drug prevention in health care workers

[1sister1101]

I graduated in 1979 with an A.D. in Nursing, then got my Paramedic. I don't remember taking any classes about the high incidence of drug addiction in health care workers and how to prevent it, how to recognize the signs of it, both in yourself and in your peers. I began to divert after a bad car wreck in which I fractured my sternum and nearly died from addiction. I worked in a ten bed Critical Care unit and at the very same time two other nurses (from CCU) were also diverting! One of them went to jail and the other lost their child. It devastates lives. Do they teach anything about it in Nursing school now? I am now retired and live in a small town and don't know any new grads or brand new R.N.'s. In school is it barely touched on or is it discussed in full? Or not mentioned at all?

[Twoyearnurse]

You all are so brave! Please please keep that dream of spreading this message to others. If anything when one of those nursing students end up with this issue they will know where to go and who to contact. Fear kept my problem a secret because I truly thought I was the only one! It was by luck I even found this website. If I had known that it's estimated that 10%+ of nurses go through this at some point (meaning that in my class of 40 nurses 4 of us had that potential) it would have opened my eyes a bit. Of course that doesn't guarantee I would have dodged this bullet but maybe I would have not felt so much fear about getting help.