Healthcare providers are generally a group of professionals which the public places a high level of trust upon. A recent Gallup poll asking how the public would rate the honesty and ethical standards of people in different job fields ranks nursing as the highest profession. 85 percent of people answered that they would rate the honesty and ethical standards of nurses as very high or high (Gallup.com, n.d.). This places nurses higher than other professions such as pharmacists, teachers, and even medical doctors. Nurses and healthcare providers have a high standard to live up to. However, due to many different reasons, whether they be mental, physical, or substance related, there are many practitioners who work while impaired. The scope of this
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According to surveys by the Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are more than 35,000 back and other injuries among nursing employees every year, severe enough that they have to miss work (Zwerdling, 2015). These are only the reported incidents, which has to make us question how many injuries have gone unreported. Many people will not report an injury for a variety of reasons. Some feel like their injury is not serious and continue to work. Some cannot afford to miss time from work due to financial obligations. A nurse who continues to work while injured not only places themselves at risk for further injury, but also places their patients at risk for injury. A nurse who is sick and comes in to work may also be impaired. If they are not feeling 100%, then their care and skills may not be at 100% either. Furthermore, an ill caregiver puts the patients at risk to become ill …show more content…
This program provides services such as confidential consultations and intervention training. They will evaluate incoming referrals to determine appropriate action and facilitate evaluations and/or treatment. The ultimate goal of the IPN is not to excommunicate nurses who have a problem with substance addiction, but rather to recognize that it is a treatable disease and help them towards a path of sobriety and health. Becoming dependent on alcohol or drugs is not a career death sentence. Rather, through programs such as the IPN, it gives those providers a second chance and monitoring to ensure they remain sober and competent to provide patient
According to surveys by the Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are more than 35,000 back and other injuries among nursing employees every year, severe enough that they have to miss work (Zwerdling, 2015). These are only the reported incidents, which has to make us question how many injuries have gone unreported. Many people will not report an injury for a variety of reasons. Some feel like their injury is not serious and continue to work. Some cannot afford to miss time from work due to financial obligations. A nurse who continues to work while injured not only places themselves at risk for further injury, but also places their patients at risk for injury. A nurse who is sick and comes in to work may also be impaired. If they are not feeling 100%, then their care and skills may not be at 100% either. Furthermore, an ill caregiver puts the patients at risk to become ill …show more content…
This program provides services such as confidential consultations and intervention training. They will evaluate incoming referrals to determine appropriate action and facilitate evaluations and/or treatment. The ultimate goal of the IPN is not to excommunicate nurses who have a problem with substance addiction, but rather to recognize that it is a treatable disease and help them towards a path of sobriety and health. Becoming dependent on alcohol or drugs is not a career death sentence. Rather, through programs such as the IPN, it gives those providers a second chance and monitoring to ensure they remain sober and competent to provide patient