Newspaper and Journal Articles On Addiction in Nurses

November, December 2011, January 2012, ANA MAINE Journal "Nurse As Witness to Pain and Its Relief," by Paula Davies Scimeca, RN, MS at http://www.nursingald.com/Uploaded/NewsletterFiles/ME11_11.pdf

August 29th, 2011 - Staten Island Advance newspaper article "Rossville Resident Wants People to Associate Addiction With Recovery" by Andrea Boyarsky. http://www.silive.com/healthfit/index.ssf/2011/08/
rossville_resident_wants_people_to_associate_addiction_with_recovery.html

August, September, October 2011, ANA MAINE Journal "Looking Beyond Telltale Signs of an Alcohol or Drug Problem" by Paula Davies Scimeca, RN, MS at http://www.nursingald.com/Uploaded/NewsletterFiles/ME8_11.pdf

May, June, July 2011, ANA MAINE Journal, "Stigma: An Up-Close an Personal Look," by Paula Davies Scimeca, RN, MS, viewable online at http://www.nursingald.com/Uploaded/NewsletterFiles/ME5_11.pdf

February, March, April 2011, ANA MAINE Journal, "Preventing Substance Use Disorders in Nurses," by Paula Davies Scimeca, RN, MS, viewable online at http://www.nursingald.com/Uploaded/NewsletterFiles/ME2_11.pdf

WHITE PAPER: UPDATING LANGUAGE TO ENHANCE NURSE NARCOTIC SAFETY

August 23, 2010 - Staten Island Advance article "Addiction: An Occupational Hazard in Nursing," by Andrea Boyarsky.

August 10, 2010 - Bangor Daily News article "Workshop to Examine Nurses With Substance Abuse Issues," by Meg Haskell.

 

Articles by Paula Davies Scimeca, RN, MS

PRESCRIPTION MISUSE AND OTHER RISK FACTORS FOR SUBSTANCE USE DISORDERS AMONG STUDENT NURSES: RESULTS OF A PILOT TEST USING THE SHUNT SELF-SURVEY FOR NURSES
Substance use disorders (SUDs) are chronic, progressive conditions which usually develop over time. Most nurses with SUDs report substance use began before or during nursing school. As nursing students are vulnerable to SUDs involving prescription drugs, it seems plausible that student nurses may be able to make modifications in their behavior and circumstances if they had a tool by which to measure their risk. The aim of this study was to identify acceptability and feasibility of a brief self-survey which identifies at-risk behaviors for SUDs in nurses that could also be used by student nurses. A pilot test of 26 senior baccalaureate nursing students found over 11% reported past misuse of medications and over 7% reported a negative consequence due to alcohol, drug or medication use. Further studies are needed to construct validity, reliability and to test internal consistency of this tool, but given the minimal investment of time, low cost of administration, and the potential benefits of early detection of risk associated with SUDs in nursing students, knowledge as well as incentive to conduct ongoing self-appraisals by all students nurses seems warranted. Read full article


SHUNT SELF-SURVEY FOR NURSES: PILOT TEST STUDY RESULTS OF NURSES BETWEEN 44-58 YEARS OF AGE AND LICENSED OVER 15 YEARS
Self-screening tools currently in use to identify substance use disorders (SUDs) do not provide advanced warning indicative of risk for individuals with no prior history, nor do they provide a measure by which to gauge the quality of recovery from such disorders. As nurses with SUDs pose a threat to themselves and patients in their care, a self-survey specifically designed to identify early indicators of risk for SUDs in nurses was developed. The purpose of this study was to compare the score of nurses in recovery from SUDs to the score of nurses who reported no issue with substance use, and to compare the current score of nurses in recovery to their score on the same items based on their recall of circumstances in the three months prior to sobriety. This pilot test demonstrated similar current scores for all nurses sampled while great disparities existed in the current score of nurses in recovery versus their score on the same items based on recall of their circumstances in three months prior to sobriety. Further studies are needed to construct validity, reliability and to test internal consistency but given the potential benefits, self-survey by all nurses, particularly those with a genetic predisposition or past history of substance abuse, seems warranted. Read full article

 

Blogs

October 19th, 2011 guest blog by Paula Davies Scimeca on SoberInfo.com titled, "Offering Hope Regarding Addiction Recovery" with accompanying video available at http://www.soberinfo.com

September 16th, 2011 guest blog by Paula Davies Scimeca on SoberInfo.com titled "So THIS Is What Recovery Looks Like" at http://www.soberinfo.com/blogs/paula_davies_scimeca/2011/09/so-this-is-what-recovery-looks-like.html

July 6th, 2011 guest blog by Paula Davies Scimeca on SoberInfo.com titled, "Enhanced Recovery Outcomes & Monitoring Programs" at http://www.soberinfo.com/blogs/paula_davies_scimeca/2011/07/

June 7th, 2011 guest blog by Paula Davies Scimeca on ExecutiveHomeDetox.com titled "Addiction isn't an interruption" at http://www.executivehomedetox.com/blog/index.php/2011/06/07/addiction-isnt-an-interruption

 

Articles About Paula Davies Scimeca

"The Secrets to Achieving Excellence in Nursing" by E'Louise Ondash available at http://www.nursezone.com/Nursing-News-Events/more-features/The-Secrets-to-Achieving-Excellence-in-Nursing_36996.aspx