Substance abuse among health care professionals is an issue that is continually gaining more attention due to the harmful affects it can have individuals as well as the patients. Substance abuse can greatly hinder the ability to provide quality care and if left unchecked could lead to serious implications within the health care facility. There are a significant amount of nurses and health care providers that deal with substance abuse problems. At one point, it was estimated, that 2-3%, of all nurses were addicted to drugs (Trinkoff, & Storr, 1998). To encourage nurses to seek help, the Texas Peer Assistance Program for Nurses was created. This program gives employers, LVNs and RNs the ability to seek help, education, guidance, and support in dealing with substance abuse and mental health illnesses. In this paper, we will examine the ethical perspectives that these programs foster and the ethical responsibilities of the patient, nurse, and coworkers as determined by the Texas Board of Nursing and the Nurse Practice Acts. As a nurse it is our primary job to protect and promote the well being of patients throughout the health care industry. Each nurse has the responsibility to practice faithfully and to uphold all ethical values. These values are outlined and regulated by two very important entities, The Nursing Practice Acts and the Texas Board of Nursing. Nursing Practice Acts, are specific laws in each state that define a nurse’s scope of practice. These acts were first established in 1909 with the purpose of protecting public health, safety, and welfare. Their purpose is to provide rules and regulations that will protect society from unsafe and unqualified nurses. Nursing professionalism is rooted in the ethics and ... ... middle of paper ... ...er). Substance abuse among nurses intercession and intervention. Retrieved from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0FSL/is_5_82/ai_n15866283/pg_7/ Leichter, Louis. (2007, July 17). What is tpapn-the texas peer assistance program for nurses? Retrieved from http://www.txmedicallicensinglaw.com/2007/07/articles/texas-board-of-nurse-examiners/what-is-tpapn-the-texas-peer-assistance-program-for-nurses/ Texas nursing associates: affiliates. (2009). Retrieved from http://www.texasnurses.org/displaycommon.cfm?an=1&subarticlenbr=107 The Texas Board of Nursing,(2009). Nursing practice act. Nursing peer review, nurse licensure compact, & advanced practice registered nurse compact. Austin, TX Trinkoff, A.M, & Storr, C L. (1998). Substance use among nurses: differences between specialties. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1508454/?page=1
Section 5.4, which is the preservation of integrity, suggests that nurses will inevitably have to deal with threats to their moral or professional integrity at some point in their careers. Nurses should do their best to maintain professional integrity when met with adversity, weather it be from uncooperative issuance companies, an unsound work environment, or from the patients themselves. When working in an unsound or unsafe work environment that violates law or the ANA code of ethics nurses must go through the proper channels to fix the problem. If a nurse feels that a procedure or treatment their patient is having conflicts with his or her own moral integrity and they cannot participate, the nurse must report they unwilling to tr...
The model discusses the impact of new regulations on education for APRN, Licensure Accreditation, Certification & Education Document, certification and practice. The model is implemented to grasp the general understanding and definition of advance practice registered nurse APRN role, inconsistencies with state by state recognition of APRN roles, and determining eligibility for APRN licensure (Consensus Model for APRN Regulation, 2015). The consensus model definition of APRN is a nurse who is educationally rounded to assume the responsibility of assessing, diagnosis, treating, teaching health promotion and disease maintenance, acquired advanced clinical knowledge and skills to provide direct patient care, has passed a national certification examination, and licensed to practice in one of the four roles (Consensus Model for APRN Regulation, 2015).
Both Nurse Practitioners and Nurse Practitioner-students work closely with patients to monitor their health and provide care for acute and chronic illnesses. However, in the academic-clinical setting, the NP-student may only perform this function at the discretion of the supervising NP. Although work environments and responsibilities bestowed upon these distinctive nurses can be quite different, Nurse Practitioners, Registered Nurses and students is bound to the same laws and regulations governed by all states and territories that have enacted a nurse practice act (NPA). The NPA itself is insufficient to provide the necessary guidance for the nursing profession, therefore each NPA establishes a state board of nursing (BON) that has the authority to develop administrative rules or regulations to clarify or make the governing practice law(s) more specific (NCSBN
My plans after obtaining my advanced degree is to acquire licensure to practice as AGNP in the state of Texas. The Texas BON acknowledges that APN education, experiences, and competency levels vary, hence, holds individual APN accountable for knowing and practicing within their own scope of practice and competency always. The APN’s education is the grounds to their scope of practice: however, the APN can expand the scope of practice within the role and population-focus, as long as it remains within limits of the law. The Texas BON restricts the scope of practice for the APNs. The Nurse Practitioner Supervision Laws require¬¬¬¬¬ APN to work under physician supervision within seventy five mile perimeter. In addition, there is the Texas ' Nurse Practitioner Prescribing Laws which require APNs to prescribe medications under physician supervision and APNs are not allowed to prescribe schedule two drugs. All prescriptions written by the NPs must include the supervising physician 's name, address, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) number and phone number (Texas BON,
The Code of Ethics for Nurses was created to be a guide for nurses to perform their duties in a way that is abiding with the ethical responsibilities of the nursing profession and quality in nursing care. The Code of Ethics has excellent guidelines for how nurses should behave, however; these parameters are not specific. They do not identify what is right and wrong, leaving nurses having to ultimately make that decision. Ethics in nursing involves individual interpretation based on personal morals and values. Nursing professionals have the ethical accountability to be altruistic, meaning a nurse who cares for patients without self-interest. This results in a nurse functioning as a patient advocate, making decisions that are in the best interest of the patient and practicing sound nursing ethics.
National Council for the State Boards of Nursing, APRN background, (2012). Report of the nursing policy and legislative efforts. Retrieved from https://www.ncsbn.org/428.htm#Nurse_Practitioner_Certification
According to American Nurses Association (ANA), (2010) “the nurse promotes, advocates for and strives to protect the heath, safety and right of the patient” (p. 6). Nursing responsibilities should be acted at the highest standard and must be based on legal and ethical obligations.
Substance abuse in the medical field is a growing issue, and nurses are no exception to the stigma. The American Nurses Association (ANA) reports an estimated six to eight percent of nurses has a substance abuse issue that has directly impaired their practice (Alunni-Kinkle, 2015). This means that as many as one in every ten nurses is practicing with an unidentified or untreated substance abuse issue (Alunni-Kinkle, 2015). This paper will briefly discuss the many factors that contribute to substance abuse among nurses, as well as reporting and consequences associated with
Over the years, substance abuse in the United States has become a persistent issue affecting many individuals. In 2008, it was estimated that 17.8 million Americans over the age of 18 where substance dependent (Epstein, Burns, & Conlon, 2010). Many of these individuals being affected are nurses. Ponech (2000) stated that "approximately 10% of the nursing population has alcohol or drug abuse problems, and 6% has problems serious enough to interfere with their ability to practice" (as cited in Talbert, 2009, p.17). Studies show that nurses have a 50% higher rate of substance abuse compared to the rest of the public (Epstein et al., 2010). Among the many factors that contribute to the nurse’s issue of substance abuse, accessibility to drugs in the work environment has played a significant role. Substance abuse among nurses is an arising issue in need of attention, it is alarming to know that patient safety and care is in danger when a chemically impaired nurse is in the workplace.
Substance abuse among nurses is one of the problems faced by the nursing profession today. Registered nurses abuse substances at a rate higher than the general public (Eipstein, Burns, & Conlon, 2010). While, according to the American Nurses Association (as cited in Crowley & Morgan, 2014) nurses and the general public misuse drugs and alcohol at almost the same rate. “Substance abuse among nurses threatens not only the quality of care to patients but also the professional standards of nursing” (Eipstein et al., 2010, p. 513). Substance abuse differs from one specialty to another. Areas that have high acuity patients and easy access to drugs creates an opportunity for nurses to abuse substances especially prescription medications. There are
Talbert, JeanAnne Johnson. "Substance Abuse Among Nurses." Clinical Journal Of Oncology Nursing 13.1 (2009): 17-19. Academic Search Complete. Web. 8 Dec. 2013
American Nurses Association (2010). Nursing: Scope and standards of practice (2nd ed.). Silver Spring, Md: American Nurses Association.
Ethics asses the values, morals, and principles of nurses. Legal codes or laws are rules established by our government. It’s important that nurses have a clear and comprehensive understanding of ethical and legal codes within their career. The understanding of these codes is essential for nurses to safely practice and to protect their patients. Nurses must abide by these principles or face the consequences of legal action. These principles include autonomy, utilitarianism, confidentiality, and many others. Autonomy is the agreement to respect ones right to determine a course of action, while utilitarianism is what is best for most people as defined in American Nurses Association. In order to give you a
The American Nurses Association created guidelines for the profession including, a set clear rules to be followed by individuals within the profession, Code of Ethics for Nurses. Written in 1893, by Lystra Gretter, and adopted by the ANA in 1926, The Code of Ethics for Nurses details the role metaethics, normative ethics, and applied ethics have within the field (ANA, 2015). Moral obligation for an individual differs within professions than it does within an individual’s personal life, so the code of ethics was written to establish rules within the profession. The moral obligation to provide quality care include the fundamental principles of respect for persons, integrity, autonomy, advocacy, accountability, beneficence, and non-maleficence. The document itself contains nine provisions with subtext, all of which cannot be addressed within this paper however, core principals related to the ethical responsibilities nurses have will be
Professionalism in the workplace in many professions can be simplified into general categories such as neat appearance, interaction with clients, punctuality, general subject knowledge, and likability. In nursing, professionalism encompasses a much more broad and inclusive set of criteria than any other profession. Nurses specifically are held to a higher standard in nearly every part of their job. Nurses are not only expected to uphold what it seen as professional in the aforementioned categories, but they are also expected to promote health, wellbeing, and advocate for patients, but also continually provide the highest standard of care, demonstrate exemplary subject and procedural knowledge, and abide by the Code of ethics set forth by the American Nurses Association. This Code of Ethics includes the complex moral and ethical principles of autonomy, beneficence, nonmaleficence, fidelity, honesty, and integrity.