Questions? New to the field.

Davey Do · Oct 5, 2010

obillyboynurse:

It would seem that you've got yourself off on an excellent start- going to 12 Step Meetings and reading the Big Book. I'm impressed.

You made a statement that shows great insight: "12 step seem to be applicable to any life." How right you are. They are great instructions for living! And, they open so many doors in so many ways.

There is (was) an excellent book that is an embodiment of your statement. I believe it was entitled The 12 Steps For Anyone Who Really Wants Them. I seem to recall seeing it on a list somewhere, so it may still be in print. Like so many of my best books, it is somewhere on somebody else's self. If you can get ahold of it, I think it would help you embrace the 12 Step Program all the more.

There are volumious works and great authors out there. Beatty's Co-Dependent No More is a classic. A good general resource is Mooney/Eisenberg/Eisenberg's The Recovery Book.

There's a concept within The Program that encourages participants to "walk AND talk The Program". To be a Talking Head is one thing. To go out there and practise principles is another. Again, it would seem that you, obillyboynurse, are doing just that. You're going out and getting into the thick of it.

I identify with you, in the way that I, too, was an LPN when I began working specifically Chemical Dependency Treatment. It was not of my choice. However, those years were some of the most growing years of my life. I went into working CD with a bad attitude and learned to love the Program, fellow Staff Members, and particularly the Patients.

So, if you would like to discuss Addictions Nursing, the 12 Step Program, or anything in this area, I'm interested. We can have discussions on this forum, or by PM.

Whatever your decision, obillyboynurse, the best to you in your endeavors.

Keep on keeping on.

Dave

obillyboynurse · Oct 6, 2010

Thank you for being kind I am going to check the local bookstore for The 12 Steps For Anyone Who Really Want Them.

I found it on Amazon as well. I will take you up on the offer I appriciate it.

I to have a love for the clients. The poopulation I work with are just off the hook and I am seeing the good and the bad.

Thanks again.

TTYL

Davey Do · Oct 6, 2010

obillyboynurse:

Great! Glad to hear you've located a source for the publication.

You know, after I wrote my reply to your request for "pearls you all might have to share", I recalled the week of orientation previous to working on the CD Unit. One of the many things that made quite an impression on me was The Disease Concept of Chemical Dependency. Realizing that Alcoholism is truly a disease that can be identified in terms of a pathological process was truly an illuminating revelation.

You see, at the tender age of 19, I was involved in a motorcycle accident where I was hit head-on by a drunk driver. Through counselling and such, I was eventually able to forgive the unempathetic individual who was responsible for my multiple injuries and subsequent pain. However, it was the realization of alcoholism fitting the disease concept that really allowed me to understand and appreciate the situation.

Some of us need to have those kind of life-changing circumstances in order to truly grow and appreciate.

I sense that you are one who tends to grow through embracing a situation and seeking information.

Whatever way in which you choose to grow within your professional endeavors, I wish you all the best.

Dave

obillyboynurse · Oct 17, 2011

Hi there Davey DO

It's been just over a year and I'll tell you what.

I thought I had seen a good bit and felt the heart ache and loss, I was wrong.

To see the the people with their addictions fall off is just a hard thing they work hard at the program and the ones that make it let my heart feel good about the day.

Then there are the young folks that come and go and when they are taken by the disease after they have shared the hopes of the future. Damn.

Yes I love this job. The only thing I think I may ever go back to is dialysis and that would be casual.

I am amazed at the number of coworkers that are in addiction/recovery that feel that their role is more that of a corrections officer than of a healthcare provider.

Their is joy and sadness in every day,but I believe I have found my place as a nurse.

xtxrn, ASN, RN · Oct 18, 2011

I loved CD nursing. I was fortunate enough to work at La Hacienda in Hunt, TX. (long before Dr. Phil started sending people there). I learned so much, and enjoyed the VAST majority of the patients there. (some of the staff...????? :eek: ) LOL... no- I learned a lot from them, too- and have recently reconnected with some of them on FB.

You do need to make sure searches are very thorough on admission; pills sewn into hems, altoid/mint tins, all hygiene product containers, etc. And while it's good to listen to the patients, also remember that their disease is going to fight detox and recovery for a while....and that can lead to lying that really isn't malicious in its intent- it's sort of a self-protective mechanism d/t fear of the symptoms of detox.

It's a very rewarding area of nursing; and it can be so sad. Every year, we'd get word that someone else had died (relapsed). I remember one who was staying in a hotel in town the night before being readmitted; I got word to go to medical records and get his chart. The admissions person needed to call his next of kin...the hotel maid found him dead in the room. He was SO close to getting back- and he was a "kid" (early 20s) who had really seemed to want to get out of the addiction. That was a really sad one.

xtxrn, ASN, RN · Oct 18, 2011

I just noticed the dates on this....pardon my tardiness

Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN · Oct 20, 2011

Hello all.
I am an LPN that has recently started work in recovery.
I was wondering what pearls you all might have to share.
I am reading The Big Book and doing a meeting or two a week to better understand things.
12 step seems to be applicable to any life.
Lets hear pointers or thoughts and thanks in advance.

I know it's a year old, but I'm still posting anyway in case another newbie comes in looking for info. I love working in detox and recovery and hope to get back into it :)

As I'm sure you've seen already, recovery has a high rate of relapse, so prepare to see your "frequent flyers" again and again and again. Prepare for many of them to make to same mistakes again and again. Prepare to deal with patients who are quick to blame anything and everything for their addiction and/or relapse EXCEPT themselves. Prepare to keep educating patients on how their problem can't necessarily be addressed with medicine, and if it can, prepare to explain to another patient that because patient #1 is on medication doesn't necessarily mean it's the answer for them too. Prepare for patients who adamantly believe that the 12 step program isn't for them because they (in their opinion) don't have a problem...my personal favorite line is "it's just beer."

Prepare to feel like at times you're talking to a wall.

But don't let that stop you: it can take many relapses for a patient to hit bottom and be ready for recovery, so always keep at it.

Also be sure to stay on top of your medical knowledge. Detox/withdrawal has as many medical components as it does mental; in fact, some detoxes can be downright dangerous (e.g., alcohol) if not managed correctly. Other detoxes don't manifest physical symptoms until several days after they have ceased taking the drug, so the patient who started recovery feeling fine may take a turn for the crappy and be ready to throw in the towel.

VanLpn · Oct 23, 2011

An excellent book on addiction is "In the realm of hungry ghosts" by Dr.Gabor Mate. Great book!! Really helped me find my compassion for addicts. Something to keep in mind about addictions is not to get to attached to the idea of the addicts "recovering". Relapse rate is very high and is a part of recovery.It often takes many attempts before someone stops using. I got really upset when I first started as I developed a really good relationship with someone and I really thought he'd "make it"...3 months later he was back. He would have been back sooner but he felt like he "let staff down". I realized then that it's important not to project my expectations onto people. I don't want people avoiding getting help because they are ashamed.

I also realized that some people are going to use until they die. There is one woman that I've gotten to know really well over the last 18 months. She's been in detox 3 times since I started. She has been an IV drug user since she was 14. She is 56 now. She has detoxed doxens of times and been clean for streches of 18 months. I think success for her and some others is just being clean for several months, gaining some weight, fostering relationships etc. Where I work it is much more of a "harm reduction" approach. Sometimes people just need to detox and take a break from "street life", they have no illusions of life long abstinance and neither should we.

Good Luck!

obillyboynurse · Nov 11, 2011

Thank you all for encouragement.

I'll be picking up the book and reading it.

I will never let go of my compassion.

My Pearls to offer after a year.

1.You can''t make anyone do something they do not want to do, sometimes the people you meet just need a break from"The Life".

2. There is no magic answer to fit all the people.

3. The big Book says all that is required is "desire."

4. Each and every person you meet while working in recovery will leave a piece of them with you.

5. Learn from the people you take care of.

tom7044 · Dec 2, 2011

I became part of the staff for a new Addictive Disorders Treatment Program after years of critical care and dialysis nursing. I realized that many of my patients that i took care of in the acute units were there as a direct result of drug and alcohol abuse and dependence. I have been a Certified Correctional Health Professional for about five years and will be taking the certification examination for Certified Addictions Registered Nurse later this year. I now am employed at a free standing detoxification unit that does not include rehabilitation or substance abuse treatment per se. We do have AA/NA meeting on the unit daily and with groups and individual counseling we do teach the fundamental principles for recovery and sobriety. Some f our clients go to a rehab/treatment program from our unit others return to the community. We teach that strict abstinence from drugs and alcohol and the avoiding of all mood altering substances and behaviors are essential to any recovery efforts. We emphasize that sobriety and abstinence are not one in the same. We recommend the usual 90 meetings in 90 days and getting a temporary sponsor that can contact every day at least for the first 30 days. You will always have clients that are adamant that AA NA etc are not for them at all usually because of the "higher power" concept. Regardless of how much you explain and clarify this has nothing to do with religion the client will still refuse to attend the 12 Step programs. I have learned to give them alternative venues to research on their own. If they are truly motivated and want to embrace recovery (rather than using the "higher power" concept as an excuse for just not wanting to do what they need to do) they will use what ever resources they have and find an alternative to AA/NA. Some of the one I recommend are; Life Ring Secular Recovery; Rational Recovery; Women for Sobriety Inc. ; and Smart Recovery my favorite recommendation because it offers face to face and online mutual help groups. I will share some of the things I have learned over the years that have helped me remain dedicated and committed to this nursing specialty and the patients in my charge: 1) Welcome your patients at any time, intoxicated or sober, regardless of the number of "slips" 2) Accept the admission of addiction with kindness and without judgement. 3) Recognize that the person with an addictive disorder dislikes rules, regulations and authority. 4) the person with an addictive disorder is skilled at building self-esteem of personnel in order to obtain favors, or to have you over look minor infractions of the rules and regulations of your program. Confront patients with his or her manipulation 5) Assist in gaining insight and "re-adjust" his or her superior attitude. 6) Always be firm, helpful and understanding consistently. 7) Teach patients that recovery is a process and that they will change over time and to embrace the changes and to push themselves to grow in different ways. 8) Teach them that meetings (AA/NA or other) are a tatic not a strategy. They help people in recovery but they are not the ultimate solution, nor should they be made one.9) Teach them after a period of sobriety - maybe one year or more - that their biggest enemy is complacency - if the patients efforts at recovery even after a period of sobriety become modest or moderate they will relapse for certain. 10) Help the client to deal with nicotine addiction through a structured quit nicotine program. Two last points. stay on top of your medical knowledge of detoxification, the neuro-biology of addiction and read, read and read the latest literature on treatment of addiction and substance abuse. This field is changing by the day almost. I wish you only the best of everything in your newly chosen nursing specialty. I used to think that nursing was knowledge of the latest technology and how to start IV's and read EKG's now I truly understand that nursing is caring for the whole patient as an advocate and a teacher to make assessments and make the appropriate interventions based on those assessments often having nothing to do with technology or equipment. "To help the patient achieve the optimum level of wellness.." Now I understand what they were telling us in nursing school all of those years ago. Tom

shamrokks, ADN, ASN, RN · Jan 13, 2012

obillyboynurse:
It would seem that you've got yourself off on an excellent start- going to 12 Step Meetings and reading the Big Book. I'm impressed.
You made a statement that shows great insight: "12 step seem to be applicable to any life." How right you are. They are great instructions for living! And, they open so many doors in so many ways.
There is (was) an excellent book that is an embodiment of your statement. I believe it was entitled The 12 Steps For Anyone Who Really Wants Them. I seem to recall seeing it on a list somewhere, so it may still be in print. Like so many of my best books, it is somewhere on somebody else's self. If you can get ahold of it, I think it would help you embrace the 12 Step Program all the more.
There are volumious works and great authors out there. Beatty's Co-Dependent No More is a classic. A good general resource is Mooney/Eisenberg/Eisenberg's The Recovery Book.
There's a concept within The Program that encourages participants to "walk AND talk The Program". To be a Talking Head is one thing. To go out there and practise principles is another. Again, it would seem that you, obillyboynurse, are doing just that. You're going out and getting into the thick of it.
I identify with you, in the way that I, too, was an LPN when I began working specifically Chemical Dependency Treatment. It was not of my choice. However, those years were some of the most growing years of my life. I went into working CD with a bad attitude and learned to love the Program, fellow Staff Members, and particularly the Patients.
So, if you would like to discuss Addictions Nursing, the 12 Step Program, or anything in this area, I'm interested. We can have discussions on this forum, or by PM.
Whatever your decision, obillyboynurse, the best to you in your endeavors.
Keep on keeping on.
Dave

Dave,

I interview Monday for a position as an addiction nurse. I am a new LPN. Any pointers?

Thanks in advance,

Tiffiny