ADDRESSING THE PROBLEM OF SUBSTANCE ABUSE AMONG PROFESSIONAL STAFF AT THE CLEVELAND CLINIC
The toll exacted by chemical substance abuse on the American society and on individuals within the society in both social and economic contexts is both appalling and enormous. Governments in the United States commit an enormous amount of public resources ù financial, human, and physical ù to fighting the country's substance abuse problem. In spite of all of these efforts, and in the face of claims of great success by the Drug Enforcement Agency, however, the substance abuse problem appears to be intractable in the greater society (Kennedy, 2003).
Health professionals, although they daily witness the manifestations of chemical substance abuse in patients, are not immune to such behavior. When health professionals do engage in substance abuse, however, negative outcomes hold the potential to be more damaging than they may be in relation to other groups because of the enormous social responsibilities shouldered by health professionals (Booth, 2002).
This paper reviews the substance abuse problem by health professionals at a major American health care institution ù the Cleveland Clinic Foundation. The principal objective of the review of the problem is to develop a recommended solution to the problem.
Extent and Character of the Substance Abuse Problem at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation
Chemical substance abuse poses particularly vexing problems for the workplace ù reduced productivity, decreased employee performance, and increased accident rates, regardless of the area of endeavor involved (Braverman, 2003). As indicated in the introduction to this paper, when the workplace is a health care institution where mistakes may result in tragedy, the issue of substance abuse is especially serious (McCall, 2001).
Some studies and surveys have found that substance abuse among health professionals is five times that of the general p...