Anyone an addictions nurse?

[Mo_RN]

Just wondering what the job was like?

[PNCC2001]

I work in an out-patient/day treatment dual-diagnosis clinic. The important thing to remember is that addictions are a chronic illnesses, like hypertension and asthma. We do not say I treated "asthmatics" or "hypertensives" today; and therefore we do not treat "addicts". Their addictions are not who they are. They are people with addictions. Treating addictions as a "moral defect" is an antiquated philosophy and is not evidence-based.

[CASTLEGATES]

One thing I've seen with an upswing is the resentment for "therapeutic communication" ...You know that mirroring that came out in the 80's that angers intelligent people "I hear you saying...." Validating, so to speak. I've had a couple dozen say "If they do that crap on me again, I'll snap"! If you've ever gone to a marriage counselor, shrink or therapist, it does irk you and feels demeaning like you're a psych case and they're not REALLY listening. Hey, I did it, too-it's how I was taught!

What PNCC2001 said above; these are people! You don't pull that crud on your family when they've got challenges. I listen to them, say "That makes sense" or wrap it up in a gist statement using whatever relaxed communication skills I have (I use humor and slang-whatever it takes to get them to smile) as long as they know I "get it" they'll open up more.

I also say "I can relate to that a lot." I also ALWAYS tell them they're a good person with lots of potential and this is just a gas station for a refill or an initial fill up but the road test is once they get home. We give them the tools they need but they need to bring them in their belt and learn how to use them.

As long as they get the point you heard them and are genuinely interested. I never parrot what they just said saying it again.

I never forget they're my neighbors and related to me given enough genealogy. It's never them and me, it's we as a community trying to help others move up and make our community stronger. We've all got to live, drive and work together at some point!

just my two rusty cents )

[OneThunder, BSN, RN]

I am looking towards that certification. I worked in hospice for 5 years. You would think that physicians and nurses in the hospice field would be able to distinguish pain from addiction. I recently moved over to an inner city SNF. I see the same attitudes there-even from the pain docs! Instead of addressing the problem of addiction, they limit their pain meds, wonder why they go AMA and soon, we see them again. That is not caring for the patient. I'm hoping we can expand services and I am in the process of educating my nurses. I hope there comes a day I don't hear from a nurse "oh he's just drug seeking". Addicts have real pain,too.

[mike7evans]

just wondering what the job was like?

sorry, not an addictions nurse. however, i am an addict...sober x 15 years. i was reading all the posts to your thread. honestly, i expected to find substandard information. i was pleasantly surprised.

yes, an addict/alkie (same disease) can and will be manipulative. after all, we/they have obtained their phd in manipulation by avoidance of getting caught. i was a tad different in that i wanted out. my life was deteriorating. i subscribed to the moral model instead of the disease model. i enjoyed the post of the nurse who said whatever number an addict tells you they drank, you can multiply that number by three. hahahaha... true.

this is not to say that addicts should be treated with sympathy. they should be treated with empathy/understanding.

in my experience in dealing with other addicts, i use good assertiveness techniques. assertiveness is neither being on the offense nor the defense. it is neutral. it involves boundaries very similar to dealing with inmates. a good resource is an old book you can probably pick up online for a buck..."when i say no, i feel guilty." this was the initial resource that led others into writing unlimited numbers of books on, "boundaries."

"wow, you smell good."

"sir/mam, i am here to get your blood pressure."

(just a quick example here)

avoidance of any over-familiarity is a must.

sadly, the relapse rate of addicts in very high as most do not follow a simple set of rules to staying sober.

why am i not in addictions nursing? according to several hearsay reports, relapse rates are higher for an addict working in addiction health care than working in other jobs. i value my sobriety and chose carefully the places i am employed. i qualify for my addictions nursing cert but i don't feel i want a certificate on the wall expressing this. i am sober only by the grace of god and not knowledge.

best wishes.

[ericseitz]

That's really cool. I am also a addict who had been clean for a while, I I just want to give back something that was so freely given to me. I want to be in the area that has to do more with harm reduction and the medical aspects of addiction, but I feel that having qualities of a chemical dependency nurse and a psychiatry nursing background would be very helpful to the person still suffering from addiction, if not only to be able to have someone to relate to to help them through their own issues. Wound care is something that I, personally, had to go through in my addiction recovery because I ended up contracting a large infection of Necrotizing fasciitis. I want to do something to help in that arena very much. I am still a pre-nursing student, but I love to brainstorm allof the possibilities for my future educational goals. I also am a shift leader for a local non-profit harm reduction street clinic here in Seattle, and I enjoy it and the people very much.

[mike7evans]

Eric...

Pretty coincidental. I had my wound care certification that I got after I went through PEER Assitance. I didn't have any wound problems but I saw many that did... mostly from meth injections. However, I soon became bored with wounds after I got my certification which, at the time, required 2000 hours of experience and passing a pretty difficult exam. When it came up for renewal, I didn't renew as I never saw it put me ahead in pay nor positions.

Take care,

Michael

[mlt10]

are there any schools that offer MSN in addictions? have worked in the field for over 15 years and finishing up BSN.

thanks

[bebe2010]

i work in an out-patient/day treatment dual-diagnosis clinic. the important thing to remember is that addictions are a chronic illnesses, like hypertension and asthma. we do not say i treated "asthmatics" or "hypertensives" today; and therefore we do not treat "addicts". their addictions are not who they are. they are people with addictions. treating addictions as a "moral defect" is an antiquated philosophy and is not evidence-based.

i agree:yeah:

[PNCC2001]

Thank you, Bebe 2010.

[Tom RN, NRC]

LOL. I was finishing my degree with six months of remote ER nursing in on the North end of Vancouver Island which had a large First Nations population. It was totally by accident that I started working with patients with addictions. The lack of knowledge and proper protocols in the ER made the work harder, but even then something just felt right working with "those frequent fliers". Now I love the ups and downs of addictions. My patient’s resourcefulness never ceases to amaze me. Who knew you could make hooch out of OJ, sugar, and bread crust. Just amazing, lol.

I would say that one of the key traits to being able to do this work is being able to value he relational aspect of nursing as equally as important as the medical. The other is being able to find reward in small successes. I feel lucky to have found something I love and not to have settled. If you have any specific questions i'm always open to an e-mail.

Tom T RN, NRC