Nursing Care in Alcohol and Drug User Treatment Facilities.
Registered and advanced practice nurses are employed in substance user treatment facilities across the US and in most industrialized countries. Patterns of employment and job descriptions for nurses, however, are highly inconsistent and seriously flawed. Many regulatory system, legislative and government agency factors and to some degree, the nursing profession itself, sustain the flaws and limit the delivery of comprehensive care. Competencies linked to addictions nursing best practices are often underutilized because of narrow job descriptions. This results in limited health and nursing service delivery to vulnerable populations receiving treatment in these government funded programs. This article highlights the increasing demand for the delivery of integrated care to psychiatric and substance using populations. The author considers factors which stake holders can influence to change flawed employment patterns and limited access to comprehensive care for substance users.
['Naegle|Madeline A|MA|']
D000437:Alcoholism D019033:Delivery of Health Care, Integrated D004651:Employment D006801:Humans D007587:Job Description D024802:Nurse's Role D016320:Substance Abuse Treatment Centers D019966:Substance-Related Disorders
substance users job description regulatory systems comprehensive care best practices nursing, integrated care