shrinkyrn

I thought this was hilarious because I turned 62 on a Thursday and I retired on Friday. I couldn't wait to be able to retire. I'm not financially in good shape or anything I just needed to retire after 41 years. I have a bad back, bad legs and just wanted to be able to kick back and enjoy life, instead of working. No body had to "force" me...and I wasn't making any mistakes....I just thought there is more to life....and there is!!!

Kayla, I just retired after 41 years of Psych/Addictions nursing. I worked inpatient (childrens, geriatric, acute and chronic), outpatient, did ER evals of psychiatric and substance abuse patients. I was hurt in all those years, in all those areas, maybe 3 times. You have to develop good assessment skills, and ALWAYS be aware of your surroundings, you also have to develop good crisis intervention skills. There is training available for managing out of control patients, but one must learn to intervene when you see escalation start, that takes time and learning patterns of the illness. Since many of the sickest patients are frequent flyers, you get to know who you can expect to act out, some people will be a surprise, though. The kids are the worst, in my opinion. I worked with them when I first started. If your passion is psych nursing, learn as much as you can, don't deny yourself, takes a special kind of person to work with the Mentally Ill. Good Luck to you!!

As an Addictions Nurse who saw nurses referred in for "treatment" and having to enter the Impaired Nurses State Program due to DUI or being positive for ANY substance....(and you know pot is in your system for about a month), I don't believe it's worth the risk...the program for impaired nurses is a stringent program....just seems like a PIA to have to go thru for a couple tokes on a joint!

Behavioral Health nurse for 40 years....went into it right after graduation and have stayed there all these years.....Have worked all areas of psych...I'm the most sane well adjusted person I know....really!!.....probably because I have actually used the coping skills I teach to patients/clients....LOL

I question the use of Suboxone in a short term detox period. Suboxone is more of a long term medication, since it hangs on the receptor cells longer a taper in detox makes no sense IMHO and experience with suboxone patients. In the outpatient setting, suboxone is tapered on a longer time frame. The suboxone will keep the addict from getting dope sick, and many times that's why they use it on the street in place of other opioids, but the studies have shown that the best results have been long term with counseling, avg. success is around 2 years.

I got my CARN over 10 years ago, it was a very difficult exam. I am so glad that I took it and got my CARN, it has helped me get my current position in an outpatient addictions treatment center....wouldn't want to have to take that test again!

@ demylenated.....Awesome description and understanding of addiction...I have been an RN in the field of psych and addictions for 38 years....(takes deep breath)....I have worked with RN's who lack that knowledge...Kudos to you!!!

http://www.maine.gov/dhhs/osa/irc/pubs/DrugFactSheets/BathsaltsFactSheetOct2011.pdf this is a good fact sheet explains about bath salts. I work in outpatient D&A, we have had a lot of people come through who were using bath salts, called "salts" by our clients. this is really bad stuff and very addictive. Clients I have talked to have had a difficult time staying away from the stuff.

Don't go into nursing , especially psych nursing to work through your own issues of codependency or depression. Empathy is a wonderful thing, identifying with patient issues will cause you a whole lot of problems. Agree with Meriwhen...Psych patients also have medical issues and tend to not always be compliant with managing medical issues which can create a huge problems. Not to mention a paranoid patient, who won't let you treat his/her medical issue....A psychotic patient with medical issues can try the patience of a saint. And if you go into addictions nursing, you're not going to wave a magic wand and they are never going to use substances again.....Detoxing someone sometimes means you give shots, clean up vomit and bm, and monitor a very serious medical condition....take vitals signs...recognize when you are being manipulated... And as a nurse YOU aren't always the one doing the 1:1's "Cerebral" Stuff.....You may be the ONLY RN for 18 patients, with counselors talking to the patients, you are passing meds, doing charting, taking orders off, admitting people, assessing people and coping with the Medical hand on stuff!!! You want to just talk to people, use your BS in psych.

I first got certified when I worked inpatient dual diagnosis rehab....I have moved into an outpatient Drug & Alcohol setting an am the Addictions Nurse..The pay is nowhere near hospital pay, but the job is much less stressful and so much better for me. I love what I now do..

When I had a request for time off denied because there "was no one to cover" I used my answering machine to screen calls and from that point forward staffing became a management problem not my problem everywhere I worked. I no longer work in a hospital so that is not a problem for me now, but I rarely ever volunteered for overtime when I worked the hospital. I had no problem letting the answering machine pick up the call, no problem saying no and no problem, when they did beg me to come in, negotiating for overtime plus another day off. We take enough abuse...no lunch sometimes, no bathroom break, taking verbal flack from everyone....etc etc.........Set limits, define boundaries!!!

What's the ammonia level?? confusion could be related to hepatic encephalopathy, I don't know what you are smelling but look up "fetor hepaticus"......

I would like to recommend Dr. Kevin T. McCauley's DVD Pleasure Unwoven....It gives hypothesis for both Disease and Choice and goes on to scientifically prove that indeed Addiction is a Disease......It is not a boring presentation, in fact it is one of the most well put together DVD's on brain function/dysfunction that I have ever seen....I use it with my clients...who are able to understand it and therefore the concepts.

Ron White, "you can't fix stupid!"

I have concerns about giving so much in 1 injection....it's 4.2 ml.....the drug rep I talked to said, well it's in water not in an oil suspension so it shouldn't be any big deal.....I wouldn't want 4.2ml injected in my rear end.....according to the literature between 53% and 65% of recipients had ISR (injection site reactions) that's a pretty high percentage IMHO....