AA meeting

Running head: My visit to an AA meeting

I attended a AA meeting on Saturday night at 7: 00 pm in Bergen County Housing

Health Human Services Center 120 South River Street.

This simple experience opened my eyes as a person and as a future nurse .One of the

First things I noted was the alcohol addiction has no social boundaries or race,

Gendered or age, the meeting was very diverse to my surprise.

At an AA meeting, people with alcoholism are accepted and understood, helping many

People keep their abstinence from alcohol. As I sat there, I wondered how much more these

People could be helped if this understanding extended beyond the boundaries of one-hour

meetings.

For a person, compassion and understanding is admirable. For a nurse, an

Understanding relative to alcohol addiction is essential to providing supportive care.

As the meeting progressed, there were different speakers. They were very supportive to

Everyone in the room. There were newcomers and some who had neared 8

Years sobriety. There was laughter, as well as heartfelt moments.

One thing was clear their common goal united them all. There are no magic words

said here which keep them sober. It is the compassion and understanding they receive

here that gives them the strength to keep their sobriety.

I said my goodbye and expressed my gratitude for making me feel so welcome. The

goal of this program is to offer support and guidance to people with a common problem.

This is exactly what this group was achieving. In gaining an understanding of alcohol

addiction, nurses can become more empathetic as people and improve the level of care

they provide for our patients.

I was able to gain insight from my attendance and it changed me completely.

MY VISIT TO AN AA MEETING

DIANA SANTOS GARCIA

EASTWICK COLLAGE