Many health professionals suffer from the devastation of alcoholism (Letters, June, in response to "Deception,"Reflections, February). I am one of them. I have been in recovery for 15 years, and I'm a member of our board of nursing's advisory committee on the emotional disorders, alcoholism, and drug addiction of health care workers. Our board's primary purpose is to protect the public, but we also realize that people with these disorders can remain active members of the profession with proper support and monitoring. Quite often, they are too embarrassed, isolated, or ashamed to admit they have a problem.

John Malek, PhD, APN, FNP

Yerington, NV