RN at alcohol/drug rehab facility?

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Hello,

I am finishing up nursing school here and am still trying to decide which area of nursing I would like to pursue. I am interested in learning more about nursing careers other than bedside nursing. Can anyone tell me what an RN primarily does at an alcohol/drug rehab facility? There are several really nice, well known, large facilities in Southern California. I imagine RN's would do the initial assessment upon the patients arrival as well as administer daily medications. In addition, I figure they would tend to injuries and illness. What else would they do? Does this type of nursing career pay the bills? Is it competitive with hospital pay? Are there advantages to this type of nursing over bedside nursing? I would think it would be very rewarding to see patients recover from addictions.

Thank you in advance :rolleyes:

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I would think it would be very rewarding to see patients recover from addictions.

Ahhh, but the catch is that you won't see that many clients "recover from addictions" -- you'll see the same people over and over again, engaging in the same, self-destructive behaviors. Working in chemical dependency can be rewarding at times, but can also be very, very, very, very frustrating.

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Thanks for the tip elkpark! That is probably true.... I guess you just have to look at it as an illness for which they keep coming back to the hospital. Kind of like a "frequent flyer".

Can anyone tell me what RN's do there? For example, what would an RN do at the famous Betty Ford Clinic out in Palm Springs? What do these places pay RN's? I'm not looking to get rich, but to pay the bills. =D Is it competitive with hospital pay?

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bump please

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