Essay part 1

Did you know that out of all physicians in treatment for drug abuse 25% are anesthesiologist. Drug abuse is a problem that isn’t talked about much publicly when it’s referring to our physicians. A lot of people would like to think that when you’re seeing a physician that they aren’t high on some pharmaceutical controlled substance. That’s not always the case; some drug abusing physicians will inject themselves 50 to 100 times a day! Which is most commonly propofol, when it is injected that many times a day. This drug is used to relax the muscles of the body for surgery. That number seems like a lot when you think compared to other street drugs whereas one injection can last 8 hours depending on the drug. Physicians have many options when it comes to abusing drugs because they basically have a whole pharmacy at their fingertips especially if they work at a hospital. They could be writing prescriptions for themselves for years before anybody finds out about what they are doing. You may think that they would keep better control over where medicine is used but basically the only way they get caught is by other employees will report them. This honor system obviously isn’t working very well and is why many people think that the medical board should interact more with its doctors. Some physicians can abuse drugs and still function almost completely normal, it will sometimes take years before they get caught. For example, one doctor would go through used needles to see if he could find any leftover drugs in them or another doctor who “fell asleep at his desk so often that his lolling forehead became a perpetual bruise (Marcus).” Some of the main signs of drug abuse in a physician could be weight loss, desire to work alone, and frequent bathroom breaks (Hines). The symptoms first usually show up at work then slowly start to immerge at home. When things start to affect how the physician functions things can go bad to worse very quick. For example, if a surgeons hands were shaking while operating him or her could damage arteries that are vital to organs. Also physicians who actively abuse are more likely to be sued for malpractice (Hines). Even sometimes medical boards will do nothing and let the physician to continue like everything was all normal. There’s one doctor who worked in Loudoun County Virginia that would deprive his colonoscopy patients of any medication (Thompson). What he or she would do is take the drugs and inject him or herself with them in between patients even though the patients would complain and say how it would hurt even though the doctor would do nothing for them, even nurses would report that they could here screaming. Even when the doctors do get reported the medical board can just drop the case. If they do take up a case the doctor usually only gets there license suspended temporarily even if they have been caught multiple times whether or not if it’s alcohol or substance abuse. For example, in Loudoun County out of 74 physicians that were reported 53% of them had been disciplined more than once (Thompson). It is very uncommon for a doctor to get his license taken away. That is because it wouldn’t make sense to rip someone of their license for one mistake that can be treated with rehab. I do to also think that it wouldn’t be far to a doctor say an anesthesiologist who has gone to school for 12 or more years to have their license removed because of one mistake. You live you learn in these types of situations. The only time I think that a physician should have his license taking away is because they have been caught three or more times by the medical board. When this occurs to me it seems like this doctor is being reckless with patient’s lives. That right there is violation of the Hippocratic Oath where it reads that they will do to the best of their ability and judgment for the people which you can’t possibly be doing if you are under the influence of drugs. They also swear to never refuse treatment for anyone in need which wasn’t the case with the colonoscopy cases. These so called doctors put shame to the word with what they are doing, doctors are supposed to be all for the people that is why most peopl become doctors is because they love helping people. The main drugs of abuse from a pharmacy are opioids i.e. oxycotin, perocet, vaciden, and morphine to name a few of the more common ones. What these drugs do is they high jack the reward center part of the brain. The human brain tell you that when the reward center is activated the brain tries to reinforce the act let you know that it is good. When in reality you are just getting more and more addicted. What eventually happens is the body will not be able to function unless it has the drug abuse flowing through them. Then this person can become a work hazard as seeing they will do most likely anything to get their hands on the drug. This is why when someone starts abusing it is very hard for them to stop on their own if near impossible.

Assignment 11 P 3

Marcus, Adam. "Propofol Abuse Growing Problem for Anesthesiologists." :: Anesthesiology News ::. May 2007. Web. 01 Nov. 2010. <http://www.anesthesiologynews.com/index.asp?ses=o gst§ion_id=1&show=dept&article_id=7579>.

The author’s main points are why anesthesiologist are more likely to abuse. The other is why they choose propofol as their main choice of drug.

“Propofol abuse is indeed a potentially serious problem facing anesthesiology departments.”

“It’s somewhat dissociative, and can lead to an out-of-body sensation.”

I can see this source building on the types of drugs physicians’ abuse and why. I can also see how propofol affects the user when under its influence.

I plan on using this source to explain the effects of propofol and what is does to the user and why it is the drug of choice. I also plan on using it to connect past life experiences to drug abuse in the field.

I think this article is good for creditability but not the best. It is published in a journal called Anesthesiologist News and the article quotes an MD.

This source is similar to the things it writes about but it doesn’t go about how to prevent or the recovery process. It does also agree with what the others are writing about how they choose propofol compared to other drugs.

Assignment 11 P 2

Gastfriend, David R. "Physician Substance Abuse and Recovery: What Does It Mean for Physicians—and Everyone Else?." JAMA: Journal of the American Medical Association 293.12 (2005): 1513-1515. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 1 Nov. 2010.

The author’s main point is the recovery process of the physician drug abuse. He explains how it is important to catch the symptoms early for the best results and to lessen the amount of damage caused or if any.

“Referral of an impaired physician is nonpunitive, imperative, and can be life-saving—for both patients and the impaired physician.”

“Physicians who have substance use disorders seem to do surprisingly well in recovery.”

This builds on what I’ve already read about recovery for physicians and shows how you another way intervene without going through trouble. It writes about a hotline that you can call where you can choose to be anonymous and receive tips on talking to a colleague or report a physician.

I plan on using this source to show another way a colleague can help without going all out on one of his peers. I can show another way to treat a physician that hasn’t yet been mentioned in my essay.

This source is creditable because it is a scholarly journal that cites 21 sources. It also is written by an MD.

I can see this connecting to my last source and it expands on ways for the colleague to interfere with simple tactics. Also some of the facts stated are the same as all the sources I’ve looked at.