Professionals who provide care to clients may have an impaired practice because of alcohol or drug abuse problems. Health care professionals can harm clients when their practice is impaired. Evidence suggests that doctors, nurses, pharmacists, psychologists, and social workers are vulnerable to substance misuse. A professional with an impaired practice can recover with help. This article reviews the literature on impaired practice of health professionals and highlights prevalence rates of drug and alcohol problems. South Carolina's recovering professional program is one response that protects the public and helps the professional get better.

Despite the social work profession's strengths orientation, research on its workforce tends to focus on problems (for example, depression, problem drinking, compassion fatigue, burnout). In contrast, this study explored ways in which social workers find joy in their work. The authors used an appreciative inquiry approach, semistructured interviews (N = 26), and a collaborative grounded theory method of analysis. Participants identified interpersonal (making connections and making a difference) and intrapersonal (making meaning and making a life) sources of joy and reflected significant personal initiative in the process of finding joy. The authors present findings regarding these intrapersonal sources of joy.