Caring for broken nurses

Nurses Relations

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It happened again recently. I took care of a patient, homeless, with a substance abuse problem. She mentioned while I was starting her IV and we were conversing, that she was a nurse. That was after I asked her how her problem with pills started. She sounded legit from the terminology she used, but I checked the board of nursing sites for the two states she mentioned. It was true. She had a restricted license in the last state where she resided. :(

She seemed to be a broken person with a broken life. It's especially heartbreaking when it's one of our own. :down: I tried to give her VIP treatment and gave her a hug when she left. It felt to me as if she were a fallen soldier. :drowning:

Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.
If the people who judge her realized the role they play in the vicious cycle, I wonder if they would change their ways....
In my experience...no they wouldn't
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I've seen far too many nurses treat patients with substance abuse issues in a very judgmental manner. For some reason, the fact that addiction is an illness does not occur to many of us in this profession. And that's a shame.

Thank you for your post, Emergent.

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If the people who judge her realized the role they play in the vicious cycle, I wonder if they would change their ways....

My guess is no for the most part because narrow-minded ppl tend to think "she/he gets what they deserve for being like that".

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Specializes in NICU, PICU, Transport, L&D, Hospice.
If the people who judge her realized the role they play in the vicious cycle, I wonder if they would change their ways....

No they wouldn't...

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