Ah, the question we are all thinking, but not wanting to ask. I used to work at a county hospital, in the ICU. I remember being shocked when I heard that one of the heart surgeons smoked. I was even more amazed when my coworker told me that he had often smoked cigarettes out at the smoker's barrel with the surgeon. From that point on, all I could think about was a surgeon leaving his patient in the O.R. to get a quick drag, before returning to fix those arteries.
But that was over 20 years ago. Surely by now, most healthcare workers and doctors don't smoke anymore, right? Well, it just so happens that a new article in Nicotine and Tobacco Research asked that very question in 2006-2007. They broke down smokers by healthcare occupation: physicians, RN's, pharmacists, respiratory therapists, and even dentists took part in the survey.
So any guesses on who had the highest prevalency of smoking? I'll breakdown the list from lowest to highest.
2.31% Physicians
3.01% Dentists
3.25% Pharmacists
10.73% RN's
19.28% Respiratory Therapists (ouch!)
20.55% Licensed practical nurses (LPNs)
Not surprisingly then, the groups that had the highest quit rates were physicians, pharmacists, dentists and physician assistants (PA's). But all healthcare workers had higher quit rates than the general public quit rate - except for those LPNs.
The decline in smoking healthcare workers is similar to that seen in the general population as a hold, or in other words, relatively "flat". They find this concerning since the public looks toward the medical community for guidance and counseling on this subject.
As a respiratory therapist myself, I saw first hand many of my coworkers lighting up during their shift. It stills confuses me how they could give a breathing treatment to someone who suffers from COPD symptoms and then go have a cigarette during their lunch break.
Perhaps we'd see more of a decline nationally, if the healthcare communities would make more of an effort to quit themselves - or at least, my fellow RT's and those pesky LPN's.
