Licensed healthcare professionals should be aware that with the summer holidays here, and with Independence Day weekend around the corner, police will be setting up checkpoints to enforce driving under the influence laws. We would not think of providing patient care when our concentration, reasoning, depth perception, peripheral vision, glare recovery, reflexes, reaction time, gross motor control, etc. were compromised. We know that could endanger patients and result in discipline on our professional license. But so can
driving in that condition.
You might be off the job, on your own time, and think getting pulled over for suspected impaired driving is unrelated to your license to practice. Know that it is. Licensing boards can respond to convictions as evidence of professional misconduct or of ethical violations and moral character lapses. Convictions for impaired driving can also give them concerns about substance use disorders and compromised practice.
National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) statistics [
https://www.nhtsa.gov/risky-driving/drunk-driving] show that an American dies every 45 minutes from an alcohol related collision. In 2020, that resulted in 11,654 preventable deaths. An adult is legally intoxicated when his/her bloodstream contains 0.08 mg of alcohol per 100 ml of blood, but significant impairment can occur before reaching that level. Levels of 0.02% can impair visual functions and multitasking. Levels of 0.05% can reduce coordination, ability to track objects, steer, and respond to emergencies.
Each state has its own definition of professional misconduct; and licensing boards differ in their discipline of licensees with impaired driving convictions; but anyone holding a professional license should know the laws, penalties, and professional conduct rules in their state. Some states require self-reporting of convictions to the board within time limitations and issue penalties for failure to do so. Your professional license can be suspended or revoked; and your career derailed, because of that one time you got pulled over. Don’t risk it.
Entering gender, weight, time since last drink, amount of alcohol consumed, and type of alcohol consumed into a BAC calculator can provide an estimate of a person’s potential impairment and the time required to reach a BAC of 0%. Here is a link to a BAC calculator: [
https://www.calculator.net/bac-calculator.html]. Before getting behind the wheel, enter the information to determine your ability to drive safely, rather than relying on a subjective opinion of your sobriety.
Enjoy your parties, barbeques, fireworks, friends, and families. If you have also been drinking, however, think twice about driving. Get a ride; call a cab; stay later; spend the night. Save a life. Protect your livelihood.
