Meet the team
Currently the team is rather small and consists only of myself, Ellie Gordon, as Editor. I took this role on for a number of reasons not least as I am always keen to demistify addiction and addiction patients. Having originally qualified as a mental health nurse myself some 14 years ago, I well remember feeling very lost and confused when faced with my first Addiction patient. I could not understand why they chose to use a substance that was causing such distress and had often played a large part in their involvement with the criminal justice system.
It was not until I decided to 'lift the lid' and study for an addiction-specific qualification that I began to realise that nothing is as simple as you first think. I also developed during this time a fascination for working with people with addiction issues and wanting to help reduce the stigma and confusion that surrounds this area of speciality nursing.
Since then I have taken on a variety of roles as a Clinical Nurse Specialist and more recently Non Medical Prescriber in Addiction. These have ranged from working in police cells with people whose substance use has led to criminal activity, to people who are trying to minmise symptoms of mental illness by the use of alcohol.
I wanted to edit this website to give nurses and HCAs a chance to learn more about this area of work in a safe and non-threatening setting. As well as providing an opportunity for us to shout about the excellent and innovative work that nurses and HCAs contribute to this area of specialty.