Addiction cuts across all professions and all people because it is a spiritual heart problem. An article about drug abuse in the medical profession of nursing addresses the added temptation nurses have of handling medications. Most cases involving the discipline of nurses in Connecticut were substance abuse related (82%) and 51 additional cases involved a nurse surrendering a license so the percentage would be even higher if those situations were added to the disciplined cases.
No one is immune to the problem of addiction. No one. No profession, no socio-economic status, no age, no gender, no demographic. Why? Because it is a heart issue that lies within each individual. Everyone has the potential to be addicted because everyone is wired with a fallen nature since Genesis 3. Each person has the capacity to choose to live for something that they believe satisfies them. For these nurses in Connecticut, they are choosing to live for a pleasurable substance and willing to put their licenses and livelihoods on the line to obtain the drugs they seek, hoping not to get caught and hoping to find satisfaction, even if just for a brief moment.
I understand it. Maybe you do, too. Even though it appears to be so clearly harmful, the choice seems to be worth the risk. It is deception at its worst.
Pray for these nurses. Pray that they would find true satisfaction in serving the One True God who truly loves them. Pray that they would again find joy in serving others who are physically hurting. Pray that they would find healing for their emotional hurts.
-Mark (compassionate for the hurting souls enslaved to addiction in all professions)