The Official Website of Author Paula Scimeca

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BOTH BOOKS NOW AVAILABLE IN CANADA AS WELL AS THE U.S.!

COMING THIS FALL - DAY RETREATS FOR NURSES IN RECOVERY! CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO

FROM UNBECOMING A NURSE TO OVERCOMING ADDICTION: CANDID SELF-PORTRAITS OF NURSES IN RECOVERY is the long awaited follow-up to "Unbecoming A Nurse" which will be released in June 2010. The book chronicles the recovery of twenty-nine nurses from twenty states. These men and women come from a multitude of social backgrounds, beliefs and age groups. They represent the gamut of nursing specialties and various addictive disorders, including alcoholism, prescription drugs, illicit drugs and nicotine. Some nurses have also profiled in their story process addictions, such as compulsive gambling, eating disorders and codependency.

BUY THE BOOK

Until now, the dilemma of chemical dependency in the nursing profession has not received the factual, unbiased and sensitive treatment that this complex issue merits. By all accounts, the most conservative estimate is that one in ten nurses will develop a problem with drugs and/or alcohol within their lifetime. Some studies suggest the prevalence is double that. Given the millions of nurses licensed in the United States alone, even the lower assessment of ten percent represents nearly five hundred thousand individuals. If one were to calculate this number on an annual basis over a seventy year span, this would mean that more than seven thousand nurses cross an invisible line into what often becomes a very visible problem each year in this country. Read More...

Upcoming Events

September 10th, 2010: a day-long workshop From Unbecoming a Nurse to Overcoming Addiction will be held from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Augusta Civic Center in Maine. Contact Deb Dettor of the Maine Alliance for Addiction Recovery (MAAR) at: ddettor@masap.org or 207-458-4366.

September 11th, 2010: Uniting Maine Recovery Communities, 2nd Annual Recovery Retreat at the Unjiversity of Maine from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Contact Deb Dettor of MAAR at: ddettor@masap.org or 207-458-4366.

September 17th, 2010: Indiana State Nurses Assistance Program (ISNAP) Fall Conference in Indianapolis will feature Paula Davies Scimeca, RN, MS as keynote speaker. More information will be available in the near future.

For more event information, visit the speaking page.

Reviews

Reviews for From Unbecoming A Nurse To Overcoming Addiction

"What a beautiful and powerful book that Scimeca has weaved together..." —Deb Dettor, Coordinator, Maine Alliance for Addiction Recovery

"This book should be required reading for all nurse training programs, state boards of nursing, alternative to discipline program staff and employers..." —Jack Stem, CEO & Founder of Peer Advocacy For Impaired Nurses, LLC

"This book profiles courage and is a resource for nurses who suffer from alcohol and/or substance abuse, or have colleagues suffering with an addictive disease. It is enlightening, poignant and in moments humorous..." —Deborah Egel, RN, CARN, Esq.

"This book offers a view into the hearts and minds of those whose lives have been influenced by addiction..." —Kate Driscoll Malliarakis, RN, CNP, MAC, Pres., KAM Associates

By withholding editorial comments, Scimeca permits the voices to ring true and uncontrived, thus loudly proclaiming that recovery is not only possible, but probable... " —Jennie L. Brown, author Blue Moon Rising: Kentucky Women in Transition
Read full reviews.

Reviews for Unbecoming A Nurse

I am the director of ISNAP, the Indiana State Nurses Association. I have read "Unbecoming A Nurse" and it is very well written and summarizes what we do in monitoring very well! —Chuck Lindquist MA, M. Div. Program Director: Indiana State Nurses Assistance Program (ISNAP)

I have personally read the book several times and can say that with each read I gain some additional insight into the issues surrounding addiction. I highly recommend this book to all nurses. —Karen J. Halpern, RN, BSN, MSN, JD

Paula Davies Scimeca's book is a must-read for anyone connected to the nursing profession, no matter how closely or remotely —Sheryl Letzgus McGinnis, author, "I Am Your Disease (The Many Faces of Addiction)"

Unbecoming a Nurse is a must read for every health care professional. —Larry Golbom, R.Ph., MBA, and Host of The Prescription Addiction Radio Show

Scimeca's book is well-written, clear, cogent, and carries the conviction and dedication of its writer. —Jennie L. Brown, Professor Emeritus, Western Kentucky University and Author of "Blue Moon Rising."
Read full reviews.

Hear Ms. Scimeca on Radio!

Hear the Prescription Addiction Radio Show host Larry Golbom's interviews with Ms. Scimeca, which were originally broadcast on March 22nd, July 19th and October 18th, 2009 and March 21st, June 13th and July 11th, 2010, via internet at: http://www.prescriptionaddictionradio.com/shows.cfm

Hear Healthstyles host Diana Mason's interview with Ms. Scimeca at http://archive.wbai.org/allshows.php?sort=nameaz by scrolling down to Healthstyles September 19, 2009.

About the Author

Paula Davies Scimeca, RN, MS, obtained her baccalaureate degree in nursing from Adelphi University and her graduate degree from SUNY Stony Brook. Her career has spanned over three decades, with the first ten years spent in medical, surgical and critical care nursing. She has over twenty years experience in addiction and psychiatric nursing, as well as a background in occupational health, case management and legal nurse consulting. Since 2003, her professional endeavors have been solely devoted to chemical dependency in nurses.

Take the Self-Survey!

Nurses and student nurses: Take the SHUNT Self-Survey For Nurses™ to see what traits are present which may increase your risk of becoming chemically dependent.