The medical profession is a stressful one, but one which also requires trust between the patient and the doctor.

The stress of constant long hours of surgery and consultation could push a doctor towards drug abuse or alcoholism, such that he/she gets addicted. And for doctors, it is easy to get addicted to drugs because they are readily accessible to them.

Therefore, for doctors who require that their patients trust them, it may be difficult to seek addiction treatment.

They may wonder if they can still trust their judgment regarding their work and also be scared of public perception or getting ousted from work. For these reasons addicted doctors may postpone or avoid treatment, not wanting to be absent from work.

Executive rehab programs seek to solve the hurdle faced by addicted doctors in their search for treatment. These are programs tailored towards top professionals such as doctors, taking into consideration their individual needs concerning work, personal life and treatment.

Executive rehabs are of very high standards, equipped with highly professional staff and top-notch facilities.

More importantly, executive rehabs are designed for addicted individuals who still have to work while receiving treatment, such as doctors.

These programs provide a very flexible schedule that leads an addicted doctor to sobriety while ensuring that their work-life is not lagging. It gives doctors access to their phones, computers to work and communicate for work-related purposes.

Also, for doctors who are respected in society, public perception or judgment is a major in seeking addiction treatment.

But executive rehabs are of high discretion because they recognize the prestige of their clients and seek to protect their image or status in society. These programs protect the privacy of addicted doctors from public scrutiny.

Lastly, executive rehabs provide addicted doctors a standard treatment facility with pools, spas, specialty meals, as doctors often eat selected food. Therefore, for an addicted doctor who has accepted his/her addiction, executive rehabs are the right place to seek proper treatment.

All kinds of problem drinking are likely to be responsible for many people’s professional and financial struggles, including failure to meet career goals, on-the-job accidents, and more.

With so many people struggling with some form of alcohol abuse in the developed world, most professions are affected by addiction in one way or the other. But some specific professions are much more likely to experience alcohol abuse patterns. This could be due to stress, long or inconsistent hours, high-pressure environments, and in some cases underlying physical or psychological issues.

Like any other adult in the modern society, doctors and medical professionals also enjoy a drink or two. Consuming alcohol is fine, as long as it is in moderation. And the key word is moderation.

A nationwide study of substance use disorders in a large sample of physicians in the US showed that alcohol is the most commonly abused substance among physicians.  

Even though alcohol use and abuse in the medical profession remains a delicate topic, a physician’s alcohol use habits and attitudes towards drinking are important because their lifestyle and behavior may be considered acceptable since they are regarded as experts in lifestyle and health. Moreover, any alcohol abuse issues of a doctor could seriously compromise their judgment needed in medical practice because their alcohol consumption and behavior could influence their attitudes and practices in screening and treating patients.

Seeking support and treatment is important when a doctor realizes their drinking habit is getting out of control.

International Doctors in Alcoholics Anonymous (IDDA)

This is a worldwide fellowship of more than 9,900 healthcare professionals and their families who strive to help one another to achieve and maintain recovery from addictions.

Membership is open to doctorate level health care providers, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, certified registered nurse anesthetists, or to those in training for these degrees.

IDAA is a CONFIDENTIAL resource available to health care providers (and their families) seeking recovery. This organization is not officially involved with government agencies or treatment providers that monitor physician recovery from addictions. It is also not directly related to local, state or national regulatory agencies. Although members may work for treatment or regulatory agencies, they pledge to keep the anonymity of other members and their families.

IDAA maintains the position that the regular Alcoholic Anonymous (AA) is the basis for their recovery programs. Available programs are adjusted to specific issues relevant for healthcare professionals that may be difficult to deal with the regular AA meetings. Many of these concerns can be explored in a safe environment at the in-person IDAA meeting or through email or web-based meetings available to their members.

The IDAA also has a confidential Help Line available to health care providers or their family members who would like to have a peer to peer to talk about alcoholism, addiction, recovery, and related concerns. They can also request help to find recovery meetings at home and when traveling. To learn more about IDAA, or to become an IDAA member, you can visit their web site: https://www.idaa.org/

Physicians, like the general public, enjoy drinking an alcoholic beverage in a social context. But when physicians get addicted to alcohol and/or drugs, it not only affects them individually, but it could cause serious harm to people under their care. Essentially it puts their patient’s health, recovery and safety at risk. In addition to the doctor’s own family and personal responsibilities getting damaged, their career could also be under threat. Furthermore, if untreated, it could also lead to health problems, suicide or death by overdose.

The substance abuse problem among doctors is similar to the rate in the general public which is about 8–10%.   But much higher rates were recorded in fields such as emergency medicine, psychiatry and individual practice. This is attributed to increased stress levels and ready access to certain drugs.

Acknowledging the problem or seeking help can be more difficult for physicians because they are presumed to be more informed about the deleterious effects of alcohol and drugs, or because the signs and symptoms are tolerated as erroneously caused by the seriousness, complexity and fast pace of physicians’ work.

Responsibility of Colleagues

There are formal responsibilities of doctors when they notice one of their colleagues to be impaired. For instance, some US states have legislation that requires physicians to report impaired colleagues to authorities or medical boards. There is no similar law in Canada. However, The Canadian Medical Association’s Code of Ethics specifies ways to practice unimpaired, seek help for personal problems, and report unprofessional conduct by others.

Physicians are known to compromise their personal lives trying to delay their substance abuse problem from effecting on their professional duties. As a result, when signs of alcohol or drug addiction or abuse gets observed at work, their problem is likely to be a long-standing one. But, unfortunately, many doctors and health care professionals don’t confront or report impaired colleagues’ behavior thinking about the consequences such as a tarnished reputation, loss of job and a revoked licence.

Individual’s Responsibility

Physicians have an ethical and legal obligation to help and not harm their patients. So once a doctor realizes they have an alcohol or drug abuse problem, they have to reach out to a therapist or join programs to help them recover. They also should put in place plans to monitor ongoing progress because relapse could be an issue as with any other substance abuse treatment and recovery process.

Additionally, as a precautionary measure, the doctor has the responsibility to consider transferring their patients to another competent physician until they are fully capable of treating patients again in a safe and efficient manner.

Conclusion

Even though it is dangerous when a physician becomes addicted to alcohol, the good news is that with treatment, medical professionals’ recovery rates are quite high ranging from 30% to 90%. Doctor’s recovery rates with treatment are high because of their personal commitment combined with support from health care facilities and Physicians’ health networks that offer support to their members recovering from substance abuse.

It looks quite weird to suspect that a medical practitioner is addicted, however, it would interest you to know that, they have the same blood coursing their veins, so there is no ruling out the chance that, none of them could be addicted.

Medical practitioners are expected to be at the forefront in the fight against addiction, which some of them are, but the sad part is, some of them struggle with addiction in secret, and this is not visible to the human eye because they know how to take care of themselves.

A medical profession comes with its own level of stress. A good number of times, there could be many patients on ground in the hospital, and only few doctors and nurses to attend to them. Often times, this wearies them out, and affects them mentally.

This stress is what makes a medical practitioner to get addicted, and the common forms of addiction are drugs and alcohol.

The surprising part about this is, medical practitioners are aware of the dangers inherent in being addicted, but since their brain needs a certain amount of dopamine, they are willing to go down the risky lane.

In a developed country, where the ethical standards of the medical profession are upheld, if a medical practitioner is discovered to have a substance abuse problem, they are often faced with two choices.

They would either be required to opt for intensive rehabilitation treatment, or have their medical license revoked.

Of course, a good number of them would wish to continue practicing, so they would have no choice but to go for the intensive rehab treatment.

Now it is difficult to state if most of them would break free from addiction entirely, but their success could be dependent on the format of treatment received.

For most countries, medical practitioners are required to spend longer time for the treatment of substance abuse than other addicted individuals.

In addition to this, the type of rehab program which is available to addicted medical practitioners, is usually exclusive and similar to what an executive would receive.

Just like anyone else, doctors too can be affected by addiction. If it is not attended to, it has the capacity to induce a good number of adverse effects for them. According to studies, doctors are among the highest number of people who are plagued with addiction. Many health specialists combat substance abuse, and it is really eating deep into them.

In similarity to other professionals, there are several reasons why a doctor would be plagued with substance abuse. It could be in a bid to remain at alert all through the day, or probably in the night. It could be in a bid to get rid of sad events or even stress.

• 

Now, one of the reasons why it is worse with doctors is, they have the unlimited access to a good number of these substances. Taking drugs for instance, it is easier for them to get drugs, thereby fueling their addiction. Irrespective of the fact that the rate at which doctors are suffering from addiction is high, the rate of recovery among them is equally high as well when they start receiving treatment.

It might be difficult to spot an addicted doctor, based on the fact that he is a highly-functional individual. This implies that it might be easy to keep his career in place, alongside with his home, and still use those substances for a long time without being spotted.

One common sign among addicted doctors is, they prefer night shifts to day shifts, and this is because there would be little or no supervision. Hence, granting them unlimited access to use those medications or alcohol as the case may be.

For addicted doctors, it is required that they do not undergo conventional addiction treatment programs due to the nature of their career. There are specific ones which are highly productive and offer them a really fresh start.

Important facets of their medical profession would be addressed such as: The restoration of their career and reputation, staying away from possible triggers, full participation in monitoring programmes.

Conclusively, once doctors undergo an effective addiction rehab centre Canada private, you can be sure that they would be back on their feet in the shortest possible time.

The prospect of holding an intervention for someone you care for is stressful. They are emotional events and they do require people to face things that make them uncomfortable. However, when you use the services of a reputable interventionist, the intervention will be a positive and productive turn of events.

In cases of substance abuse in the general population, sometimes an intervention is necessary and sometimes it is not, depending on the situation, but in the case of a high stakes position such as a doctor, it is a critical step towards getting the individual the treatment they require to recover. Intervention plays a vital role in confronting the addictive behavior of a professional physician.

Intervention is defined as the moment a confrontation takes place between an individual suspected of addiction and the party that wants them to be evaluated for addiction treatment. Because intervention can be highly stressful and emotional, it is best to prepare in advance with the help of a professional intervention specialist. The addict is highly likely to be in a fragile emotional state, and a mismanaged intervention can quickly eradicate this.

An intervention may take place just as the warning signs of addictive substance abuse are surfacing, or it may take place when the addiction is in a more advanced state, depending on the circumstance. Traditionally, the addict’s support system comes together in one location to share what they have personally experienced of the individual’s substance abuse problem, the intention being to break down the inclination towards denial.

The immediate transferal of the addict to the treatment center is vital because an addict is statistically the most volatile after an intervention has taken place. This is because the security of denial is no longer an option and the individual’s emotional state can be very fractured. After the confrontation takes place, the addict is taken to a rehabilitation treatment center where they can safely begin the process of recovery through medical and mental health care.

It is critical that physicians and other medical professionals are made aware of addiction treatment options and seek them out before their addictions ruin their lives. Not only should they commit to treatment, they should commit to proper treatment. There are many rehabilitation treatment programs available, but not all of them are suitable to accommodate a medical professional. The average rehab is overcrowded, underfunded and not equipped with the best and most modern treatment resources. These rehabs, though they have good intentions, cannot afford to provide the individualized care needed to vanquish the complex problem of addiction, and relapse is often a result. These results are too disruptive to a medical professional’s life and will only lead to more disappointment.

Luxury rehabilitation facilities with programs tailored to the needs of medical professionals will prove much more effective for the likes of doctors and nurses. Luxury rehabs can afford to stay current on the most effective addiction treatment methods, as well as provide their clients with a therapeutic environment to recover in. Treatment will include a medically supervised detox process and addiction recovery medication, if required, to restore the addict’s body to a healthy state. Then individual and group counseling will help the addict recognize the root causes of their addictive behavior, and therapeutic activities, serene settings and luxurious surroundings will help them feel refreshed and rejuvenated.

Addiction can strike any demographic, even the group of people that society turns to with health concerns: medical professionals. The number of medical professionals who struggle with addiction is surprising, and easily comparable to the general populous. Physicians, nurses and other medical professionals face a unique set of stressful circumstances in their line of work, and in many cases fall victim to substance abuse in an effort to self medicate. Sadly, most do not voluntarily seek treatment because of the ramifications it would have on their careers, medical licenses and reputations. Many medical professionals are skilled at hiding their substance abuse problem as they are highly intelligent and self-aware, but addiction is always a downward spiral and catches up to anyone afflicted by it.