title: Substance abuse among nurses--defining the issue.
abstract: The prevalence of substance abuse in the nurse population is believed to parallel that in the general population (i.e. approximately 10%). Nurses with substance abuse problems need help. They are in danger of harming patients, the facility's reputation, the nursing profession, and themselves. The consequences of not reporting concerns can be far worse than those of reporting the issue. Part one of this two-part series discusses how society views addiction and the nursing profession, signs and symptoms of substance abuse, reasons nurses should report an impaired colleague, the code of silence that exists among nurses, and board of nursing jurisdiction.
authors.affiliation: St Joseph's Wayne Hospital, Wayne, NJ, USA.
authors.forename: Debra
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Dunn
mesh_terms: D000575:American Nurses' Association; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D001294:Attitude to Health; D017281:Cost of Illness; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006801:Humans; D008008:Licensure, Nursing / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D008318:Malpractice / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D009042:Motivation; D009726:Nurses / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D016272:Occupational Health; D009786:Occupational Health Services; D015279:Organizational Culture; D010379:Peer Group; D010551:Personality; D010560:Personnel Selection; D015995:Prevalence; D011363:Professional Impairment / Q000191:economics / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012938:Social Perception; D013240:Stereotyping; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000191:economics / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology