A healthcare professional can become addicted to drugs or alcohol just as easily as anyone else. Pharmacists, nurses, doctors, veterinarians, and others in the healthcare field have easier access to addicting substances and the stresses and pressures of their professions make them susceptible to abusing them and other substances. Professional enabling, denial, and ease of access to drugs may factor more strongly in these people, making sustained recovery more difficult. Even so, chemical dependency in a healthcare professional can be treated with the right program.
Some rehabilitation programs, such as Bradford Health Services, offer specialized treatment that recognizes the unique challenges a healthcare professional faces. As with most treatments, these programs begin with an in-depth multi-day assessment and a medically supervised detoxification/withdrawal process. The evaluation includes thorough physical and psychological exams, counseling, blood work, and chain of custody UDS. These procedures are done to help identify the psychological, environmental, and biological factors that may exacerbate your addiction. In addition, programs that focus on healthcare professionals address occupational hazards, medication access, licensing issues, and re-entry into practice. After going through recovery, an aftercare program can help insure sobriety when the healthcare professional returns to work.
Addiction treatment programs for those in the medical field understand how the stresses of a medical workplace can initiate and contribute to chemical dependency and how it trigger relapse. Those in the medical field need to recognize how their occupation affects their addiction, and going through a treatment program will teach you techniques to identify triggers and maintain sobriety.
Overcoming drug or alcohol dependency is overwhelming to anyone. For a healthcare professional, completing a treatment program and returning to work seems downright impossible. This is not true! “Physician, heal thyself,” by seeking help with a chemical dependency program that understands the complexities of addiction in medical professionals. You can overcome this dark period in your life to find success both personally and professionally.
Related Content:
Bradford’s Healthcare Professional Addiction Assessment and Treatment Program