I am scared because now he is going through withdrawal-type symptoms again. I'm worried he is using again. I am praying for each and everyone of you. I just want to tell you all that life is worth living and although "weeping remains for a night, rejoicing comes in the morning!" Please do not give up hope for yourselves or your loved ones coping with addiction. I know you can all make it through this time in your lives. I ask you to please pray for my relative as well. God Bless you all!! :))

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Specializes in ED.

Not long after writing the above post a dear friend of mine told me that she is addicted to narcs. She is at a treatment center now. I pray for her daily and will pray for your family too. I can only imagine what it is like for them to go through this.

It really does affect everyone. I worry about her so much and wish so badly that I could do something to change her addiction. I am still working on accepting it.

In the mean time I am doing my best to take care of myself and reach out to friends and family as much as possible. I hope you are taking care of you.

Thank you for your thoughts and kind words.

:icon_hug:

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Specializes in ED.
I agree. The problem is with a pending felonies and a revoked liscence who out there wants to hire me. The real shame is I got ten letters from Er Doctors who say I am an excellent RN, a good person and deserve not to be incarcerated but rehab. I just hope they take that into consideration. The other part is that I really loved my job. I am male RN, fast and moved those patients fast. I miss it so bad. I agree however I cant be around narcotics now that I have become an addict. I am in recovery but I so miss the fast ER life. I try each day to find a reason to stay alive. Right now my kids are all that I am holding onto.

I am praying that this creates a new opportunity for you rather than just a bad break. Have you considered teaching or an aspect of ED management in your future? You have so much to offer. I hope you acknowledge the value in that and in you for having the strength to recover. This could happen to anyone.

I wish you the best

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Specializes in ED.
I haven't had much experience with drug addicted nurses, but I can see how easily it could happen. I've had frequent headaches (several times a week) since I was at school; before I started nursing I couldn't swallow tablets, and you have to really want to take something if you need to chew it! I got my first migraine a few months into my course, and between that and a concern about becoming one of those can't-swallow-pills patients, I learned how. And once I could, I started taking analgesics for my headaches. And then, knowing that a couple of Panadeine Forte (500mg paracetamol and 30mg codeine/tablet), which I was prescribed for migraines, would get rid of a headache, I strated using them for headaches too. It never became a problem, but only because my unit started treating patients with rebound headaches (due to overuse of analgesica and anti-migrainoids) and I saw my future.

It gave me a much better insight into at least one route to drug use, and I think has made me a better nurse. If I judged fellow nurses, I would also be judging all drug-dependant people, and I think that would be wrong.

As others have posted, we're people as well as nurses, and therefore at least as subject to the frailties of the rest of our race.

I hope you don't mind me asking... but did your headaches just go away in time? Did you ever find out what was causing them?

cheers

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Specializes in Medical.

After years of prompting from my dentist father I saw an orthodontist - although I have orthodonture (years of it) when I was a teen, my bite's apparently very complex, and I was grinding my teeth. After I needed root canal work I finally made an appointment - my headaches dropped in half after the first assessment (he ground down the point of a canine) and now, after three years of orthodonture, one surgery and a couple of years of maintenance (I see him annually), I get a headache every few weeks, more if I haven't been sleeping or drinking enough. I only get a bad headache oncve in a blue moon, and every time I do I wonder why on earth I put up with them for so long!

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Specializes in CRNA, Finally retired.
When there's a will, there's a way. Addicts can be very clever in what lengths they are willing to go to feed their addiction.

All the safeguards (pysix, double counting wastes, etc) hasn't made a dent in the rate of drug addiction. Addicts will always outsmart the system until they're so sick they have very little rational thought left. Usually its not picked up until a huge amount of narcs are missing or the addict attempts to remove the entire narc locker from the wall. That's why we have to remain alert to the fact that this is a diagnosis that can happen to anyone - and it usually happens to the best educated and the hardest working.

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Regardless of how I may personally feel about the ethical/legal issues of nursing and addiction, I just wanted to send out a message of hope for everyone struggling with this issue. Someone very close to me is also struggling with addiction and it is very painful and confusing to watch and understand. There is HOPE FOR THE HOPELESS. Please don't give up. The Lord loves you and all His children are the apple of His eye. Keep fighting the good fight. God love you all and I will pray for you!

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