alcohol and other drug problems among addiction professionals

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nElements Needed to Inform This Process1. Research Data: We need research data on the prevalence, extent, and effectsof impairment within the addiction profession. This includes an operationaldefinition of impairment that is broad based and not restricted to AOD use.2. Needs Assessment: We need to complete comprehensive needs assessmentsto determine current practices; evaluate their effectiveness; and identifyfactors related to successful professional practice, and those related to practicesthat lead to impaired performance. We need to determine the needs thatmust be met in order for addiction professionals to function at optimal levels ofperformance.nOverarching Considerations3. Standards: We need to establish national, regional, and local standards on impairmentand Employee Assistance Program (EAP) practices for the addictionprofession, and produce an authoritative resource guide. We need to join forceswith other agencies and professional groups to accomplish this goal.4. Fair Labor Laws: We need to ensure fair practices compliant with fair laborlaws in all states. We need to unify fair labor practices under national and internationalstandards.5. Privacy: We need to define ways of balancing personal privacy with professionalduties, responsibilities, and obligations.6. Non-Discriminatory Policies and Practices: Organizations should developnon-discriminatory policies and procedures that prevent and manage problemsthat addiction professionals might experience. These policies and proceduresinclude: (1) consistent codes of ethics and (2) consistent hiring practices.nAreas of Policy and Protocol7. Hiring Policies: (1) These must be consistent with current federal, state, andlocal laws and agency vision, mission, policy, and procedures. (2) They shouldvalue life experience, professional experience, and academic credentials.8. Competency-based Evaluations: There should be a competency-basedevaluation of core addiction treatment competencies. TAP 21 can be used asa guide. Organizations need to develop Bona Fide Occupational Qualifications(BFOQ) for each job category and provide proper orientation of all employeesto all job-related expectations, vision, mission, policies, and procedures.9. Supervision Best Practices: We need to develop written guidelines for BestPractices to guide supervision and professional practices.10. Training and Mentoring: Organizations should provide training programsfor staff, including administration, managers, supervisors, and line staff, with astrong focus upon orienting new employees so they can rapidly become effec-n n
tive in their jobs. These processes should become standardized on the agencylevel consistent with federal, state, and local laws and agency policies. Organizationsshould provide on-the-job training and mentoring programs to helppeople acquire the competencies necessary to do their jobs. Training is an ongoingnecessity because of the rapid change in environment and the need toaddress both “uncomplicated” addiction and addiction complicated by coexistingmental health disorders, legal problems, and social problems.11. Wellness: Organizations should develop wellness programs and practices totake care of employees, and provide effective supervision policies and practicesthat consider the wellness of the employees. These should include specificscheduled activities, including such things as retreats for the purpose of rejuvenationand burn-out prevention, peer support and mentoring practices, and“growth groups” to enhance professional development. These groups would beaimed at self-awareness and “spirituality recharge.”12. Impairment Policies: We need practical and enforceable policies for addressingimpaired professionals that reflect fair practices consistently applied to alladdiction professionals and support staff. These policies should build trust andconsistency in their application to staff at all levels of the organization. Theyshould include wellness policies designed to prevent problems and remainconsistent with professional and agency codes of ethics. They need to: (1) beenforceable, (2) be fair, (3) engender trust, (4) promote wellness, and (5) supporthigh ethical standards. This includes the training of boards of directors,clinical management teams, physicians, and therapeutic and support staff.Participants met again six months later to discuss what they had learned andthe tools they had begun to create to help fulfill these needs. This Proceedingsdocument is an invitation to join, inform, explore, and expand this discussion. Thedebate and the crafting of solutions will have to continue on a far wider scale, atorganizational, regional, national, and international levels. The magnitude of eachaddiction professional’s potential to heal or to harm deserves no less.n n
Page 1: Alcohol and Other Drug ProblemsAmon
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for the day and may face suspension
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S p o n s o r s h i pnSoutheast Add
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The building that houses the Nation
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