Tyra Davis

UWRT 1104

Assignment Two
Background Information/Introduction
House has been a phenomenon since premiering in 2004. With ratings received from the
top TV critics with an 8.8 from IMDb, and a 9.2 from TV.com, this show is a hit. Over is eight
year duration this show has attracted a very broad audience from people who are involved in the
medical field to those who just enjoy a good TV show. House is a fictional t.v show that takes
place in new jersey at a very prestigious hospital. The main character Dr. Gregory House is the
top diagnostician in the hospital, and his patients often come in with critical medical situations
that often depend on his diagnosis on whether they live or not. One of the questions that many
people have when watching House is how does the Main Character House who is arrogant,
pessimistic, and has many problems in his personal life, become a genius diagnostician. One
thing that really intrigued me about House, is his addiction to prescription pain killers. In one
episode that I observed, it is seen that when going a couple of hours without taking his prescribed
pain medications, House becomes very angry, and does not make good decisions when coming to
his patients. Observing his addiction to pain killers, and how it affects his daily life has made me
look into how addiction to not only prescription drugs, but also hardcore affects those in society
today.
The United States longest, unwinnable war is the war on drugs due to the fact that
illicit drug use in the United States has been increasing. In 2013, an estimated 24.6 million
Americans aged 12 or older (9.4 percent of the population) had used an illicit drug in the past
month. Most people used drugs for the first time when they were teenagers, and Drug use is
highest among people in their late teens and twenties, but surveys show that Drug use is

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increasing among people in their fifties and early sixties. (NIH) Also, most teens die from
prescription drugs than heroin/cocaine combined, and 60% of teens who abuse prescription drugs
get them free from friends and relatives. The United States represents 5% of the worlds
population but yet represents 75% of prescription drugs taken. (DoSomething) These statistics
are shocking right? So, my focus and purpose for writing this paper will be addressing drug
addiction in the United States, through looking at the process the on the brain and the body, and
treatments available for those who are going through addiction.

Literature Review
People who often see those who are addicted to drugs as having no will power, or as
weak, but many people do not know nor understand the affects that drugs have on the brain, and
the body. Stereotypes of those who are addicted include addicts come from broken homes,
addicts are violent, and they steal money belonging to family and friends. There are many other
stereotypes but these are some of the most common. Narcotic drugs are one of the most serious
but least understood medical and social problems of our time due to the fact that there are many
physical, psychological, and social aspects of addiction. Most drugs release a drug known as
dopamine which is a neurotransmitter that causes intense pleasure in parts of the brain. It links
brain areas that control and regulate emotions, and because of this people become
psychologically and physically dependent on drugs very quickly. (Nature Drugs) Systems that
drive judgement, planning, and organization, are overruled by drugs and often times seek those
who are addicted to seek that pleasure of getting high. Addictions recruits memory systems,
motivational systems and continues to stimulate the drive to use. (Anatomy)

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Many of those who are addicted to drugs are those who attended the work place every
day. The use of Opioids is very common in the work force. Patrick Krill, who directs a treatment
program at the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation that focuses on lawyers and judges stated that
The more professional stature you have, the less likely you are going to be forced into recovery,
and the longer your addiction is likely to go unchecked.(Opioid) In response to this epidemic
that has swept the country the CDC has released guidelines on prescribing opioid painkillers. The
advice is aimed at primary care physicians, who prescribed nearly half of the opioid painkillers
consumed in the U.S. (CDC) Although that is one step towards treatment there are many other
obstacles that people face when seeking treatment.
One of the main reasons that people do not seek treatment is money. It cost thousands of
dollars to go and seek help, and most people who are facing addiction do not have that money.
But there have been bills passed such as the Affordable Care Act and other federal laws to help
give people insurance to help those who are seeking to recover from addiction pay for those
services. (Medicaid may soon) But, what good is having insurance when we do not have enough
counselors to help those who are in need. Not only do we not have enough counselors to help,
but on top of that there are many counselors who have left the job for multiple reasons such as
low pay, as well as how hard the job can be when seeing the pain of those who are recovering.
(Shortage of Addiction)
Even if you are able to overcome those obstacles, there are now ways that those who are
trying to overcome their addiction can be punished for doing so. Recently the federal
government recently proposed update guidelines that govern the release of patient records about
treatment for alcohol and drug abuse. These guidelines put the privacy for those who are being
treated for addiction at risk, and may have devastating effects on their work and family lives. In

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some cases, it may have legal repercussions, including arrest, prosecution and jail. (Feds Plan)
Then there are people who feel that the way we as a country handle those who are going through
addiction is completely wrong, and we as a society are influenced by shows such as
Intervention and tell those who are addicted the we will cut them off or distance ourselves
from them. But that is the complete opposite of what we should be doing. Studies have shown
that those going through addiction are much more successful when shown support and love from
family members, and know that they have their support system to depend on rather than the
drugs that they are taking. (Ted Global London)

Entering the Conversation

When observing all of this information, there is one gap that comes to my attention. As shown in
my observations, House who is a medical personnel who is addicted to prescription drugs. When
reading all of these articles, I feel that they are biased in a sort of way. There were not any
articles in the databases that talked about this. In my opinion people who work in the medical
field can have an easier access to prescription drugs due to the fact that they know the effects of
each drug, how it will affect their body, and since they are medical personnel they have the
ability to prescribe it to themselves. One reason I believe not we do not hear about this as often is
not one hospital wants to have a reputation of having a doctor who is addicted to drugs, and often
times doctors could lose their credibility, and their license. So to do a new approach to this topic
I would do a Ted Talk on the concept of Doctors on drugs, and what we can do to spread
awareness.

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UWRT 1104
Being that Ted Talks are annually held on the West Coast of North America, I would have to
raise enough money to fly there. I would also have to raise enough money to stay at a hotel for
the weekend, and also for food, the membership fees. I would plan on doing this by working and
earning extra hours since I do have a job, and I would also start a go-fund me page and invite
friends, family, and anyone who supported my vision and what I am trying raise awareness on to
donate anything.
In my Ted talk, I would present all of my information on slides. To start my Ted Talk I would
open by giving all of the information presented in my literature review, and then I would point
out what I stated previously about medical personnel not being mentioned in the sources. I have
never turned on the news or heard a story of someone in the medical field being addicted to
drugs. Some things I would mention would be that the number of drug- and alcohol addicted
physicians and nurses is estimated at 10-14% which proves my point that doctors struggle at
addiction at a similar or even higher rate than the general population. And also in the medical
world, three specialist account for a substantially higher proportion than other specialties which
include anesthesiologist, E.R specialist, and psychiatrist. (NIH) In addition I would talk about
how easy it is for doctors to turn to addiction due to the fact that they are too human, and go
through situations such as trauma, anxiety, depression, and on top of that they have to go through
pressures that come with the medical profession such as educational demands, long work days,
taking care of patients, stress, and once again that temptation of having that availability of
addictive substances. I would also talk about how we enjoy shows such as House and Nurse
Jackie where there are doctors who are addicted to shows, and act like these shows are only
made up from imagination when in reality, the concept of medical personnel being addiction is

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reality and it constantly happening. Then I would lead into ways as to how we can bring
awareness.
One way I believe we would help prevent drug addiction is by starting with those who are
aspiring to be in the medical field. So one way that we could do that is by teaching those who are
on a pre-health track in college, or those who are in medical school about different ways to cope
with the hardships of medical personnel. Whether that be going to starting a support group, or
doing physical activity. I would also make sure to educate them on different resources to get help
such as addiction centers specifically for doctors, as well as different hotlines or clinics to attend
that are designated towards doctors. I would then make sure to end my Ted talk by talking about
signs that doctors are impaired such as slurring words, stumbling, being irritable or easily
angered or lacking coordination. (Health.Haravard) And I would encourage the audience to
spread the information that they have learned, and also promote my Ted Talk on social media to
help spread awareness.

Conclusion/So What?
When doing my observations in Assignment One and looking at how House acted when he did
not take his prescribed medication motivated me to look in to drug addiction. When doing
research on drug addiction I instantly became intrigued and learned new and useful information.
I decided to look into what drugs do to the brain and the body, what treatments are available for
those who are going through addiction, and what hardships they have to face. When doing this I
found that when addicted to drugs, it affects the brain and body by impairing vital areas in the
brain in the frontal lobe which control motor skills and critical thinking. I also found that
treatment is not as available as many think. Not only is there a shortage of counselors, but also

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although the government has tried to expand insurance coverage, the cost is still very high for
rehab clinics making those who are less fortunate unable to get the help needed to recover. I also
found that there was a very big gap when coming to drug addiction due to the fact that most
information only covered the general public, when shown in my observation medical personnel
are very prone to drug addiction as well if not more. My solution to this was to do a Ted Talk that
would address this issue as well as show a plan that would help those in the medical field as well
as spread awareness on this topic. I have come to the conclusion when coming up with solutions
with drug use increasing in the United States that we as a country really need to evaluate the
resources and personnel that we have in place for those are going through addiction. I believe
that we should make sure that there are enough clinics and counselors to help people help those
going through rehab, and also make sure that insurance covers a reasonable amount to help those
who are less fortunate. At the same time, we have to also do prevention programs whether it be
in schools, advertisements on t.v, or education and awareness programs targeted towards career
fields that have a higher risk of addiction. I also believe that we should not treated those who are
going through addiction as less of a human being, and encourage them to get help and show them
love and support being that studies have shown that it increases the completion of the
rehabilitation process and decreases the chance of relapse. When looking into areas for potential
research I would look into politics for the different laws and regulations when dealing with drugs
and addiction how we can improve those laws to decrease the addiction rate.

Works Cited

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UWRT 1104

1.

"Anatomy Of Addiction: How Heroin And Opioids Hijack The Brain." NPR.
NPR, n.d. Web. 13 Mar. 2016.

2.

Does Early Onset of Non-medical Use of Prescription Drugs Predict Subsequent

Prescription Drug Abuse and Dependence? Results from a National Study." - McCabe.
N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Mar. 2016

3.

"Drug Addiction: Physiological, Psychological, and Sociological Aspects." APA

PsycNET. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Mar. 2016.

4.

"Everything You Think You Know about Addiction Is Wrong." Johann Hari:.

N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Mar. 2016.

5.
Nature.com. Nature Publishing Group, n.d. Web. 13 Mar. 2016.
6.
"Obama Begins Drug Addiction Prevention Conversation In West Virginia."
7.

NPR. NPR, n.d. Web. 13 Mar. 2016.

"To Prevent Addiction In Adults, Help Teens Learn How To Cope." NPR. NPR,

n.d. Web. 13 Mar. 2016.

8.
"Tragedy Moves A Community To Combat Drug Addiction." NPR. NPR, n.d.
9.

Web. 13 Mar. 2016.

"Treating Addiction As A Chronic Disease." NPR. NPR, n.d. Web. 13 Mar.
2016.

10.

"What Doctors Don't Know about the Drugs They Prescribe." Ben Goldacre:.
N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Mar. 2016.