Drug use and disciplinary actions among 300 nurses

A survey of 300 U.S. nurses recovering from alcohol and other drug dependency was conducted to describe the effect of drug use on job performance and related disciplinary actions. Subjects reported experimentation with or dependence on a variety of drug categories. Many visible effects on job performance were reported but only 23% reported disciplinary action against their nursing licenses. Females and older nurses were more often dependent on alcohol, while younger nurses and males reported narcotic dependency with greater frequency. Narcotic use was significantly related to disciplinary action.