Nurses' Attitudes Toward Impaired Practice and Knowledge of Peer Assistance Programs

Abstract

This article examines nurses' attitudes toward colleagues who have emotional and substance abuse problems. It also explores the knowledge and opinions that nurses hold toward peer assistance programs (PAP) that are designed to assist nurses who experience impaired nursing practice. A questionnaire measuring knowledge and attitudes was returned by 142 randomly selected licensed nurses (RN and LPN). Nurses reported impairment rates of 15% and described reasons for confronting and not confronting colleagues about substance use. The majority of nurses would not confront a peer, and there was a lack of knowledge of when and how to intervene if substance abuse was thought to have been associated with a nurse's clinical performance. Respondents had a general lack of knowledge of the policies and procedures of the PAP, but they gave positive ratings as to its usefulness. Comparisons were made between nurses who expressed concern to an impaired colleague and those who did not on levels of education, years in nursi...