New grad starting in substance abuse rehab center need help please

[Saint637]

Hey all, I am a new grad RN that just recently got hired for a substance abuse rehab center that deals with addiction recovery. I'm a little nervous and was wondering if anyone here can give any advice on how to deal with this type of nursing and what are my main duties, I also hear that these type of patients are very manipulative and aggressive, which makes me uneasy thinking about it because I'm a really nice, easy going person and I don't deal with people like that on a regular basis. I would also like to know the pro's and con's of this field. Thank you in advance.

[beat2beat]

Hi,

I have been working with in addictions treatment for 6 months now and am also a new nurse. The main duties of my job are to assess for detox symptoms and treat the patient with prescribed detox medications. I don't find the patients to be "aggressive", I find them to be fearful (which may come across as aggression) because they are no longer using and they are afraid of the unexpected. Most of the patients are highly anxious which is to be expected. I find the patients to be easily directable. I love my job as an addictions nurse and the satisfaction of seeing the patient come in to treatment vs. when they leave 30 days later is AWESOME!

[cmmny]

I have been working in substance abuse for the past 7 yrs and like any job it has its good days and its bad days. The thing to remember is the population you are dealing with..these are people who are used to manipulating people to get what they want, including you! I was also very nice and naive in the beginning and they saw me coming a mile away..so I quickly had to grow tough skin. That doesn't mean that you have to be rude and mean, it just means that you always have to be cautious and consistent. But, I love my job and its a great feeling to see what a difference you can make in one's recovery..and they will not forget you! :redbeathe