Alcoholism in house staff physicians: an occupational hazard.

Alcohol abuse is a major public health problem among physicians. To assess the extent of alcohol abuse among house staff physicians, the self-administered version of the Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test was mailed to each of the 417 house staff physicians at the Presbyterian Hospital in the City of New York at the Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center. There was a 45% response rate. Of the respondents, 12.7% had scores that indicated either suspicion or presumption of alcoholism. Alcohol abuse among house staff physicians is an occupational hazard that needs to be addressed through preventive and treatment programs.