Substance Abuse In The Workplace

As in the emergency department, nurses were 3.5 times as likely to use marijuana and cocaine (Young, 2008). Nurses are using substances as a coping mechanism to their stressful work environment. Excessive workload due to the nursing shortage, shift rotations, working longer hours and floating to different units leads nurses to high stress levels (Epstein et al., 2010). In addition to alcohol and substances nurses can access in the streets, nurses can also abuse substances at work through their patients medications.

The United States healthcare system has undergone a wide variety of changes over the past few years. As the overall health of its citizens continues to deteriorate and people live longer, certain aspects of healthcare are costing an increasingly large portion of the healthcare budget. Problems such as obesity, diabetes, cancer, and substance abuse have become the most pressing issues facing healthcare providers today.

Annotated Bibliography Thesis: In the American society today, many families today and individuals are affected by the constant abuse of drugs and alcohol. Both alcohol and drug abuse victimize children and teens of all ages, ruin lives and damage families. Crimando, William, and T. F. Riggar.

Today in the United States, 73% of drug users are employed, costing American businesses billions of dollars annually in lost productivity and health care costs. Studies reveal that employees who abuse drugs have a tremendously harmful effect on the workplace—they are more likely to have extended absences from work, show up late, be involved in workplace accidents, and file workers’ compensation claims.

I do not think that there is a precedent for this issue. I see drug use in the workplace as being a distinct issue. It is of sufficient severity to merit its own status in negotiations with unions and to have its own policies. The outcomes are severe amputation, major lawsuits and they need to be dealt with, without leaning on some obscure past precedent as a crutch. Around 75% of all illicit drug users are employed (NIDA, 2008) and that makes this a serious issue for the company, since there is near-certainty that drug use occurs among members of the workforce. A new policy needs to be created here.

The Impaired Employee Substance abuse occurs all over the world and even in high respected professionals such as nursing. Substance abuse can impair a nurse’s ability to perform their job and can put their patients, organization, and themselves at risk. Nursing is a hard profession; nurses are dedicated to taking care of others. Nurses often times become physically and emotionally stressed because they are taking care of a large array of diverse patients. Many of the patients have many different needs physically, mentally, and emotionally.

In many places around the world substance abuse has become a frequent issue. Many people may not be aware of substance abuse in nurses, from prescription drugs to alcohol and even cigarettes. Abuse from nurses poses a new challenge to the profession due to their jobs as caretakers and their access to controlled substances. It is a perplexing thought that people whose profession is to care for other don’t do the same for themselves. Nurses do in fact have stressful jobs, however, it is certainly unexpected that nurses interact with substance abuse patients and continue to abuse themselves. Therefore, one would think nurses of all people. would know how damaging certain substances can be to the body. Patients are more likely to be influenced by the actions of their caretakers, being their beacon of health and care. It is crucial for nurses to be aware of the drug abuse that occurs within their profession. The negative behavioral impacts of substance abuse disorder is far spreading and greatly impacts the safe and trusted care that nurses give.

Counselor met with patient for his monthly individual session. In this session, Pt. expressed being bothered his family members interaction during his grandmother’s funeral and being worried about his mother. Pt. shared with this writer how few people show up and nobody when to see her been buried. Pt. reported that he, his wife and kids went to the funeral and observed her been buried. Pt. verbalized that he cried and his wife and kids were very upset. Primary Counselor assisted this Pt. with understanding that if you don’t ever deal with emotional pain, it never really goes away. Counselor encouraged Pt. to check on his mother everyday by calling her. Counselor inquired if he used heroin after the funeral, which he replied yes. Pt. shared that he used heroin by himself this past Friday around 7 pm. Counselor encouraged pt. to explore the reality of the relapse as a learning opportunity, to be aware of the justification he used to get permission to use and to use positive thoughts in order to not give up on his recovery. During session, Pt. received a call about new job offer installing solar panel in Rehoboth Beach, De. Counselor discussed with pt. that find about it was going to be recommend during this quarter tx suggestions due to being stress about financial issues. Pt. indicated that he is going to continue managing his Costal Construction Company. Pt. denied any suicidal ideation and mental health issues at the moment. Pt. reported that his current dosage of methadone is working well. Pt was advised to talk to his support person/sponsor and share his feelings at a meeting or with his peers during

The workplace is affected in many aspects. Financial cost to overall morale of a company can be related to drug abuse. Companies are realizing that it is important from the get go to have a clear plan on how to deal with drug abuse. Employment drug testing in Louisiana and other states is taking a major role in the hiring process. Policies need to be in place so that employees understand their agreement when it comes to drug use.

Drug testing can be very crucial to have within a work environment and athletic competition. Drugs are chemicals and can have various effects on the body. Drugs carry an impact on “a person’s judgment, alertness, perception, motor coordination, or emotional state that also impacts working safely or safety sensitive decisions.” There is also performance enhancing drugs which some athletics use to increase strength and gain an advantage over the competition. Having a drug free work environment is very important because it can lead to a very organized and successful business.

During previous discussions the client always reverts back to how his life would have been better if he could have lived with his grandmother; his grief comes in on waves when talking about his grandmother. He still misses his grandmother and the sadness is so great that it literally has caused him physical pain during his life. Pain such as drug abuse, alcoholism, failed relationships, physical altercations with his family and in and out of prison. Furthermore, and recently, the client is now starting to discuss his anger issues; when he gets upset or irritated by someone and doesn’t know how to control his impulses of anger and frustration.

We find drugs everywhere. In our homes, schools, and even work places. Workplace drug use/abuse has become a very large issue in our society. Charles Faupel, Greg Weaver, and Jay Corzine go into depth about work place violence in The Economics Correlates of Drug Use (2010). They break it up into three sections: the nature and prevalence of drug and alcohol use, working conditions, and response to drug use in the work place. Faupel et al. state, “…In 2010, 66 percent of those who currently used illicit drugs were employed full or part time” (286). This data supports the fact that people that use and abuse drugs are not always on the street or unemployed. Faupel et al. go on to say that drug use is very prevalent in the work place and can cause the employer and employees unneeded problems. Faupel et al. find an interesting link between drug/alcohol use and workplace size. It turns out that as the number of employee’s increases, fewer employees report that they are using. They also found that drug use is higher in certain workplaces such as construction and food services. The last relationship they explained was that there are no specific characteristics that are linked to drug use, but there are a few that can predict it. The response to use in the workplace has changed overtime. Drug use used to be ignored. Most companies now have mandatory drug testing and assistance programs for their employees (290). Faupel et al. state that even though most jobs require drug testing,

In the 21st century, drug use and substance abuse has become a leading problem in the workplace environment and is providing administrative and management leadership agencies with challenging ethical dilemmas. Aside from the safety and liability issues drug use can cause for employers, businesses and organizations, there is a growing ethical responsibility for leadership members to establish and apply

In modern times, more and more people are developing addictions to drugs. Onlinecollege.org’s webpage has twenty case studies that every business student should know. The number one case was drug usage in the workplace. The particular case study presents some dilemmas. A very capable administrative assistant began using cocaine, first only after paydays but then began taking the drug during work hours in the bathroom. She started missing days at work and when she was there, her demeanor changed and she was no longer personable with the clients in person or on the phone. Finally, one of her managers caught her snorting cocaine in the bathroom and confronted administrative assistant about it. The assistant quit on

A person’s dependency of their specific drug of choice can drastically change their work performance. Substance abuse in the workplace will ultimately lead to an enormous downfall of productivity, physical injuries and fatalities. Even though there are pre-employment drug screening, there are also way to get around them or hide a person’s addiction if it is not a drug they are screening for, such as alcohol. “.According to the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (NCADD), more than 70 percent of those abusing illicit drugs in America are employed, as are most binge drinkers.” When an employee is on the clock and under the influence, the employer is held responsible for any misfortune that happens on the company’s time, which