WELCOME to UnbecomingANurse.org

WE NOW SHIP TO CANADA, AUSTRALIA AND THE U.K. AS WELL AS THE U.S.!

  

We are pleased to announce that the MISSISSIPPI RECOVERING NURSE PROGRAM is the recipient of our 2011 HOLIDAY GIFT OF BOOKS!!! CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO

 


BUY THE BOOK

  

"Unbecoming a Nurse is a text in which Scimeca's knowledge and authoritative voice are clearly evident in her depiction of the problem and in her prescriptions for nursing policy and practice changes that would lower the risk of addiction while enhancing patient safety. In contrast, what she achieves most significantly in From Unbecoming a Nurse to Overcoming Addiction is quieting her own voice and letting her protagonists tell their recovery stories." William L. White, MS, Chestnut Health Systems, Bloomington, Illinois. Read this review in its entirety at: http://www.williamwhitepapers.com/
pr/2011%20Scimeca%20Wounded%20
Healers%20in%20Recovery.pdf


 


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...


 

 


  

The Balancing Act welcomed Paula Davies Scimeca on September 5th as a featured guest to profile addiction recovery - how nurses got well and then got better than well in their struggle to recover from addiction. Click here to view:
http://www.thebalancingact.com/
video/?v=JQQ4LR9AT03150


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

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.



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.

Read More...

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.