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Substance abuse in nurses varies by
specialty Posted 5-25-98 Although nurses generally use drugs and alcohol at about the same rate as the rest of the population, nurses in certain stressful specialties are more prone to substance use, according to a study published in the April issue of the American Journal of Public Health. Emergency and critical care nurses are more than three times as likely to use marijuana or cocaine as nurses in other specialties. Oncology and administration nurses were twice as likely to engage in binge drinking, while psychiatric nurses were most likely to smoke cigarettes, reported Alison Trinkoff, ScD, RN, and Carla Storr, ScD, of the University of Maryland in Baltimore. Trinkoff, a public health nurse, epidemiologist, and associate professor of nursing, analyzed the responses of 4,438 nurses nationwide who answered an anonymous questionnaire mailed to each subject. Besides facing stress, and having easy access to medications, critical care and emergency nurses may use recreational drugs more often because they are more likely to have a sensation-seeking personality trait, Trinkoff hypothesized. About 32 percent of nurses reported drinking, smoking, or using drugs. Many nurses start using the substance they are addicted to before they graduate from nursing school, said Kathryn Kornegay, PhD, MN, RN, a nursing professor at Southeast Missouri State University and author of Within Hospital Walls: An Inside Look at Chemical Dependency. Preventing substance abuse is more important than predicting it, she said. Demoralizing punitive action against nurses who abuse drugs is not the solution, Trinkoff said. A better option is having work places sponsor treatment for addicted nurses, she said. "Nurses show a very good rate of recovery and ability to return to work given treatment for these kinds of problems." |
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