Prepare yourselves, the drug addict on Dr. Phil is a nurse.

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Now I am not going to make a negative or positive comment at this point because I have not seen the show. I only know three things at this point. One is that the promo they are running specifically says the woman is a nurse. Two is that yes, chemical abuse among health care workers is a real and growing problem. Three is that up until now Dr. Phil has been shall we say "unsupportive" of nurses.

Specializes in Med/Surg, Ortho.

As far as the abusive wife(nurse) i didnt get to see it except in a few short bursts as i was at work. But for that i say,, noone knows what goes on behind closed doors. It isnt as easy as walking away sometimes. He didnt seem to be a "bad guy" but i bet the Jekyl and Hyde syndrome came out most evenings when he was drunk.

As far as tonights show. I have to question whether the husband needed to know what she said, because it isnt clear in what context she was saying it. We didnt hear the interview itself, just the portions devulged in their meeting. He did need to see he was enabling her, that she was taking advantage of him and the kids and it HAD to change. If he felt her need for the drugs was ok because they were prescribed,, then why did he feel the need to hide the syringe under cookies he brought to his wife at work? Excuses and enabling,, typical co-dependancy.

Im going to stick my neck out and say most likely she wont ever clean up. He wont quite enabling her unless he goes through some intense therapy too.

There are so many families out there like this, maybe not this extreme but, its scarey.

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Watched both shows. I am amazed,sickened, and angry at these 2 women and these 2 men. Dr. Phil went for the shock value and got it. Now, it remains to be seen if there is help and healing for these families. I pity the kids. There will be no Dr. Phil around for them years down the road if this behavior pops its ugly head up in their lives, and I do believe it will happen. We must take classes on driving but parenting is still hit or miss in a lot of cases. So sad. :o

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Watched both shows. I am amazed,sickened, and angry at these 2 women and these 2 men. Dr. Phil went for the shock value and got it. Now, it remains to be seen if there is help and healing for these families. I pity the kids. There will be no Dr. Phil around for them years down the road if this behavior pops its ugly head up in their lives, and I do believe it will happen. We must take classes on driving but parenting is still hit or miss in a lot of cases. So sad. :o

DID NOT SEE EITHER SHOW JUST WANTED TO REPLY TO COMMENT ----YOU NEED A LISCENSE FOR EVERTHING ELSE BUT NOT TO BE A PARENT WHICH IS SO SAD--ON OUR NEWS COUPLE DAYS AGO MOM LEFT HER 3 YR OLD SON WITH HER BOYFRIEND---THE LITTLE BOY GOT SICK FROM ??? AND THREW UP--THE BOYFIEND I SUPPOSE GOT MAD AT THE 3 YR OLD BOY AND THREW SOME SORT OF LIQUID ON HIM WHICH WENT IN HIS NOSE MOUTH ALL OVER HIS LIL FACE THAT BURNED HIM SEVERLY HES IN A BURN UNIT NOW. WHEN LIL ONE EXAMINED THEY FOUND MULTIPLE OLD INJURIES. ---BOYFRIND IS IN JAIL NOW ---BOY STILL IN HOSPITAL---STILL DON'T KNOW WHAT EXACTLY CHILD WAS BURNED WITH SO SEVERLY (HEARD IT WAS NOT BLEACH )--- MOM IS STILL NOT SAYING ANYTHING AT ALL ABOUT BABY OR ALL THE OLD INJURIES??? HOW TERRIBLE :crying2:

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I have seen these control freak, obsessive complusive behaviors in managers before. Never occured to me that they might be on chemicals that are influencing their behavior. Next time I am dealing with one of them and they seem to be out of control and telling me it is my fault I will ask what they are taking.

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(Jeez, not again...)

I think his words "you're a nurse" were to imply "of all people, you think you would know".

That's all i'm saying here, how i personally feel about him has no bearing here, but i know this thread will turn into a slam-Dr.-Phil thread.

Seriously, you guys need to lighten up...stop pouncing on everyone who mentions nurses just to exaccerbate the already old nursing/victims polemic. If she had been the wife of a pastor and sleeping around, would we all run to our computers to complain that Dr. Phil said "but you're the pastors wife!"?

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No, but pastor's and their wives might.

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Specializes in Psych, Dialysis, L & D, Long Term Care.
Phil's addict is a nurse. BIG DEAL. Actually, good. Nurses are not infallible. Not perfect. Not pure white angels of mercy. We are real people.

I'm sure viewers of this show are smart enough to know that because one nurse has this debilitating addiction, that not ALL nurses suffer the same.

I wonder what is at the root of this person's addiction? Was it the stress of a terrible job situation that drove her to find an escape in using? Maybe it was something more deeply personal. Maybe it just happened. How would you all feel if it did turn out to be something related to the stress of nursing?

I think that by people making a big deal out of this they are saying that this nurse and her problem are unacceptable and shameful. Addiction happens. If her appearance on Dr Phil (whom I can't stand) helps just one other addicted nurse begin to come to terms with their own problem, then good.

She IS a nurse. Someone who one would think would know better. It just goes to show that addiction has no boundaries and that it could happen to anyone.

So why is this person being judged as "bad" for the image of nursing? It just kind of bothers me that this person is being judged and rejected by those in her profession and we don't even know ANY of the story?

I feel I should respond to the posts I've read thus far on this topic. I am a recovering opiate addict and, yes folks, a nurse. But I no longer label myself with anything...I am just me. I have over 3 years clean and sober, but not before losing literally everything to my addiction, including my RN license. Should nurses know better? Probably. But as has been stated, addiction does not discriminate and that demon could care less what you do for a living or how 'smart' you are. I graduated at the top of my class and became a lick-the-floor sick junkie. Now, however, after an IMMENSE amount of work, therapy, faith and quite simply, a will to live, I will be having my license reinstated in July and I am thrilled. My plans are to work in chemical dependency as I know all too well the horrors of this disease. My hope is that my peers will not judge me on who I was, but rather on who I am and what I can become.

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I don't watch Dr Phil myself. Like JMK above, I just hope he bothered to explain to the audience that addiction can effect anyone regardless of title, education, etc.

He promised he would do a show about the negative media stereotyping of nurses. Well guess he did...and he may have just added to it, by his choice of addict and highlighting her profession.

Admittedly I don't like him. I've heard too much from his family members who know him well, and don't like him either. ;)

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Specializes in Everything but psych!.

I'm anxious to have him feature: Cops who beat. Or how about Pilots who drink? Surely there's some good stories in there somewhere? :uhoh21:

I NEVER watch the Phil who really isn't much of a Dr. show. See too much human misery and dysfunction at work to want to invite it into my home.

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I feel I should respond to the posts I've read thus far on this topic. I am a recovering opiate addict and, yes folks, a nurse. But I no longer label myself with anything...I am just me. I have over 3 years clean and sober, but not before losing literally everything to my addiction, including my RN license. Should nurses know better? Probably. But as has been stated, addiction does not discriminate and that demon could care less what you do for a living or how 'smart' you are. I graduated at the top of my class and became a lick-the-floor sick junkie. Now, however, after an IMMENSE amount of work, therapy, faith and quite simply, a will to live, I will be having my license reinstated in July and I am thrilled. My plans are to work in chemical dependency as I know all too well the horrors of this disease. My hope is that my peers will not judge me on who I was, but rather on who I am and what I can become.

I applaud you for your honesty and the willingness to post your reply. The issue on Dr. Phil was not that the drug addict was a nurse, but that this was a human being, who by virtue of her education, and her chosen profession, her family and commitments, should have known better, and was choosing to kill herself and endanger her family in the process.

Drug addiction does not play favorites. Let's concentrate on how we can help our peers who find themselves in this situation, regardless of their professions. Let's address the ISSUE, don't kill the messenger.

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I feel I should respond to the posts I've read thus far on this topic. I am a recovering opiate addict and, yes folks, a nurse. But I no longer label myself with anything...I am just me. I have over 3 years clean and sober, but not before losing literally everything to my addiction, including my RN license. Should nurses know better? Probably. But as has been stated, addiction does not discriminate and that demon could care less what you do for a living or how 'smart' you are. I graduated at the top of my class and became a lick-the-floor sick junkie. Now, however, after an IMMENSE amount of work, therapy, faith and quite simply, a will to live, I will be having my license reinstated in July and I am thrilled. My plans are to work in chemical dependency as I know all too well the horrors of this disease. My hope is that my peers will not judge me on who I was, but rather on who I am and what I can become.

Congratulations on the 3 years..... :balloons: Having taken addictions classes, I realize what you are going through. I wish you luck!

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Yesterday I watched part of his show, and he had a couple on where the wife beat the crap out of her husband when he was drunk - repeatedly. It was pretty harsh, from what I saw. The woman was a "nurse". Is this a trend?

I knew the nurse that beats on her husband, only by working with her. She is a very impatient person not to mention very rude at times. She works at the county home in York, PA. The home had the cable turned off to the whole building a half hour before the show and a half hour after the show aired. They didn't want the residents to see the show.

Anyway, to get back to the nurse; she is a LPN who needs only to take her boards for her RN. They haven't pulled her license or anything yet, as far as I know she still works at the County Home. She should lose her license for what she does. We all know that abuse is reportable and not tolerated, in any form. There is no excse for what she does to him and those poor kids had seen everything. That is such a shame. I know that she broke our PA bi-laws in section 16 (1, 2, 8,10) I would certainly hope that the state has good enough sense to revoke her license and not issue a Rn license. To see what she did really gets me steamed. Gives the rest of us a bad name. Dr. Phil isn't helping things by airing it and announcing that she is a nurse. :angryfire

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