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Te Silent Destroyer
Addiction is a big problem in the veterinary world By Jan Thomas
This article is the first of a two-part series on addiction in veteri- nary practices. Look for the results of an exclusive AAHA survey next month.
substance abusers, many in the field believe the time has come to discuss a disease that not only exists, but like heart disease, diabetes, or cancer, will ravage or destroy lives if left untreated. “As an anesthesiologist, I deal with controlled substances
I
and interact with veterinarians about how best to use anes- thesia in animal care every day,” says Heidi L. Shafford, DVM, PhD, DACVA, owner of Veterinary Anesthesia Specialists, LLC. “I’ve become increasingly aware of and very concerned
about the risk of addiction and diversion of controlled sub- stances in the veterinary profession. I think we as a profession need to do much more to educate our colleagues and our team members about those risks in order to create safe and healthy work environments.” One of the first steps in the education process is to be very
clear about what diversion really means. What it’s not are inven- tory “snafus” or “lost” packages of potentially addictive drugs. “When I say diversion, I mean medications are leaving the
Trends magazine, April 2013
mpaired. Substance abuser. Addicted. If the mere thought of applying those words to any of
your colleagues is difficult or distasteful, this article is for you. While no one knows the exact number of veterinary professionals who are either recovering or yet-to-recover
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