Drug in the Workplace Essay Example
Many people in America know drugs in the workplace is a very controversial topic due to the complications of them and how they affect each individual. Some may say that certain illegal drugs enhance their creativity skills and therefore improve their overall work performance, others say that it increases the risk of a major accident not only on the user but coworkers and patients. “Cocaine use is linked with increased risk of stroke, as well as inflammation of the heart muscle, deterioration of the ability of the heart of the heart to contract, and aortic ruptures.” (Fonseca 2021). For medical professions the risks of performing on a patient while under the influence of illegal drugs is too high and can lead to health issues down the line of the user.
The use of illegal drug use all depends on the drug itself and how it affects you and/or your patients. I will be attending the dental hygiene program and do not agree with the usage of illegal drugs in this workforce, due to severity of effects that come with the usage of illegal drug abuse. The risks are entirely too high and put not only the drug user, but the patient and company at risk as well. Working in health care is very difficult and can lead to depression, “Healthcare workers, including dentists, rank at number 11 on the CDC’s list of the top 30 occupations likely to commit suicide.[2]” ( Gawel, Richard 2016) . This can be due to the high stressful environment and work-home imbalance, small rooms(some with no windows ), and not to mention the types of words most dental workers receive such as “ I hate coming here, you guys always hurt me, I cant afford this you must just want all of my money, she is missing school for this appointment again”. The list goes on and on, in time some people turn to self-treatment just so they don’t have to think about work for a little, or turn off the bad thoughts, many don’t expect to get addicted they just assume it will heal their pain for time
Being. Going back to the health risks of cocaine usage which include inflammation of the heart muscle, aortic ruptures, and strokes, these effects can also put the patient’s life at risk as well. If a doctor was performing a wisdom tooth removal and suddenly had heart pain and a stroke in the middle of the operation causing life threating damage to the patient this could cause him or her to lose their license and have the company held liable due to drug use. By getting fired and never being able to work in a dental office again he or she could have even worse mental health issues than they did before they began the self-treatment experience. which would only cause them more pain and another excuse to use continue the drug abuse. “Cocaine- a type of stimulant – can make previous mental health problems recur, and trigger psychosis and schizophrenia” (Drugs and Mental health, 2021). But one thing that might motivate people to get care, or to stick with treatment plans once they start, involves the health complications addiction can deliver.
Health complications are among the motivational factors, but certainly not necessarily the most convincing and rarely the sole rationale,” Hoover cautions. “Many other factors come in to play for most addicted people, such as legal, financial, relationship, child custody, job/professional, family pressure, loss of loved ones through drug use, loss of basic needs (e.g., food, shelter, clothing), and more. But in my experience, the more mature addicts perceive health complications as a worthy inspiration.
The most serious immediate concern involves overdose, and according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, more than 17,000 people died in 2017 due to an overdose of prescription opioids. Many more lost their lives to overdoses on other widely abused substances including heroin, fentanyl, cocaine, psychostimulants or other prescription drugs (e.g., benzodiazepines and antidepressants). Sometimes, the drugs suppress breathing, so people slide into deep sleeplike states.
Overdoses occur when the toxic effects of a drug overwhelm the individual using the substance. Sometimes the drugs suppress breathing or stop breathing altogether. Sometimes the drugs dangerously increase blood pressure and heart rate, which can tax the cardiovascular system to such a degree that heart attack or stroke may occur. And sometimes, the drugs elicit such profound sedation that a person loses consciousness.
In addition to the physical health concerns associated with the immediate use of drugs, people who use these substances can also experience very strange, altered states of perception, as well as disturbing auditory or visual hallucinations (i.e., seeing things others can’t see or hearing voices others cannot hear). ( Robin L. Hoover, RN, MSN, CADCi, Director of Nursing at American Addiction Centers).
Based on this article we have even more evidence that shows the health risks of taking drugs not on physically but mental as well. All of these health factors can also end up hurting patients and the dental company as well, but none of that will matter to the user until they see how badly their own health is being affected.
Based on all the research it is safe to say that illegal drug usage should not be allowed in the dental field, the cons out way the pros and in order to keep everyone in specific situation safe it is best to do everything we can to prevent situations like this from happening. We can achieve this goal by requiring drug test once a month and making it a requirement for the dental staff to have therapy at least 3 times a month just to check on their mental health whether it’s good or not and show that the company does care about them. By doing these things we can prevent the health risk of patients, liability of the company, and the health of the user.
