Drug Overdosing
During the summer of 2013, I committed my time to learning the fundamentals of being a clinical pharmacist at UT Southwestern Medical Center. From the time I spent there, I knew that I wanted to practice medicine at the professional level. As an intern, I spent a lot of time shadowing different pharmacists and observing how they deal with the many staff members in the hospital. Whether it is with a physician, pharmacy technician, patient, or another pharmacist, the pharmacist would always deal with them in a professional manner. I learned that drug overdosing was a major problem and cause of deaths in the United States of America. Although I have never thought of drug overdosing as a problem in a developed and highly literate country such as the US, there have been many articles CBS News that support this fact.
On February 10, 2014, CBS News reported "Julia Roberts' half sister was found dead of apparent drug overdose." Nancy Motes, who was thirty-seven years old, was found dead Sunday in Los Angeles. According to the coroner, prescription and non-prescription drugs were found at the scene (CBSNews.com). Shortly after I came across this unfortunate news, there was another article stating from January 1 through 13, 22 people had died of apparent accidental overdoses, a dramatic spike, as reported by Health Director Michael D. Fine (Freyer and Arditi). The list continues with articles reporting large numbers of deaths from drug overdosing.
When one receives a prescribed drug at a local pharmacy, the individual may believe it to be fun and games until he/she decides to consume a larger quantity than instructed. From there, the drug can harm the individual and possibly kill him/her. Drug overdosing is describe...
... middle of paper ...
...an increase the toxicity of the drugs and can have a stronger effect.
Pharmacists and physicians also recommend their patients to always order their refill (if needed) once their dose is close to being empty. If the drugs are requested before needed, the patient would be left with a large quantity which can be hazardous for him/her. This is why attending pharmacy counseling is a great opportunity for the patients to learn more about the drugs they are taking and their proper use. Along with pharmacy counseling, the patients can also practice safe drug use with using other useful tools such as a medicine box. The medicine box can be a great way to keep all the drugs organized and limit the drug intake per day for the patient. By taking these steps and methods, the patient can take all the necessary precautions in order to stay safe and avoid overdosing on drugs.
Prescription and pharmaceutical drug abuse is beginning to expand as a social issue within the United States because of the variety of drugs, their growing availability, and the social acceptance and peer pressure to uses them. Many in the workforce are suffering and failing at getting better due to the desperation driving their addiction.
Accidental drug overdose is one of the many extremely detrimental risks associated with injection drug use. According to a study by Marshall (2003) that analyzed death rates of injection drug users before and after the opening of a safe injection facility in Vancouver demonstrated the facility`s effectiveness through a comparison of the rates of fatal overdose before and after in the area of the clinic to rates before and after in another part of the city that the facility was not accessible. This study revealed that the fatal overdose rate in the area of the facility decreased by 35% after the...
Almost one hundred years ago, prescription drugs like morphine were available at almost any general store. Women carried bottles of very addictive potent opiate based pain killers in their purse. Many individuals like Edgar Allen Poe died from such addictions. Since that time through various federal, state and local laws, drugs like morphine are now prescription drugs; however, this has not stopped the addiction to opiate based pain killers. Today’s society combats an ever increasing number of very deadly addictive drugs from designer drugs to narcotics to the less potent but equally destructive alcohol and marijuana. With all of these new and old drugs going in and out of vogue with addicts, it appears that the increase of misuse and abuse is founded greater in the prescription opiate based painkillers.
Overall, I retain three goals for this clinical day: Safely and efficently administer medication, enhance my nursing/CNA skills, and determine how to implement infection control into a health care setting. This week reflects my assigned time to administer medication in a health care setting for the first time, with a resident who retains nearly twenty medications. I except this experience will be a great learning experience, but it will also subsist slightly stressful. With the assistance of my FOR, my goal is to administer all of my resident 's medications without complications. To ensure that medication safety, I will perform the six medication rights and three checks prior to administration. Along with medication administration, a goal
Pharmacy is a booming field when it comes to medicine, but it certainly has controversial issues such as compounding drugs. While the practice of making drugs customized to a patient seems ethical, there are problems that come along with it. Drug compounding was the norm in the past, but over time consumers began to see issues with it. Drug compounding still occurs to this day because some patients do need medicine specifically tailored to their needs. Compounding has also been the focus of recent disasters, some of which occurred less than two years ago. Whatever side one may take on this issue, it is clear that compounding medicine will be a polarizing issue for years to come.
Drug administration forms a major part of the clinical nurse’s role. Medicines are prescribed by the doctor and dispensed by the pharmacist but responsibility for correct administration rests with the registered nurse (O'Shea 1999). So as a student nurse this has become my duty and something that I need to practice and become competent in carrying it out. Each registered nurse is accountable for his/her practice. This practice includes preparing, checking and administering medications, updating knowledge of medications, monitoring the effectiveness of treatment, reporting adverse drug reactions and teaching patients about the drugs that they receive (NMC 2008). Accountability also goes for students, if at any point I felt I was not competent enough to dispensing a certain drug it would be my responsibility in speaking up and let the registered nurses know, so that I could shadow them and have the opportunity to learn help me in future practice and administration.
The rate of death due to prescription drug abuse in the U.S. has escalated 313 percent over the past decade. According to the Congressional Quarterly Transcription’s article "Rep. Joe Pitt Holds a Hearing on Prescription Drug Abuse," opioid prescription drugs were involved in 16,650 overdose-caused deaths in 2010, accounting for more deaths than from overdoses of heroin and cocaine. Prescribed drugs or painkillers sometimes "condemn a patient to lifelong addiction," according to Dr. Tom Frieden, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This problem not only affects the lives of those who overdose but it affects the communities as well due to the convenience of being able to find these items in drug stores and such. Not to mention the fact that the doctors who prescribe these opioids often tend to misuse them as well. Abusing these prescribed drugs can “destroy dreams and abort great destinies," and end the possibility of the abuser to have a positive impact in the community.
Typically, almost everyone in the world has taken drugs at some point in their life. Whether it be over the counter medication or prescription drugs. People get sick, they have illness, allegories, sexually transmitted diseases or other aches and pains. As you may already know, there is medication for each aforementioned problem. This is called drug use, which is using drugs for its intended purpose. However, the real dilemma happens when people began to misuse and abuse drugs.
Doctors can prescribe drugs that can be as addicting as street drugs. When a patient is at the hospital, doctors will prescribe many drugs to help the patient get better, like ...
I pleased to apply to the PharmD program as the program is one area that corresponds to my career dreams. Being part of this program gives one the opportunity to gain an excellent experience in working and collaborating with various health care providers in the ward. But more importantly, it facilitates a practical environment in dealing more closely with patients. Hence, it helps to provide the ultimate health care services to patients. Also, it permits me to carry on gaining different knowledge, skills, and values in addition to those I have already developed during my undergraduate studies. My interest in being a clinical pharmacist was first aroused during my SPEP rotation in the hospital setting where I was really impressed with the role of clinical pharmacists who provide a consistent process of patient care with healthcare teams to maintain the appropriateness, effectiveness and safety of the medication use. Unlike a pharmacist, a clinical pharmacist has a more diversified responsibilities and closeness to direct patient care. Moreover, provides
Drug abuse is defined as the excessive use of medication or substances which are either legal or illegal without the prescription of a physician. While some drugs are legal, overdosing is considered as drug abuse as the medicine is only healthy and helpful when taken in the required amount with the permission of a doctor. Other forms of drug abuse entail the use of substance that is either discouraged by healthcare association or illegalized by authorities. The users may use the drugs in order to feel a rush of energy or appear calm than normal. Drug abuse is a problem that affects the users, their close relatives and the society they live in (Barnard, 2007). There are different types of drugs that are abused ranging from extremely
Furthermore, drug users might kill themselves if they cannot take drugs appropriately. From 2006 to 2010, about 88000 deaths per year happened due to the drug abuse (Nolan, 2014). The most of cases contain the drug users do not know how much drugs they should take. When they take the quantity of drugs more than the standard of the specification, they are easy to addict the drugs.
West Virginia has one of the highest rates for prescription drug abuse, and overdose in the nation. In order to change this it is important to understand what pharmacists do, their role in prevention, and the severity of prescription drug abuse. Pharmacists are known to dispense prescription drugs to patients and inform them about their use; However, one aspect of their career most people overlook is that Pharmacists must keep a sharp eye out for criminals looking to abuse these prescribed drugs.
Pharmacists often work together in a team with other healthcare professional like physicians and nurses. In the process, pharmacists will give advice to them on the selection of medication, by providing the evidences based on the dosage form, the side effects and possible interaction with food of the medication. On the other hand, pharmacists also take part in research and clinical studies. Recently, pharmacists are recruited to conduct pharmacy-based research in pharmacies. (Swanson, 2005)
The use of drugs is a controversial topic in society today. In general, addicts show a direct link between taking drugs and suffering from their effects. People abuse drugs for a wide variety of reasons. In most cases, the use of drugs will serve a type of purpose or will give some kind of reward. These reasons for use will differ with different kinds of drugs. Various reasons for using the substance can be pain relief, depression, anxiety and weariness, acceptance into a peer group, religion, and much more. Although reasons for using may vary for each individual, it is known by all that consequences of the abuse do exist. It is only further down the line when the effects of using can be seen.