Medical Training

Hopefully this article will help future generations of nurses think about and prevent the spread of addiction of drugs among nurses. It is important that student think of the dangers and consequences associated with the drug abuse.

The prevalence of addiction especially among nurses and the signs and symptoms of addiction are very important point matters. It is vital to talk about adverse effects of not reporting an impaired colleague as well as the role of state boards of nursing in treatment of nurses who abuse substances.
Some consider alcohol and drug addiction as primary, and often, fatal health problems.

One of the reasons why the nurses abuse alcohol/drugs is related to family histories that include emotional impairment, alcoholism, drug use, and/or emotional abuse that results in low self-esteem, over achievement, and overwork.

Many nurses choose to stay quiet about a coworker who may have a substance-abuse problem because of loyalty, fear of being a hypocrite, guilt, or fear of jeopardizing a colleague’s license to practice. Some argue that addiction must be accepted as an illness, so that if recognized as illness can be treated. This way many will try addressing and recognizing the problem.

Statistics often indicate such information as:
*employed people who abuse substances are unreliable on the job
*compared to nonusers, alcohol and illicit drug users are more likely to have:
- changed jobs frequently,
- missed two or more days of work in the past month,
- resigned voluntarily from a job in the past year,
- been terminated by an employer in the past year, and
- been involved in a workplace accident in the past year.

The prevalence of alcohol and drug abuse in the nursing population has not been fully documented, but it is believed to parallel that of the general population. It is suspected that 10% of the nursing population has alcohol and/or drug abuse problems, and that 6% of nurses have problems that are serious enough to interfere with their ability to practice.*
* BVNET.

* Do check for LVN programs in California

Advanced practice registered nurse (APRN) is a term used for a registered nurse (RN) who has the advanced master level of educational and clinical practice experience, over the basic nursing education and licensing requirements.

The basic types of advanced practice registered nurses ARPNs is as follows:
• Nurse practitioner (NP) – Qualified with wide array of primary and preventive health care, prescribe medication, diagnose and treat common minor illnesses and injuries. Nurse practitioner can be found working in clinics, nursing homes, hospitals, or private offices.

• Certified nurse-midwife (CNM) – Proficient with gynecological and low-risk obstetrical care. They attend to child births and can be found working in hospitals, birth centers, and homes if required.

• Clinical nurse specialist (CNS) – Handle a wide range of physical and mental health problems, and also have forte in consultation, research, education, and administration. Clinical nurse Specialist can be found working in hospitals, clinics, nursing homes, private offices, and community-based settings.

• Certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNA) – Administer anesthetics to the patients and are the oldest lot of the advanced nursing specialties. Approximately 65% of anesthesia is given by certified registered nurse anesthetists.

Doctorate in Nursing Practice is going to be the shift in standard for qualification to be a APRN by 2015.Clinical Nurse Leader (CNL) is another masters level role in nursing care delivery which is introduced into educational programs. There are other masters level nursing roles to cater to nursing education, nursing administration etc.

Based on individual interests the RN’s can advance their education and careers to their area of expertise and liking.