Substance Use Disorder A Complex Epidemic - 1942 Words

Substance Use Disorder in Nursing: A Complex Epidemic He is the best nurse on the floor. Everyone admires him – patients, fellow nurses, doctors, administration. He works extra shifts in the emergency department, sometimes as often as six shifts per week despite chronic back pain. What about the seasoned staff nurse? You notice a change in her. She is moody, appears dazed, and is making mistakes frequently. She is late and unkempt, and is not as social as she once was. While one may be quick to assume substance use from the second nurse, in reality, the first nurse is just as likely to be working while impaired. Substance use disorders can – and do – have a very serious impact on the nursing community. Determining, labeling, and reporting a substance use problem is not always easy. This is why, when entering the nursing workforce, it is important to have a working knowledge and understanding of substance use. This includes familiarity with risk factors and signs of substance use, as well as knowing how to seek help for oneself or a colleague. With an awareness of the implications of substance use on nursing, new nurses may be better equipped to take action against this ever-present occupational hazard (NCSBN, 2011). Add in the introduction or in the body why you chose the topic. Definitions and Statistics Substance use disorder among nurses is a pervasive and complex issue that continues to plague health care settings across the United States. The term â€Å"substance useShow MoreRelatedThe Addiction Epidemic Of Substance Abuse Essay1699 Words   |  7 PagesThe Addiction Epidemic The use of substances for physical, mind and social advantage has been around since the beginning of documented history. Contemporary use of prescription medication for these advantages has led to a national epidemic of substance abuse. Health care providers need to recognize the disease process of addiction in order to effectively combat the growing epidemic of substance use disorders (SUD). Strategies to decrease the prevalence and incidence of SUD include defining addictionRead MoreIs Addiction A Powerful Force?1548 Words   |  7 Pages Addiction is a powerful force, that has the potential to worsen and even end lives. The complex interplay of biological, environmental, social, and behavioral factors puts addicted individuals at great personal risk. While opioid addiction has commonly been viewed as an urban issue, in recent years increasing attention has been paid to the foothold it has gained in rural America (U.S. DHHS, 2012). As rates of drug addiction rise throughout the Midwest and Ohio, rates of hospitalization and drugRead MoreAttention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder ( Adhd )992 Words   |  4 PagesDeficit Hyperactive Disorder or ADHD is one out of two of the neurobehavioral disorders that inhibits an individual from focusing on one task at a time. According to fusion.nets article What Adderall does to your brain In the US alone roughly 6.4 million kids and 10 million adults suffer from ADHD. Adderall, Concerta, Vyvanse and Ritalin are just a few of the prescription based stimulant amphetamines pharmaceutical companies have made available to help treat ADHD and ADD disorders alike. Although providedRead MoreThe Effects Of Substance Use And Incarceration894 Words   |  4 Pagesis no denying the United State s long and complex history of substance use and incarceration. Some could make a strong argument that our country s battle against substance use has been a misguided, ill conceived, expensive, and discriminatory attempt which produced inauspi cious results. The War on Drugs and Deinstitutionalization are two such attempts. This paper will analyze how these policy blunders have formed a strong association between substance use and incarceration, how current practice andRead MoreThe Effects Of Drug Abuse On American Soil Essay1539 Words   |  7 Pagessoil. The current epidemic of drug abuse claims the lives of thousands of Americans without any discrimination or bias. The decades old â€Å"war on drugs† has done little to hinder the devastating carnage of widespread drug abuse decimating today’s youth. This affliction hits home for almost all of us to at least some extent. The enemy is known, we as a country however have yet to devise an accurate plan to defeat it. This paper delves into the current polysubstance dependence epidemic waging war on AmericanRead MoreAddiction : A Powerful Force1385 Words   |  6 Pages Introduction Addiction is a powerful force. The complex interplay of biological, environmental, social, and behavioral factors puts addicted individuals at great personal risk. While addiction has traditionally been viewed as an urban issue, in recent years, increasing attention has been paid to the foothold opioids have gained in rural America (U.S. DHHS, 2012). As rates of drug addiction rise throughout the Midwest and Ohio, rates of hospitalization and drug poisoning deaths also increase. WhileRead MoreBiopsychosocial Model Essay1381 Words   |  6 PagesIntroduction The drug epidemic in the United States has been enlightening. Illegal drugs have cost the United States approximately 600 billion in total costs to the economy including lost wages. The biopsychosocial model is a combination of biology (body) and social, psychological (mind, and community (social). The biopsychosocial model provided a holistic approach to medicine. The biopsychosocial approach systematically considers biological, psychological and social factors and their complex interactionsRead MoreDrug Use And Substance Use Disorder Patients1291 Words   |  6 Pagesis at an epidemic status with substance use disorder patients. There are many reasons to why we all should be concerned as a nation; however, this very problem is an essential topic globally. 230 million drug users are found worldwide and 19.9 million of those are Americans that have used illicit drugs in the year 2007 alone (as cited in Michael’s House, n.d); Furthermore, America makes up 4 percent of the glo bal population and our nation manages to occupy two-third of the illegal drug use worldwideRead MoreThe Problem Of Elderly Substance Abuse1490 Words   |  6 PagesPeople are often surprised to learn that elderly people abuse drugs and alcohol at extremely high rates. In fact, elderly substance abuse has become something of an unknown epidemic in the country, impacting an ever-increasing number of people. Sadly, this problem is often ignored or misunderstood and elderly people with addictions rarely get the help they need. Hopefully this problem changes for the good before it changes for the bad. Until then, it s worth knowing more about it, including theRead MoreDrugs Take You For Hell Disguised As Heaven1449 Words   |  6 Pageswith challenges to our survival as a human population. Some of the greatest threats to our survival are sweeping epidemics that affect millions of individuals worldwide. Drug addiction, although often regarded as a personality disorder, may also be seen as a worldwide epidemic with evolutionary genetic, physiological, and environmental influences controlling this behavior. Globally, the use of drugs has reached all-time highs. On average, drug popularity differs from nation to nation.1 Archaeological