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Nurses in all settings care for patients who have underlying alcohol dependencies. Approximately 18-20% of patients in ambulatory settings have alcohol abuse or dependency problems, and 30-50% of all hospital admissions are related to the effects of alcohol abuse. Yet clinicians practicing in hospitals frequently have minimal training in the field of chemical dependency. Nurses practicing in general acute care facilities must assess for and intervene with the withdrawal process when alcohol-dependent patients are hospitalized for medical or surgical treatment. This study hypothesized that, if an alcohol withdrawal program were instituted in a medical surgical setting, patient outcomes might be improved. An alcohol program was developed and instituted at a large urban, teaching, community hospital. Variables were compared between the alcohol abusive/dependent populations preprogram and post-program implementation. The results demonstrated a 78% reduction in the occurrence of delirium tremens, a 67% reducti...

My interest in addictions started in nursing school back in the 1970s. While in school I did an independent study on addictions. During my career in medical-surgical nursing I have been concerned about patients admitted to our service with the dual problems of a medical-surgical condition and addiction. In particular, patients in acute withdrawal from alcohol have not received the management needed for comprehensive care and cost containment. The literature revealed that this was a common problem in many medical-surgical settings. As a result, in the early 1990s I decided to develop a greater depth of knowledge in the area of addictions. I started attending the education conferences of the National Nurses Society on Addictions (NNSA), and in 1993 I joined the organization. In addition to attending NNSA conferences and other continuing education courses on addictions, I studied the key literature and publications developed by NNSA members. Eventually in 1995 I became certified as an addictions