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 icu,ccu,sicu,crna.

to iloveclay, My story is similar to yours. I was a workaholic, having chronic hip pain, depression and sleep disturbance due to menopause. I never used a drug or excessive etoh in my fifty years. Since the pain, depression and sleep pxs were treated I've had no desire to use any mood altering drugs or etoh. My error was not seeking another dr. when my doctor refused to help me with my issues. No I am in the MI HPRP and what a nightmare!

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Specializes in icu,ccu,sicu,crna.

I can relate with magsulfate totally! I took fentanyl patches to control my "pain" during my using yrs. Now with the help of my addictionist, AA and rational recovery I only take tylenol or ibuprofen for my pain and amazingly the pain isn't that bad!!! I see newbees coming into group who "aren't addicted" but can barely put 2 sentences together and take methadone for carpel tunnel!! I want to tell them that the methadone is the problem not the carpel tunnel but with help they will figure that out themselves. Get a good pain dr. who isn't into narcotics, go to AA/NA and therapy if you want to have a life and protect ur license.

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Specializes in icu,ccu,sicu,crna.

Jack, I would like to get more involved with peer assistance, counseling or assisting recovering health professionals in the state of MI. How wwould you suggest I proceed? I attend AA/NA and caduceus meetings where I am active with helping those in recovery but I would like to do more? Any suggestions? Thanks.

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Specializes in Impaired Nurse Advocate, CRNA, ER,.
Jack, I would like to get more involved with peer assistance, counseling or assisting recovering health professionals in the state of MI. How would you suggest I proceed? I attend AA/NA and caduceus meetings where I am active with helping those in recovery but I would like to do more? Any suggestions? Thanks.

Good for you! I'm always glad to see folks want to use their exerience to assist others going through all this BS.

A word of warning...working with impaired health care professionals can be extremely frustrating for a number of reasons. The biggest reason is the lack of education and understanding by our nursing colleagues. They generally make judgments about those with the disease of addiction on the same things most folks in society use. I call them the 3-Ms of addiction:

  • Myth
  • Misbelief
  • Misinformation

One of the best ways I've found to let folks know I'm available to help is by speaking to nursing programs. As a peer advisor for nurse anesthetists, my partner and I speak to the anesthesia programs in our state. We've also started speaking at some of the nursing schools around our area. We were able to intervene with a student who heard our presentation just a couple of months ago. Her classmates performed an "intervention and then contacted us after she admitted she was struggling. By the end of the day we had her admitted to a treatment program and had the family involved (extremely supportive of their daughter). I wish it went that well with all of the folks we get involved with, but it doesn't. feel free to PM me and we can discuss it in more detail.

Thanks for giving back to the program! This is exactly what step 12 is all about.

Jack

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Specializes in icu,ccu,sicu,crna.

Jack, Thanks for the info. I will contact MNA. From what I've seen in the last 2 years there is alot of work to do. The HPRPprogram here is dismal at best. Hope to make a difference. Peace8

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outraged! a newly licensed lpn (less than one month) has forged narcotic scripts stolen from dr's office and dr does not want to report her!!!! if she is ballsy enough to do this as a new grad, hate to think what the future will bring!!!

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Specializes in Impaired Nurse Advocate, CRNA, ER,.
outraged! a newly licensed lpn (less than one month) has forged narcotic scripts stolen from dr's office and dr does not want to report her!!!! if she is ballsy enough to do this as a new grad, hate to think what the future will bring!!!

Without appropriate treatment and extended follow up...more of the same.

Jack

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