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I thought Jeff you were out of Atlanta. Why sign this
Augusta? >>> michael@seaox.com 12/24/02 08:50PM >>> Jeff, Your are truly on the horns of a dilemma; if you turn him in he can lose his job, if you don't he can hurt someone. It is not your fault. Your co-worker put you in a position requiring your action when he admitted his illicit substance usage. My view is, if you want to use drugs in private, do it but you shouldn't be flying - ever. A suggestion that you turn him in might be based on the assumption that he is addicted. He may not be addicted, he may merely be using the substances recreationally, either way he is a threat in the air-medical environment. I am not a big proponent on turning people in, at least initially. Before you turn him in I would suggest you approach him and try to convenience him to, in essence, turn himself in. If you do not have a mental health background this can be a very tricky proposition. One option is to make an appointment at your Employee Assistance Program for YOURSELF. Describe the situation and your fears. This is what they are paid to do. The advantage is you have a greater degree of confidentially with EAP and they can help formulate an intervention for your co-worker. Remember, however, once you go to EAP the cat is out of the bag. There is NO good solution to this situation. Ultimately you must put the safety of yourself, your pilot and the patient above the needs of the individual co-worker. When you try to decide how to handle the situation, remember, no matter how bad you feel doing what must be done imagine how bad you would feel knowing someone else was hurt because you chose not to intervene. Michael Cox, EMT-P, RN, CCRN National Certified Counselor At 06:55 AM 12/24/2002 -0500, you wrote: Need some serious guidance, folks... |