Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Public Health and Community Nursing
Master's Theses, Dissertations, Graduate Research and Major Papers Overview
Articles 1 - 1 of 1
Full-Text Articles in Medicine and Health Sciences
Nurses' Attitudes Towards Drug-Seekers In The Emergency Room, Megan E. Gernt
Nurses' Attitudes Towards Drug-Seekers In The Emergency Room, Megan E. Gernt
Master's Theses, Dissertations, Graduate Research and Major Papers Overview
Emergency department patients often present with a chief complaint of pain. There is a unique population of patients who present with this chief complaint in an effort to obtain narcotics for non-medical use. This population is often referred to as drug-seekers and there is little information available to define what exactly nurses mean when they use this term. This study utilized a descriptive survey design to gain a better understanding of nurses’ use of the term drug-seeker. Respondents agreed on a variety of behaviors that lead them to identify patients as drug-seeking and expressed a frustration with this population of …