Addicts need help, not self-righteousness. Most people would agree with this. But this seems to be different if the addict is a nurse. It’s a moral issue, right? When a nurse starts abusing a drug she/he is a bad person, making a bad choice, and should be punished. After all they are nurses and should know better. At the very least, they should be able to quit on the spot. Nobody wants to employ an addicted nurse, so the nurse’s job gets taken away—without seeing them through recovery. Why are addicted nurses treated so harshly?
There is a mistaken belief that someone can stop using if they really want to. And in cases where nurses suspect or know something is wrong, they don’t know what to do. They’re not sure if they should confront their coworker, but they would feel like a traitor who could cause the nurse to lose his/her job, if they let someone know.
When a nurse is discovered to be an addict, other nurses struggle with bitterness and anger about having been manipulated. They’re not ready to jump to an addict’s rescue.
There is also the “family secret” mentality. It’s important to keep the image of the “healthy, happy, functioning” facility/unit/staff intact. Many institutions like to pretend addiction doesn’t happen in their establishment. But this cycle of enabling puts patients in jeopardy--and the addicted nurse becomes increasingly ill.
But is this right. Are nurses different to "normal" addicts?
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