There are a number of occupations that require drug testing before employment and/or at regular intervals. Typically, these are jobs that involve public safety in some way, like airline pilots and railroad conductors.
One group that isn’t drug tested but many people argue should be is medical professionals. They hold people’s lives in their hands every day, and it’s important that they be able to think clearly and react without hesitation in an emergency. Imagine the ways something could go wrong. An emergency room doctor working on a dead night likes to sneak off to a supply closet to take a few sips of booze when he has a free moment. Suddenly, a slew of ambulances pulls up to the doors, carrying the victims of a multi-car accident. Everyone working in the ER suddenly has to do triage – figuring out who is the most badly hurt and needs immediate attention, who is likely not to survive, who needs a brain scan as soon as possible, etc. It’s chaotic and requires careful attention and recall of many different treatments and complications. This doctor, unfortunately, has had a sip too many, and his brain isn’t working at its full potential. His reactions are slowed, his memory is foggy, and he misses some things. One of the patients has symptoms of internal bleeding, and on any other night, the doctor would have realized these signs were present. Tonight, however, he doesn’t catch it, and the patient dies.
In addition to regular drug testing, tests should be administered after events like patient death. This isn’t so that doctors can be fired, nor arrested or sued, although those might be consequences, but so they can seek help.
You’d think that, knowing all the things drug and alcohol abuse can do to a person’s body, people in the medical field would be the last ones to develop problems, but it’s actually quite common. Being a doctor or nurse is a stressful job, dealing with frightened, grieving, and angry people day in and day out, literally having someone’s life in your hands and having everyone depending on you. People who work in hospitals or clinics also have easy access to a variety of drugs, such as tranquilizers and prescription pain medication, and also to drug paraphernalia like syringes and tubing. Nurses work long hours and tend to be on their feet most of the day, which can lead to exhaustion and chronic pain. According to the American Nurses Association, one in ten nurses has a substance abuse disorder, and A 2010 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that 17 percent of those who responded personally knew of an impaired or incompetent physician within the previous three years.
If you or a loved one need help with quitting drugs or alcohol, consider Asana Recovery. We offer medical detox, along with both residential and outpatient programs, and you’ll be supervised by a highly trained staff of medical professionals, counselors, and therapists. Call us any time at (949) 438-4504.
