question for addictions nurses

Specialties Addictions

Published

Hi,

I have been an rn for 2 yrs and was an LPN for 2 yrs before that. I have experience in med/surg, ltc and homecare. I am in recovery myself and have such a passion for helping my fellow addicts/alcoholics. I would love to land a job in a detox or rehab facility. Do you think the fact that I'm in recovery would help or hinder my chances in this area of nursing?

I hope you do find your niche, in whatever field you decide. It's a great feeling when you do. :)

thank you!

Specializes in Mental Health and Substance Use.
Thanks for your input everyone! I really appreciate it and have found it helpful.

Tom,

I made no assumption. If I had, I wouldn't have even bothered to ask the question in the first place. Also, I did not ask if my experience would help me get the job. I asked if it would help/hinder my chances in the field, meaning my chances of being able to perform the job effectively. Just wanted to clear that up.

To who it concerns,

First I would like to apologize for the delayed response. In looking back at my post I believe it reads "The assumption" rather than "your assumption", but if you took that personally then again I apologize for not being clearer in my language. If you read the other responses though I think you will agree that the assumption does exist. My point was and is that this assumption/generalization/stereotype of recovering addicts is counterproductive in our field.

You provided us with very little information other than that you have a few years experience in "med/surg, ltc and homecare" and that you are "in recovery" with a " passion for helping my fellow addicts/alcoholics". Now if you asked if your experience in med/surg, ltc, and homecare would help or hinder your chances "being able to perform the job effectively" I could see making some assumptions in regards to transferable skills and approaches, but that is not what was asked. You asked if being in recovery would help or hinder "being able to perform the job effectively". Because I could not answer your question without making sweeping generalizations about recovering addicts (I know nothing about your recovery or you as a person) I thought it best to pose a few questions that seemed to be getting overlooked. Again I apologize if the language I used caused you to take the questions personally.

It also seems as though you perceived some sort of negative connotation in my use of the word NEED when I asked why you felt the need to do more. Sorry if lack of clarity caused you to take this statement in a way other than it was intended. When I used the word need I meant it in the psychological form where " need is a psychological feature that arouses an organism to action toward a goal, giving purpose and direction to behaviour", or simply the upper half of Maslow's Hierarchy of needs triangle. I hope this helps.

To clarify one last thing it is not that a nurse in recovery cannot be a great addictions nurse, it is that being an addict and a nurse does mean you will be a good addictions nurse. The reason I said that I was worried for both you and your patients was that your questions were posed in a way that perpetuates generalizations and stereotyping in an area of nursing that has seen it's population so discriminated against as a result. What has worried me further is how many of my colleges participated without saying something. Who knows maybe I'm just an idealist who over analyzes things.

Good-luck with your career

Tom T RN, NRC

I have to agree with Tom. It is difficult to say w/o more info whether or not you can be effective as an addictions nurse. I also think the assumption is there that a person in recovery makes a good caregiver simply because it is felt that such a person can relate to what the addict is experiencing. I also saw that in the replies, but not necessarily in your question.

I have seen both sides. Sometimes the person in recovery can relate better, but all too often I have seen them "relate" so well that they unwittingly are playing right into the addictive behavior. They lose their objectivity and become over involved on a personal level. You would not believe some of the instances of lack of boundaries that I have seen-sometimes I can't believe what I see and hear myself!

OTOH, there is no reason why a person who has never had an addiction problem can not be just as effective-and sometimes more effective-as a caregiver. Just because I never had cancer doesn't mean that I can't be an effective oncology nurse, as long as I am able to have compassion for my patients and have the technical skills and knowledge base necessary to provide their care.

So I would say that for a recovering person to be an effective caregiver in an addictions setting you would need a minimum of 5 years clean (one year is WAY too little time IMO), a very strong sense of who you are, have your "issues" and personal life well under control, and have a good sense of boundaries when it comes to relating to patients. As a nurse, you will have the added issue of the availability of opiates and benzos which you will administer on a daily basis.

If you have "all your ducks in a row" so to speak, I think you could be a very effective addictions nurse. Good luck to you!

Hi. After reading all of the post pertaining to this thread, I have to overwhelmingly agree with Tom and RNPD. After all, they are the most objective. I believe you were defensive toward Tom which leads me to believe that the answer to your question posted should be, "No." You are not ready and the reason is because you are still defensive and feeling that you have more control over your addiction than perhaps you really have. I have been a non-addicted, addictions RN with 25 years of experience. I work only with non-medical recovering addicts. I wonder why I am not working with recovering nurses? I have interviewed many nurses over the years who feel they could "give back" to the specialty simply because they are able to "relate" to the patients they serve. I really believe you will be doing a disservice to yourself and to your patients and setting up a potentially unsafe environment. It doesn't matter what your addiction is you are more vulnerable when you put yourself in harms way. And naturally you will be putting your patients in harms way as well. I think you should reconsider your purpose as a nurse first (before the addiction) and practice nursing that affords you the opportunity to practice where you are not able to potentially become attracted to the medications "stocked." Fortunately for nurses, we have over 170 specialty areas of nursing to practice and many of those areas are not direct patient care. Consider those and you will save your life as well as any patients' lives you may have served...Just my opinion.

Specializes in Chemical Dependency, Corrections.

No, as long as you do not attempt to color the recovery of your patients with your own.

Specializes in Addiction Medicine, MI/CD.

Hi!

I work in a residential chemical depency treatment center, but we have outpatient clinics and methadone clinics as well. Our policy dictates that you must have two years sobriety before you can work in any capacity. How long have you been sober? Have faith! I just hired an LPN who has been sober for two years and one month. Hang in there!

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