Commonly Abused Prescription Drugs – http://drugrehabcenter.com – Commonly Abused Prescription Drugs – Discover the best treatment options for you. Call our Toll-Free Recovery Hotline at 1-800-3…

Opana Addiction and Opana Abuse – http://cswf.org/prescription-drugs Opana Addiction & Opana Abuse – Discover the best substance addiction or abuse treatment options for you. Call our Toll-Fr…

Is Sugar a Drug? Addiction Explained
Some studies claim to find that junk food is as addictive as drugs, but experts say that what actually determines how addictive something is, and whether an individual becomes addicted, is complex. In the most recent headline-grabbing research, a study …
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Krokodil use reportedly spreading: What makes dangerous drug so addictive?
More cases of Krokodil use are reportedly popping up around the United States, prompting some medical professionals to warn that the addictive, poisonous drug has reached American shores. The Chicago Tribune reported last week that at least six people …
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Local forum focuses on substance abuse, addiction
DENVER – October marks 50 years since President John F. Kennedy signed the Community Mental Health Act. The purpose of the legislation was to improve the care and treatment of those who suffer from mental illness. A mental health forum was held …
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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!!!

Assumption Introduces Certificate in Substance Abuse Counseling
With overdose deaths in the Bay Sate up 47% since 1999, Continuing and Career Education (CCE) at Assumption College has introduced an alcohol and substance abuse counseling certificate program. The eight-course program includes a 300-hour …
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Prison drug counseling for theft defendant
Christian B. Merchant, 33, told Chelan County Superior Court Judge T.W.“Chip” Small he was grateful his sentence includes prison-based drug treatment. He maintained his innocence under an Alford plea but agreed he would likely be found guilty of …
Read more on The Wenatchee World Online

Substance Abuse Counselor – Women's Program
Wellspring has a full-time opening for a Substance Abuse Counselor for the Women's Residential Program with skills in individual and group substance abuse counseling, treatment planning, crisis intervention and case management. Must have knowledge of …
Read more on Bangor Daily News

Question by [annie]: Do you think drug addicts are starting to catch on…?
…to the fact that the “documentary about addiction” they’re contributing to is actually Intervention?
touche to the both of you 🙂

Best answer:

Answer by Laurbie
I’ve wondered about that too! I think that they are to out of it. Also, alot of them have sold their TVs for dope, so they haven’t seen the show.

Answer by Sarah
ive been wondering that.

but i think usually the drug addicts are more interested in getting more drugs than what is on Monday nights.

lol

Vishnu's docu against drug abuse
Thiruvananthapuram: Vishnu P is an ordinary boy, but things took an extraordinary turn when he started making documentaries based on socially relevant themes. His three-minute short film on drug abuse, 'Ecstasy',was received well by viewers across the …
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Prescription Drug Abuse: An OC Woman's Effort to Wake America Up
The documentary incorporates firsthand accounts from those who have either lost loved ones to drug addiction or dealt with the epidemic head-on, including CEO's, pastors, first-responders, fire captains, physicians, interventionists, sober living …
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Russell Brand says he had gay sex in a toilet as it was filmed for a TV …
Brand told how he performed the act as it was filmed for a TV documentary series when he was a heroin addict. He said: "I w***** off a man in a toilet. I thought … Brand, of course, has battled both sex and drug addiction. He's currently said to be …
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From champ to drug and sex addict: Tyson tells all
From champ to drug and sex addict: Tyson tells all. By Maureen Callahan. October 27, 2013 | 4:34am. Modal Trigger. From left to right: Mike Tyson celebrating after becoming the youngest-ever heavyweight champion in 1986; Tyson biting the ear of Evander …
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EXCERPT: Artie Lange's 'Crash and Burn'
He's grotesquely honest about his addiction to heroin and prescription drugs, too. Now happily engaged to his … In response to Jimmy Kimmel saying that he was friends with Tom Cruise and that what Lange wrote about Cruise in his first book didn't …
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What do prescription drugs do to the body? – http://drugrehabcenter.com – What do prescription drugs do to the body? We can help you discover the best treatment options for you – call our 24-hour Toll-F…

Types of Anti-Anxiety Drugs Abused – http://drugrehabcenter.com – Types of Anti-Anxiety Drugs Abused – Discover the best treatment options for you. Call our Toll-Free Recovery Hotline at 1-800-3…

Yevgeny Roizman: A macho mayor at war with drug addicts
Newly elected mayor Yevgeny Roizman's tough approach to drug addiction is popular with voters in the city of Yekaterinburg, Russia's fourth-largest city. But others attack him for his criminal past and his willingness even now to break the law in order …
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Dogs Reportedly Getting High On Drug Users' Poop In Berlin Parks
Dogs are overdosing on drug addicts' poop left in Berlin's parks, the German Local wrote from a report in Der Tagesspiegel newspaper. The city's veterinarians reportedly have noticed an increase in dogs being treated after eating human excrement in the …
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Moroccan clinic hopes to break the stigma around drug abuse
In Morocco's drug capital Tangiers, a pioneering clinic is trying to help addicts fight a rising habit in a conservative Muslim state where many would prefer the problem stay underground. "I don't want to steal from people to get my fix," Mohammed …
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Did Donatella Versace have a cocaine problem?
… up drugs, but she eventually started using again. She got into a such a state that Elton John staged an intervention for her after she had a meltdown during her daughter Allegra's 18th birthday party June 30, 2004. … At the height of her …
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New center in Buffalo will train doctors on treating addiction
Blondell said addiction treatment focuses too much on adults and the consequences of drug and alcohol abuse rather than prevention and early intervention. The center is expected to open by Jan. 1. Its creation comes as prescription drug abuse has grown …
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