Most supervisors in the United States and beyond are not governed by US Department of Transportation regulations in travel-related safety-sensitive positions and therefore do not require the lengthy training of two hours of DOT-mandated drug and alcohol awareness. They need a shorter non-DOT supervisory training program that they can learn everything they need to know from it.
However, DOT or non-DOT supervisor training is similar. It’s just the amount of time the workout takes that remains different.
As a side note, the DOT drug and alcohol awareness training does not include information on trucks and transportation at all. The purpose of the training is to educate supervisors on substance abuse awareness and major drug classifications to prepare them for a more effective role in detecting drug and alcohol abuse by employees at work, and then take them out of line to refer them. the employee to the test, which in most cases is a urine test/analysis.
Help Non-DOT Supervisors Correctly Screen for Illness
Alcoholism or drug addiction (often used interchangeably) is always the first to be treated in the presence of other personal problems. Start early in your presentation to help supervisors understand this key concept of addictive disease and that personal problems do not cause drinking problems, but vice versa.
You are not teaching diagnostic skills with this educational push, you are reversing it. If you are not successful in this educational task, most supervisors will leave your presentation with the same myths and misconceptions that they had when they arrived. This translates into increased risk in the organization.
Many primary health problems and personal problems that people experience are a direct result of the real problem: addiction. Personal problems can be different, but they only exacerbate the addiction and make it worse. That is your contribution and not the cause. Some of your non-DOT supervisors may sit in your classroom in disbelief at this fact.
Non-DOT supervisors will buy with a little arguing
Supervisors typically become aware of a variety of personal problems long before obvious drug or alcohol problems are observed. That’s why you want to spend a little time on this chicken egg concept.
These are often symptoms of the alcohol or drug problem, but are mistakenly believed to be causes rather than symptoms.
One of the most popular misconceptions is that alcoholism is caused by stress. Example: “Hey, you would drink too if your wife left you for another man.” The next step for this individual is an evaluation to rule out acute chronic alcoholism. Nonalcoholic drinkers could not “successfully” use alcohol in this way to feel better about such a problem. It just wouldn’t work.
Supervisors may avoid referring employees to an employee assistance program if they are attempting to determine the nature of personal problems interfering with job performance. Focusing on personal problems leads to discussion and possible solutions, often the wrong ones.
Alcoholism, drug addiction, and addictive disease are generally interchangeable terms. Why? Addiction is a very mixed thing these days. It’s not like 1935, when a bunch of different street drugs were available to addicts. Many alcoholics have used other drugs, legally prescribed or not, that are addictive. Addictive disease or chemical dependency are terms used to help the public understand that any mood-altering substance is off limits to those recovering from an addictive disease. This fact will cause some loud gasps and maybe even an argument or two.
Addiction is a disease process and is primary. Therefore, patients are taught to manage their disease to prevent relapse in the same way that diabetics are taught to manage their disease. Alcohol or drug use begins with experimentation or peer pressure for almost any drinker. Physiological susceptibility determines from that moment the progression of the disease. But other factors can influence the severity and course of the disease.
Alcoholism was designated as a disease in 1957 by the American Medical Association. Alcoholism was designated a disease in 1956 by the World Health Organization. Research shows that most people believe that alcoholism (addiction) is a disease; however, this belief does not easily contribute to self-diagnosis due to denial.
Most people try to define alcoholism by behaviors (how much you drink, when or what you drink, and your physical appearance). Unknowingly, most people are unaware that some occupations are characterized by a more frequent opportunity to consume alcohol socially or without observation. This “testing one’s susceptibility” in these work settings will result in earlier and more acute onset of illness.
This is why higher rates of alcoholism can be expected in the predominantly male workforce, or in positions such as street vendors. Did you know that nurses have a higher addiction rate than other professions and that alcohol use outside of work hours is a contributing factor in addition to predisposed biogenic susceptibility from parent to child? The opportunity to tax one’s susceptibility increases the risk and speed of onset.
Supervisors must also be aware of the impact of myths. Myths tend to help maintain stigma, and this contributes to avoiding self-reporting of EAPs; blaming and getting angry at the addict, believing that an employee should be fired rather than helping him, believing that it is too late to help an employee (i.e. “I don’t want to refer this employee, I want him fired!”) These attitudes of supervisors must be correct by education in order to preserve human resources.
Addicts’ self-righteous views inhibit their self-reference and increase stigma. The most common misconceptions are “willpower deficiencies” and “psychological explanations.” Both fuel denial in anyone with the disease.
Personal experience with alcoholism or addiction in your family contributes to beliefs about the disease, its treatability, and its cause. Supervisors must understand that it is difficult to change, even in the face of overwhelming facts and investigations.
Country insurance for medical problems. That’s why the company’s insurance policies pay for the treatment. That is why state governments generally require insurance companies to pay for alcoholism and drug addiction treatment in order to become licensed.
Alcoholism is a disease caused by alcohol consumption when there is an inherited chemistry of the brain and liver that does not exhibit resistance to ethanol tolerance and abnormal alcohol metabolism.
