Nurses are the cornerstone of any healthcare system and work hard to ensure that their practice runs smoothly at any given moment. From the inexperienced resident to the life-saving ICU nurses, each of these brave men and women have a vital role to play in any hospital or clinic. However, nurses are also humans, and each one of them comes with their own strengths and weaknesses.

Like any other human, every nurse might pick up an illness or disease that they try to treat, and this includes behavioral and mental issues such as anxiety disorders, burn out and, most importantly, addictions.

Did you know that alcohol and drug dependence among nurses is approximately 10%, which coincidentally lines up with the figures for the general American population? Moreover, there are around 4 million registered nurses in the United States who make up the backbone of the American healthcare system. There are about four times more nurses than doctors in the country, which is even more impressive when considering that we’re currently facing a nursing shortage. However, because nursing is so important in our healthcare system and their increasing workload, nursing is one of the most stressful professions today.

The most important factor of the ongoing nursing crisis lies in the tools that nurses use on a daily basis: drugs.

The combination of work-related stress and easy access to drugs makes nurses a vulnerable target for substance abuse in the workplace. Especially when their responsibilities continue to increase, nurses are going through an all-time high in relation to work-related stress. And also, the vast majority of the nursing workforce is women, and women have several traits that could make them more vulnerable to addictions, which could cause significant issues if left unchecked.

Even though nurses go through several courses on pharmacology that teaches them the effects of many drugs, which should help them avoid addiction, the reality is actually the opposite. In reality, the access to potent medications on a daily basis is far more powerful than the knowledge about what each of these substances can do when used. If anything, the knowledge on just what type of “high” can be obtained through the consumption of certain substances could, in fact, make a nurse more liable to develop an addiction. Also, despite their knowledge of the negative effects and addictive nature of these drugs, most nurses fail to recognize the risk of dependence and become aware of their problems until they have reached the point of a full-blown addiction.

Behavioral Traits of an Addicted Nurse

Due to the nature of their work, nurses show several distinct differences regarding drug addiction. Most cases a person may isolate themselves from co-workers and even family or loved ones, however, a nurse addicted to drugs might volunteer for overtime or work during the holidays. While in some professions, these behaviors might be confused with dedication, but for nurses, this might spell trouble.

The willingness to work excessively, especially overnight, in holidays, or on other non-traditional shifts, for a nurse, could mean that they are looking to divert prescription medicine for themselves during those periods where there is minimal supervision from higher-ups or colleagues. Other indicators of dependence may include lack of witnesses when discarding medications, seeking pretenses to visit the medicine locker unaccompanied, or incorrect narcotic counts.

While all of these factors can negatively affect the nurse’s life, both in and out of the workplace, it also puts the patients’ lives at risk as a chemical dependence is usually detrimental to patient care. Specifically, drug addiction can affect a person’s reaction time and judgment. It may also lead them to commit more mistakes. In addiction, in its most severe stages, the diversion of drugs meant for the patient could lead to serious consequences, including death or disability.

A Brighter Future

Luckily, similar to non-nurses, rehabilitation courses are instrumental in the successful recovery of a nurse.

There are certain drugs that can help nurses recover from substance abuse and reintegrate themselves into their career. These drugs might seem like you are substituting one addiction for another, however, they actually decrease the cravings for narcotics and patients concentrate on themselves and responsibilities. In addition, randomized screening tests with an extended outpatient program can help prevent any relapses from occurring and assisting nurses in their candidacy for license reinstatements.