VHS Red Ribbon Week Essay_8

Image by USAG Vicenza
Vicenza High School Adolescence Substance Abuse Counselor Rosana Zapata together with Global Credit Union Branch Manager Sharon Black present cash awards to the three winners selected for the Red Ribbon Week Essay Contest. The event took place at the VHS Cafeteria Nov. 8.
About 35 VHS students submitted essays on this year’s theme “The Best Me Is Drug Free”.

Learn more on www.usag.vicenza.army.mil or www.facebook.com/USAGVicenza.

Photo by Laura Kreider, USAG Vicenza Public Affairs Office.

DCCCA offers walk-in substance abuse counseling on Wednesdays
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Drug treatment counselor admits he tried to rape boy
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Laser Light Zaps Away Cocaine Addiction
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Town Hall meeting on prescription drug abuse
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Scientist sees stress, substance abuse similarities
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Chasing the dragon
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Smack talk: Heroin addiction touches individuals, families, communities
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New Southern Ohio Addiction Treatment Center opens with state support
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Substance abuse treatment center gets new leadership from Evergreen
Dr. John Patz, a substance use disorder specialist, is splitting his time between practicing primary care in the new Evergreen Primary Care facility in Monroe and the Recovery Center across the street, where he is the new medical director. By June, he …
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Recovery Associates Now Offering Chiropractic Services at their Drug Addiction …
Recovery Associates is a drug and alcohol treatment center that provides a variety of programs and services for men, women and teens struggling with chemical dependency issues. At the core of their philosophy is the belief that addiction is a treatable …
Read more on DigitalJournal.com (press release)

Substance abuse treatment center gets new leadership from Evergreen
Dr. John Patz, a substance use disorder specialist, is splitting his time between practicing primary care in the new Evergreen Primary Care facility in Monroe and the Recovery Center across the street, where he is the new medical director. By June, he …
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Boomers' latest high
The bigger issue of boomers' addictions, however, relates to alcohol and prescription drugs. Over the past decade, the number of boomers being treated for prescription drug abuse at Florida treatment centers has skyrocketed. In 2001, 15 percent of …
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by nogger

Question by Danyel: What type of education would I need to become an RN at a substance abuse detox facility?
I am currently going to school for pre-health with a nursing concentration, until I have the requirements to apply for nursing. I would like to be able to work as an RN in a substance abuse facility. I was wondering if anyone could give me any advise as to how to go about doing this? I do not know if I will need to specialize in a certain area in order to do so or not? If anyone could help me out in regards to what to do education wise I would really appreciate it! Thanks!

Best answer:

Answer by MeMeMe
Hi,

First off, good for you for wanting to work in addiction treatment! I’m an addictions counselor and have been working in mental health (mostly suicide prevention) for 7 years and we certainly need more qualified RNs in the field. So I think you will have an easy time finding work once you’re finished with school.

As for your question… To become an RN, you need to go to nursing school. Although I’m sure you already know this. As for specializing in addiction treatment, I don’t believe there are any additional requirements, but it would be good if you have experience working with addicts or at least a greater knowledge of treating clients with addiction. So I would suggest trying to get an internship of some sort with a treatment center in your area. They may not let you do much while you’re in school, but you will be able to put it on your resume. You can learn a lot from observing how things work in treatment. The other suggestion I have would be to take some extra classes that focus on substance abuse. Drug addicts and alcoholics face a variety of special issues separate from the “normal” population you would be working with in a hospital. Most community colleges and some universities now offer programs where you can learn more about these issues. I don’t know where you live, but you may want to start looking for college programs titled “Addictions Counseling” or “Addictions Studies.” Classes you may want to take would be any type of pharmacology, a bloodborne pathogens/infectious disease class, and even alternative treatments to addiction classes. It could also help to take a few classes for addictions counselors like group therapy, individual therapy, or something similar. These will definitely help you in the future in terms of communicating with your clients.

The most important thing I would think an RN working in addiction should have to be educated about is prescription drugs of abuse. Normally when I do an intake on a client coming into treatment, they have been medically prescribed multiple addictive drugs that only contribute to and exacerbate their disease (addiction). Usually these include opiate painkillers, benzodiazepines, and other sedatives and tranquilizers. I had a client once who was on NINE different benzos which she had been on for years, all prescribed by doctors for things like insomnia, anxiety, and even hypothyroidism. This is so egregious and disgusting to me! They were killing her. She obviously had to be medically detoxed for risk of seizures and death from her meds. And needless to say, after being evaluated by our MD, she didn’t NEED any of the pills.

Anyway, I’m rambling. Just excited to see someone wanting to help in the field of addiction treatment. It is rare these days, it seems. But what a satisfying and rewarding job. Good luck to you!!!

What do you think? Answer below!