Keywords

Alternative-to-Discipline Program, Drug Diversion, Education, Impaired Nurse, Monitoring Program, Patient Safety, Peer Assistance, Peer Support, Recovery, Stigma, Substance Use Disorder

 

Authors

  1. Scholler, Brooke MSN, PMHNP
  2. Waite-Labott, Kristin BSN, RN, CARN, CPRC
  3. DeMark, Misty BSN, RN

Abstract

Abstract: Support within the nursing community for those coping with substance misuse has been lacking for over a hundred years. A review of the history of substance use disorders in nursing reveals that nurses still encounter similar risks, stigma, and punishments today. Kristin, a nurse for over 30 years, tells her story of trials, tribulations, and triumphs with substance use. She shares how having to face early recovery on her own sparked the development of the Wisconsin Peer Alliance for Nurses (WisPAN). WisPAN offers a community for nurses in recovery to provide peer support to those taking their first steps on the journey toward recovery.