Open AccessOccupational Challenges in Physicians with Substance Use Disorder: A Qualitative Study
Author(s) -
Darshan Shadakshari,
Krishna Prasad Muliyala,
Deepak Jayarajan,
Arun Kandasamy
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
indian journal of psychological medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.417
H-Index - 24
eISSN - 0975-1564
pISSN - 0253-7176
DOI - 10.1177/02537176211020520
Subject(s) - substance use , qualitative research , substance abuse , interpersonal communication , addiction , medicine , health care , psychology , nursing , family medicine , psychiatry , social psychology , social science , sociology , economics , economic growth
Background: Substance use disorders (SUDs) in physicians impact their professional responsibilities toward patients. Understanding the difficulties of physicians with SUDs would facilitate early identification and reduce the complications they face in various domains, particularly in settings where there are no physician-health care programs. In this background, we aimed to understand the challenges physicians with SUDs face at their workplace.Methods: Qualitative in-depth interviews of 21 physicians receiving treatment from a tertiary care addiction medicine center for their SUD were conducted and, based on the transcripts from the interview after coding and recoding, through inductive content analysis, themes and subthemes were identified.Results: The following occupational challenges were identified: direct consequences of the psychoactive effect of the substance, adverse effects on clinical care and service delivery, impairment in regularity and punctuality, changes in the physicians’ behaviors, changes in the work environment and diverse responses of colleagues and the hospital administration toward substance use-related actions, ethical issues at workplace, and effects on career growth.Conclusions: SUDs in physicians have a significant impact on their functioning at work, affecting patient care, interpersonal relationships as well as career growth. Knowledge of occupational challenges among physicians with SUD will help us in understanding the severity of the problem.