Background of the study
According to the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists, the aspect of impaired nurses in the medical sector has been in the rise in the recent years. As a matter of fact, it is the role of the nurses to be caring and compassionate to the patients, colleagues and to themselves. Nurses who are exposed to substance abuse pose a threat to the patients, colleagues and themselves because they are at a high chance of neglect. Basically, nursing is among the professionals with high esteem (Thomas, 2014). Nevertheless, it is also associated with negative aspects such as nurses’ substance abuse. Given the stressful and demanding nature of nursing most nurses in United States have ended up abusing substances. The topic “The Impaired Nurse” has been selected for discussion because it is a stigma that results into moral failure and lack of willpower among the medical practitioners in United States and the society at large.
Current relevance materials
Drug abuse among healthcare practitioners is believed to be devastating because it leads into professional ethics breach, affects the health centers reputation and put the patients under care at risk. The nurses might complicate their lives and those of their colleagues at the workplace. Despite the fact that it is always difficult to obtain accurate statistics in regard to nurses being addicted to drugs, the American Nurses Association estimated that 10 percent of the nurses in nursing sector abuse drugs or are addictive to drugs (Thomas, 2014). The association believes that this rating is consistent with that of the United States population. The aspect of impaired nurse or drug addiction is a major healthcare risk among the nurses and healthcare professional. Nursing specialists such as psychiatry, oncology, critical care and anesthesia which are highly demanding pressure the nurses to engage in substance abuse due to physical demands and intense emotions.
Despite the nurses experience and areas of practice several addictive triggers such as shift rotation, mandatory overtime and stressful long time shifts which are normally tough to them, friends and families make them engage into drug abuse. Basically, the nurses do go through one physical and emotional stress to another. Therefore, with availability of drugs at the work place and acceptance of the power of drugs in helping a nurse to perform and feel better highly resulted into professional healthcare drug abuse (Cynthia, 2013). Given that the nursing care is the United States healthcare system backbone, the nurses are significant to the quality of care being provided in the healthcare facilities and the patients’ wellbeing. As a matter of fact, addictive and substance abuse nurses in healthcare facilities have high chances of jeopardizing the patients’ safety as a result of slower reaction time, impaired judgments, Patients’ neglect, mistakes and drug diversion from the appropriate patients.
Given the nurses’ familiarity and access to drugs, they always feel comfortable to use them. Most of the nurses in the healthcare facilities erroneously believe that because of their knowledge and skills in drugs they have the ability to medicate themselves without being addictive or resulting into substance abuse (Thomas, 2014). Although the drug abuse and alcoholism among the nurse is equivalent to that of the general public, prescription medical use is believed to be higher among the nurses in comparison to the street drugs abuse such as marijuana and cocaine. According to the Centers for drug control and prevention the impaired nurse in terms of alcoholism leads the list of addiction followed by opiates, amphetamines, tranquilizers, sedatives and inhalants.
The manner in which the aspect of impaired nurse is integrated in the clinical practice
The American Nurses Association suggests that patient safety is vital and essential component when it comes to quality nursing. Nevertheless, the healthcare system in United States is prone to errors which compromise the safety of the patients. Different stakeholders such as the nurses, researchers, general public, legislators and professionals are responsible in ensuring that patients are exposed to no harm and that care to the patients is delivered safely. The impaired nurse practice is associated with errors which occur when planned physical and mental activities fails to achieve the expected outcome (Ann, 2012). The United States consumer protection and quality healthcare suggested that impaired nursing results into approximately 28% and 42% of adverse reactions and life threatening events respectively among the nurses. In addition, about 20% of the patients in the tertiary medical centers are believed to be affected by the impaired nursing practice. The report went ahead to suggest that 10 to 30 percent of the laboratory tests results in United States are inappropriately classified by the impaired nurses.
Recently, the Institute of Medicine in United States described the healthcare systems as prone to errors, fractured and harmful to the patient safety as a result of the alarming rate of the impaired nurse aspects in the country. Patients’ safety has been described as an action to establish operational processes and systems which minimizes errors and maximizes safety. As a result, the institute suggested that it is the duty of every medical practitioner to ensure: safety, effectiveness, be patient –centered, be timely, efficient and observe equitability in healthcare services provision (Thomas, 2014). Basically, nursing is a professional that is knowledge-based. Therefore, impaired nurse would not be in a better position to critically think and use the acquired knowledge in nursing in delivering the essential healthcare demanded by the patients for their safety and wellbeing. The impaired nurse breach the nursing standards by failing to put the patients in an appropriate condition in which nature may act upon the un-well patient. The impaired nurse fails to provide the necessary care to the patient in accordance with the nursing facility.
Given the substance abuse and drug addition, the nurses in healthcare centers fails to follow the rules, laws and standards established in ensuring the safety of the patients. Despite the fact that there are organizations and bodies in united states held with the responsibilities of ensuring that the nurses follow the rules, regulations and laws of professional ethics and standards, the aspects of impaired nurse such as alcoholism has drastically risen among most nurses in United States (Thomas, 2014). The nurses are endowed with the responsibility of ensuring that the patients are out of potential harm, they are at stable condition, are in position to handle complex tasks, are innovative, are in position of solving problems, can predict outcomes which seems unpredictable and successfully completes the tasks. Nonetheless, with the aspects of impaired nurse, the nurses are always not in a position to provide appropriate levels of supervision and direction when delivering healthcare services to the patients.
How the information is used in clinical setting
Although changes in service delivery, organizational structures and financing are occurring in most of the healthcare facilities, the aspect of impaired nurse has had a significant impact on the practices healthcare providers and the systems which establishes nursing practice competence. It is the role of the nurses to establish respect for every human dignity during provision of care by ensuring that they respect the customs and beliefs of individuals, communities and families (Storr, 2015). The nurses are necessitated to account for the needs and values of all people in their professional relationship. Recent research indicates that impaired nurse aspects have led the nurses in failing to respect human dignity. Regardless of the patients’ unique differences, the healthcare is believed to be universal. The high rate if impaired nursing practices most nurses especially in united states have failed in their duties of ensuring that the establishes a therapeutic relationships with the patients while administering their nursing care irrespective of the patients’ differences.
Once the nurses are under the influence of the substance abuse and drug addiction they fail to put into consideration the beliefs, values and respect for the patient hence resulting into unsafe and risky healthcare services (Ann, 2012). Moreover, the nature of the health problems among the patients should never at one time be used by the nurses in establishing the worth of the patient. The impaired nurse aspect makes the nurses to disrespect the dignity, rights and worth for all the patients seeking nursing comfort, support, health restoration and prevention. Once the nurses are impaired in their roles and standards, they no longer respect the laws, rules and regulations governing their profession.
Based on Impaired nurse research, the nurses have come to realize that standards in nursing practice are benchmarks of achievements based on the expect level of excellence and performance. Therefore, it is of great significance for the nurses to understand that the criteria of performance are pre-determined elements against which the aspects of medical services quality are compared and established. The aspect of impaired nursing continues to call for professional standards in nursing in order to promote quality healthcare (Storr, 2015). As a matter of fact, understanding the impact of impaired nursing greatly influence the nurses in coordination of care, ensuring that the services provided are research and scientifically based for the purpose of minimizing the risks and maximizing the safety of the patients. Therefore, high levels of clinical judgment are of great significant for both the patient and the nurse. Understanding the impact of the impaired nurse has assisted the nursing practitioners in designing administrative, clinical and research nursing standards and practices.
How I would lobby the local government for funds to support the impaired nurse aspect
In the same way the American Nursing Association recognizes the impact of impaired nurse to both the patients and the nurses, I understand that the nurses have the compassionate duty and care to minimize the patients’ risks and maximize their safety. Nevertheless, the increased levels of drug abuse and drug addiction, there is need for the local legislators and government to raise fund and establish an Impaired Nurses Resource Center which would be at the forefront in supporting the addicted nurses to recover. The centre shall also be at the forefront in providing strong peer assistance and supportive programs in nursing which will call for all the stakeholders in the nursing sector such as the administrators, nurses, scientists and researchers in ensuring that they follow the rules, laws and regulations of nursing. By the local government supporting me with the necessary funds and financial resources to establish an impaired nurse center I would be in a better position to ensure that the nurses with the substance abuse and drugs abuse behaviors goes through rehabilitation programs which would ensure that they are professional accountable (Heron, 2016). The sponsored program shall also be in a position to offer comprehensive support and monitoring services for the nurses who would have gone through the reasonable rehabilitation services. The impaired nurse resource center and programs would also ensure that all the nurses and healthcare practitioners observe safety, effectiveness, equitability, efficiency, patient-centered and are timely in their actions and decision making. In conclusion, once funded, the Impaired Nurse Center would mitigate the processes and systems errors associated with impaired nursing, substance abuse and drug addiction among the American nurses.
References
Thomas, L. (2014). American Association of Nurse Anesthetists Peer Assistance Program. American Nursing Association Journal. Vol. 3, Pp. 23-29.
