Recovering alcoholic RN wanting to work with addicts

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

Congratulations on your recovery!

Working in addictions is rewarding, but IMO, don't even attempt to find a job in addictions until you have some solid recovery time under your belt...this means years, not months, of sober time. This is not a slur upon you or your abilities, but the fact is that you are going to be working with addicts and being an addict yourself, you need to have a solid handle on your own recovery first because if you don't, you can put it at risk. Plus, most facilities won't hire you until you have at least a year or two in recovery.

Before you jump in, you'll have to accept that not every patient you will treat wants recovery. You'll have to accept that patients may make the same mistakes over and over despite all you teach them. You'll have to accept that their recoveries will not mirror yours, nor can you force how you achieved your own recovery on them. And you will be working with a lot of medications with abuse potential...and like in med-surg and other areas of nursing, diversion in addictions nursing is not uncommon. You will have to accept--and deal with--that risk.

That being said...what you will do depends on where you work. I work in an acute care unit, so I take care of patients who are actively detoxing. There's a lot of medical issues to deal with, depending on what substances they are detoxing from. It's also a dual-diagnosis unit, so my patients have a psychiatric diagnosis such as depression, bipolar, etc. that will also need to be addressed. I get the patients medically stabilized and ready for the next phase of their recovery, which may be outpaient, inpatient residental, halfway house, meetings, or nothing whatsoever. That all depends on the what the patient wants to do.

I haven't worked in a residental facility (yet!) but as they are usually long-term, I imagine their recovery issues are less physical and more psychological.

onlytimeforme · Jul 20, 2011

Thank YOU sooooo much for your reply!

xtxrn, ASN, RN · Jul 23, 2011

Agree that you can have a huge impact in recovery nursing, with good solid recovery time. There are days that can make a teetotaler want to drink!! I'm not in recovery (or an addict/alcoholic), but worked at a busy (95+ bed) acute and post-acute 28 day program that's well known in Central TX.... I loved it- most of the nursing staff were not in recovery,and most of the clinical staff were, which made for some interesting conversations about the non-recovering staff having any ability to get a grasp of how hard it was (a lot of us had family members who had chem dep issues, or in my case, eating disorder issues that were dealt with in a 12-step model).

I think that a recovering nurse would be a major asset to any treatment center- and they won't hold recovery against you :) You can be open about it.

Also, your med-surg (ED included) background would be great- there were many times when I had to use those assessment skills with sepsis from endocarditis, fractures, CV/CNS depression from those who od'd en route, etc.

Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN · Jul 23, 2011

Also, your med-surg (ED included) background would be great- there were many times when I had to use those assessment skills with sepsis from endocarditis, fractures, CV/CNS depression from those who od'd en route, etc.

Definitely! Detox in itself causes a whole host of medical issues. Also, people often tend to forget that when psych patients come in they don't leave their medical problems at the door--those med issues need to be addressed and treated just as much as we have to address their withdrawal and recovery.

Thomas RN · Aug 3, 2011

When i am interviewing nurses for a staff position on an addiction treatment unit and that nurse has volunteered that he/she is a recovering alcoholic or addict I always ask them to explain to me if there own recovery will "color" the recovery of the patients. If they tell me that their own recovery won't influence their care and teaching of our patients that have addictive disorders,I ask them to explain to me exactly how they would prevent this from happening. At one time this unit did not hire any counselors or nurses that were themselves recovering. Now it is on a case by case basis. I also ask them if they will volunteer their history with patients. Our patients go to AA/NA/GA/OE meetings everyday, sometimes two or three daily. If the candidate for employment is a member of a 12 step group and there are clients there, how would they react if at all. Our program is based on clients having an "addictive disorder" not being "alcoholic" or "addicts"A few recovering nurses have tried to establish "core" groups based on their own history. The resist the application of "addictive disorder" to themselves. We believe very much from day one that teaching that cross addiction is the rule and never the exception is essential to complete abstinence from drugs and alcohol and all mood altering substances.

pixie120 · Aug 3, 2011

When i am interviewing nurses for a staff position on an addiction treatment unit and that nurse has volunteered that he/she is a recovering alcoholic or addict I always ask them to explain to me if there own recovery will "color" the recovery of the patients. If they tell me that their own recovery won't influence their care and teaching of our patients that have addictive disorders,I ask them to explain to me exactly how they would prevent this from happening. At one time this unit did not hire any counselors or nurses that were themselves recovering. Now it is on a case by case basis. I also ask them if they will volunteer their history with patients. Our patients go to AA/NA/GA/OE meetings everyday, sometimes two or three daily. If the candidate for employment is a member of a 12 step group and there are clients there, how would they react if at all. Our program is based on clients having an "addictive disorder" not being "alcoholic" or "addicts"A few recovering nurses have tried to establish "core" groups based on their own history. The resist the application of "addictive disorder" to themselves. We believe very much from day one that teaching that cross addiction is the rule and never the exception is essential to complete abstinence from drugs and alcohol and all mood altering substances.

Before I was a nurse, I was a corrections officer/counselor for the jail side of minor rehab (mostly alcohol), they did addiction classes and 12 step meetings etc. The counselors were all recovering addicts. They all had at least 2 years of solid recovery behind them because as we all know, inmate/residents can and are quite manipulative, verbally this and that and also quite resistive when it's court ordered treatment, not voluntary.

I am now a nurse, and I am considering returning to corrections as a jail nurse, any guidance/suggestions? I am not a new nurse, been a nurse 10 years, haven't worked as a correction officer since 1991, updates? trends? what kind of stuff does the jail nurse do? One ad that i looked at said "heavy on the med pass"? Heavier than long term care? (a little off subject there, but it made me want to ask others for information)

xtxrn, ASN, RN · Aug 5, 2011

Before I was a nurse, I was a corrections officer/counselor for the jail side of minor rehab (mostly alcohol), they did addiction classes and 12 step meetings etc. The counselors were all recovering addicts. They all had at least 2 years of solid recovery behind them because as we all know, inmate/residents can and are quite manipulative, verbally this and that and also quite resistive when it's court ordered treatment, not voluntary.
I am now a nurse, and I am considering returning to corrections as a jail nurse, any guidance/suggestions? I am not a new nurse, been a nurse 10 years, haven't worked as a correction officer since 1991, updates? trends? what kind of stuff does the jail nurse do? One ad that i looked at said "heavy on the med pass"? Heavier than long term care? (a little off subject there, but it made me want to ask others for information)

I had a friend who worked in a state prison. She really liked it, but she was also a no-b.s. type person, and the smart mouth comments from a few of the inmates were met with eye-rolling, and not any 'shock', so it didn't last long- she wasn't fun to try to bother- had been there, seen that and not impressed !! But, the corrections officers went with her to see anyone who requested a nurse (she worked nights), so never alone. And most of the guys were decent to her- they knew she was there to help them....:)

pixie120 · Aug 5, 2011

I had a friend who worked in a state prison. She really liked it, but she was also a no-b.s. type person, and the smart mouth comments from a few of the inmates were met with eye-rolling, and not any 'shock', so it didn't last long- she wasn't fun to try to bother- had been there, seen that and not impressed !! But, the corrections officers went with her to see anyone who requested a nurse (she worked nights), so never alone. And most of the guys were decent to her- they knew she was there to help them....:)

Thanks for the update, the prisoners are mouthy, but you gotta have thick skin, and laugh or do what your friend does, overexaggerate and roll the eyes, they like tough chicks. What about "heavy on the med pass" how much heavier could it be than LTC?

AndiSN · Aug 6, 2011

I am still a student and not an addict but my mother was both a nurse and an addict. She also worked in an inpatient rehab facility for a period of time. I did spend quite a bit of time with her at work and saw what that job did to her coworkers who were also recovering addicts. I will second those that are saying that you need to have solid recovery time under your belt. I have been witness to many, yes many, counselors relapsing. Not just in the facility that my mom worked in but others as well. This is an area of nursing that interests me so I have spent some volunteer time in it. I will say that the vast majority of the counselors who were successful at maintaining their sobriety and their jobs had several years of sobriety before they started. There were still some that relapsed even after spending many years sober before ever entering that career but they stood a much better chance then those who went into it after 6 months to a year of clean time. It is very difficult to maintain sobriety when your life is wrapped up in addiction. You get up and face it, you go to work and face it, and then you have to go to the meetings and maintain your own sobriety. You are completely immersed in addiction. Not saying it can't be done. There are many wonderful men and women out there that get up and do this job every day and are great at it. I am just saying that you need to be solid in who you are and solid in your sobriety to do it. I hope that didn't come off as too preachy it's just that I have seen it myself and seen people I care about lose themselves in this way.

xtxrn, ASN, RN · Aug 6, 2011

Thanks for the update, the prisoners are mouthy, but you gotta have thick skin, and laugh or do what your friend does, overexaggerate and roll the eyes, they like tough chicks. What about "heavy on the med pass" how much heavier could it be than LTC?

I think it depends on how many psych diagnoses are around- of course there are medical issues, but psych seemed to be regular issues... she had some crazy stories- but never felt threatened.

afbc · Aug 13, 2011

Innlove,

Being in recovery myself, I can truly appreciate your desire to enter into addictions nursing. I have recently started back to college, hoping to someday obtain my RN and find myself an evening position at one of the local rehabs or detox's where I do volunteer work.

I am currently just a nursing student and could not, in good faith, give you knowledgeable career advice. What I can share is years of experience participating in the local recovery community and carrying our message to the addict and alcoholic in detox and in rehab.

IF you are a member of a twelve step program, I would highly suggest that you consider attending meetings at the local detox or rehab in your area if possible. Definitely take the time to ask questions and get to know the staff. The addiction nurses and mental health techs are invaluable sources of information in regards as to what to expect from a career in the field, and what you will actually be doing. I am very fortunate to have good relationships with the evening crews for both of our addiction facilities here.

Congratulation on your recovery and best of luck with your career choice,

afbc