The article extensively discusses alcohol consumption by nurses during their practice. It advocates some reasons that largely make them to drink such as looking at the cancer patients and several aspects that emerge during their work in regard to their profession. M.C is one of the nurses in the article that is said to be so hardworking and can even work both shifts; day and night when they have a shortage of nurses in their hospital. She is categorized among the seven nurses in the hospital who have worked in less than two years of nursing experience in their unit. Most of M.C’s coworkers have realized that she drinks a lot after work however they do not know how to approach her since they do not have effective skills based on that notion. Every outing, M.C drinks several cocktails which makes her intoxicated, and this makes most of her workers to consider it as a problem behavior in that context. The nurses does not consider discussing about her drinking situation or any organized intervention regardless the fact that her drinking behavior is ought to compromise her entity of personal safety. This can probably be presumed from her impaired driving, however is always considered as an excellent nurse who even volunteers for extra shifts (Servodidio, 2011).
The article discusses how M.C came to work on one Saturday morning for an additional shift while she has slurred speech; she is irritable as well as unkempt appearance which clearly articulates impaired from the last night’s drinking. In that perspective, R.H, who is her colleague in that unit notices, but she does not have the confidence to approach her. This is because most nurses fear to confront their fellow colleagues since they think that if they do so can put them in trouble and maybe loose their jobs. According to the article, M.C becomes adamant in order to advocate that she does not have a problem, as well as denial regarding the intoxication. In that perspective, R.H lacks the guts to approach M.C and decides to ask a hand of help from covering supervisor that immediately gets to the unit and confronts her by excusing her through that shift. The supervisor gets dedicated to help M.C since she thinks that she desperately needs and, therefore, with the effective skills in regard to counseling. However, the article defines that R.H was uncomfortable to confront M.C since she felt uncomfortable and with no effective skills or expertise to handle the situation by her (Servodidio, 2011). Finally, M.C got help and did not loose her job though if the other coworkers addressed the situation much earlier it could not have got to that point.
The article indicates that millions of American struggle extensively with the aspect of alcohol abuse. Over eighteen million Americans have been incorporated in that notion whereby majority of the adults have been intricate in that history in regard to drinking problems. When reflecting the matter in terms of finances, it is evident that there is an average cost of impaired nurse depict between $54,000 and $95,300. These figures presume for the nurses, employer as well as the entity of the profession board and these costs is affiliated stemming which is articulated from counseling, loss of income, investigation, legal fees as well as treatment. Though, one assumption presumed from the issue of finances does not avail itself from the intrusion of impairment. This can depict the notion that indicates that the general costs of reserving nurses in regard to healthcare institution can be very high when taking into comparison to replacement of those impaired nurses.
In most cases, safeguarding the reputation of an institution is one major aspect that is always taken into consideration by every organization. In the health care, nurses are supposed to reserve the reputation of the hospital, and this means that this notion should be equally articulated from the perception in which nurses should be careful with issues related to alcohol consumption. From the article, it is clear that alcohol consumption has been largely intricate as one of the major ways that can affect the operations of the workers and this is majorly denoted from over-consumption (Servodidio, 2011).
Legal ramifications are presumed from the nurses’ practice, and this generally guide them in every assumption that they engage in. For instance, the article depicts that nurses are required to focus at their drinking behavior as well as personal alcohol consumption. Thus, it is clear that in some extent, a few amounts of alcohol can make a certain change in relation to the nurse’s profession. Therefore, the general rate or extent of alcohol metabolism is measured to be similar beside the individual’s gender, height, race or weight. Therefore, the amount of alcohol in the blood presumes the increase based on the amount consumed. This means that personal alcohol consumption articulates the essence of legal ramification. In that perspective, trainings and proper education should be reinstated to ensure that skills are obtained in relation to alcohol consumption.
Reference
Servodidio, C. A. (2011). Alcohol abuse in the workplace and patient safety. Clinical journal of oncology nursing, 15(2), 143-145.
