Intuition whispers goals and dreams. Such a lovely sentiment, and one that describes the center of a passionate belief. A belief that may or may not blossom into change. For me, that change has been reflected only in my personal nursing career. My disappointment is that I haven't known how to take this belief out of my personal career. I believe it is an idea that could affect nurses in their comfort and ability to do their jobs.
Missing from my career is the development of this principle in a much deeper sense. My career was born in hospitals where I continued for twenty years. I floated from unit to unit, hospital to hospital. Besides illness, recovery and death there was one condition becoming increasingly obvious. Active addiction. Alcohol. Prescription drugs. Illicit drugs. And many, many combinations. For the last 19 years I have worked in detox facilities in the critical area of withdrawal management. The beginning of recovery.
Now, towards the end of my career, that intuitive thought - that kernel of an idea - has never gone away. My belief has never diminished. Those with alcoholism are living longer, yet with more severe medical effects. Those with drug addiction are susceptible to more and more powerful drugs. More simply, anyone - any age - any gender - any economic bracket - anyone affected at even the lowest levels by drugs and/or alcohol will be in the care of a nurse. Nurses in any area of our health care systems, focused on the individual, their needs and their abilities, can support that very important part of recovery. The beginning. Just as we support the recovery of those with heart conditions, cancer, diabetes and epilepsy - other ‘socially acceptable’ conditions and diseases.
Nurses have replaced their stethoscopes and manual blood pressure machines with digital up to date machines that record more than just blood pressure. Today, to the best of my ability, I practice my patient care with the intuitive belief residing in my heart that nurses, and the education about basic health they provide in times of illness, are an incredibly important key for addictions care.
“Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn’t go away.”
~ Philip K. Dick, I Hope I Shall Arrive Soon
Intuition whispers goals and dreams. Such a lovely sentiment, and one that describes the center of a passionate belief. A belief that may or may not blossom into change. For me, that change has been reflected only in my personal nursing career. My disappointment is that I haven't known how to take this belief out of my personal career. I believe it is an idea that could affect nurses in their comfort and ability to do their jobs.
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