According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the abuse of tobacco, alcohol and drugs costs the nation approximately $600 billion dollars every year in crime, health care and loss of work productivity. If one were to research the many symptoms and side effects of drug abuse and compare them with a list of the many symptoms and side effects of mental illness, the similarities would be remarkable. In fact, many of the symptoms of substance abuse are also symptoms of mental illness, and can often be mistaken for and misdiagnosed as the latter. An individual who seeks a career in the field of nursing must be able to understand and recognize the symptoms of substance abuse and their similarity to symptoms of mental illness. They must also know how to effectively treat substance abuse problems if they want to successfully help substance abusing individuals overcome their problems and lead happy, healthy lives. Where better to get this information than from a drug and alcohol rehabilitation facility that has a seventy percent success rate in helping program participants achieve and maintain sobriety?
Kiamichi Nursing Students’ Visit to Narconon Arrowhead
Kiamichi Technology Centers exist throughout the state of Oklahoma, and provide education and training in many different fields, including nursing. Recently, nursing students from the Kiamichi Technology Center located in McAlester, Oklahoma visited the Narconon Arrowhead facility to learn about the Narconon program and tour the facility.
The Kiamichi Practical Nursing class that visited Narconon Arrowhead on March 12th, 2014 consisted of two nursing instructors and nineteen students. They were greeted by Narconon Arrowhead staff members Beth Richmond and Danna Sue Pruett and visiting Narconon Fresh Start staff member Gerry Marshall.
Danna Sue talked about the Narconon Arrowhead facility as well as the program itself. The Narconon Arrowhead facility and program is unique from others, as many Narconon program students will openly and readily assert to others. The program seeks to help the individual discover and resolve the many physical and mental causes and effects of substance abuse, and also arms them with the many tools they will need to move forward into a successful, healthy life and overcome challenges and difficulties therein. Danna Sue also talked about the many perks of being a Narconon staff member. Many of the facility staff are themselves Narconon graduates, and they therefore completely understand the challenges the program students face. Program students receive extensive care and support from facility staff throughout their program, and many graduates attribute their success in overcoming addiction to this help and support, especially the support that comes from individuals who themselves have battled addiction and won.
Roger Wadley, the Narconon Nursing Director, spoke to the Kiamichi Nursing students about the Narconon Nursing area and how the drug-free withdrawal program works. He also explained the benefit of having a new deputy medical director on the Narconon Arrowhead campus twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. Roger concluded his presentation by sharing his own feeling of joy in working with his fellow staff and the program students.
During their tour of the Narconon Arrowhead facility, the Kiamichi nursing students had many questions and were very interested in the phases of addiction and its successful treatment. Since the Narconon program is quite different from other rehabilitation programs, it can take time and patience to understand how it works and why it helps to thoroughly rehabilitate the individual. At the close of the two-hour tour, the nursing students seemed well-informed and happy with their new information, ready to apply it to their field of study and to their patients, enabling them to contribute toward the goal of making ours a drug-free world.
Source:
http://www.ktc.edu/programs/healthcare/practicalnursing.aspx