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Substance abuse among nurses—Defining the issue
Author(s) -
Dunn Debra
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
aorn journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.222
H-Index - 43
eISSN - 1878-0369
pISSN - 0001-2092
DOI - 10.1016/s0001-2092(06)60028-8
Subject(s) - substance abuse , addiction , jurisdiction , nursing , population , reputation , medicine , silence , psychiatry , psychology , political science , environmental health , law , philosophy , aesthetics
• THE PREVALENCE OF SUBSTANCE ABUSE in the nurse population is believed to parallel that in the general population (ie, approximately 10%). • NURSES WITH SUBSTANCE ABUSE problems need help. They are in danger of harming patients, the facility's reputation, the nursing profession, and themselves. The consequences of not reporting concerns can be far worse than those of reporting the issue. • PART ONE OF THIS TWO‐PART SERIES discusses how society views addiction and the nursing profession, signs and symptoms of substance abuse, reasons nurses should report an impaired colleague, the code of silence that exists among nurses, and board of nursing jurisdiction. AORN J 82 (October 2005) 573–596.