![]() ![]() I don’t know if it means anything, and I don’t want to cause a problem for Joe, but I just have a feeling that something is not right,” Dave said. He did not talk to me the rest of the night. When I told Joe I had just talked to the patient and she supposedly had already had the pain medication, he became upset and asked me why I was questioning him. ![]() Joe seemed nervous telling me he was getting ready to give some Demerol to the same patient who was complaining of unrelieved pain. I asked Joe what he was doing with the syringe in the bathroom. When I found Joe he was coming out of the bathroom with a syringe in his hand. The patient told me she was not getting any relief from her pain medication that Joe had administered over an hour ago. I answered a patient’s call light for Joe. “I was working extra last week and about 9 pm. “Sally do you have a minute? I need to talk to you about something I witnessed last week,” asked Dave. We all deal with our problems differently.” Would you be willing to inform management if you suspect a nurse is diverting medication? She’s probably just tired from working the night shift or maybe she’s having some personal problems. She’s an excellent nurse,” Tom replied, “Besides Jane certainly doesn’t look like a drug user. “Drugs! Not Jane, she would never take drugs. “If I didn’t know better I would think Jane was taking drugs or something,” Polly commented. “I worked with Jane this week and she seemed in a daze most of the shift,” replied Tom. ![]() “Have you seen Jane lately? She used to be so neat and clean but for the past several months she doesn’t seem to care about her appearance,” stated Polly. What does a substance abuse nurse look like? Nurses should be aware of the signs and symptoms of substance abuse and know when to report a coworker suspected of substance abuse to management.Ĭonsider the following questions and situations. Addiction is considered a disease, but the addicted nurse remains responsible for actions when working. Impaired nurses can become dysfunctional in their ability to provide safe, appropriate patient care. Although nurses aren’t at a higher increase risk than the public sector, their overall pattern of dependency is unique because they have greater access to drugs in the work environment. About 1 in 10, or 10-15% of all nurses, may be impaired or in recovery from alcohol or drug addiction. Substance abuse occurs across all generations, cultures, and occupations, including nursing. ![]()
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