How Tennessee pharmacy professionals and students can get help for substance use disorder
Health care workers are not immune to health problems and crises.
In recent years, workers have faced growing abuse after COVID emerged because of staff shortages, misinformation and impatience, and many reported burnout.
Nancy Hooper is the program director of the Tennessee Pharmacy Recovery Network, which assists students and professionals in the pharmacy field living with substance use disorder.
Hooper herself is in long-term recovery, and her experience gives her insight into the challenges faced by others.
On Episode 380 of the Tennessee Voices video podcast, she shared her story and talked about her work.
She talked about using alcohol to cope with severe social anxiety when she was in school.
Years later, she said she had a relapse due to being addicted to pain medicine after a surgery.
She surrendered her license and entered the court system.
"That built me into the person I am today," she said.
Her license was reinstated in 2016 and she helps fellow pharmacy professionals and students get the assistance they need.
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The Tennessee Voices videocast is a 20-minute program, which started in March 2020 and invites leaders, thinkers and innovators who have written guest columns for a USA TODAY Network Tennessee publication to share their insights and wisdom with me and our viewers.
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David Plazas is the director of opinion and engagement for the USA TODAY Network Tennessee. He is an editorial board member of The Tennessean. He hosts the Tennessee Voices videocast and curates the Tennessee Voices and Latino Tennessee Voices newsletters. Call him at (615) 259-8063 or email him at dplazas@tennessean.com.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Tennessee Voices: Pharmacy pros can get substance use disorder help
