Sedona Medical Consulting, LLC  – Medical Director Wayne Nickens, M.D. Part 1 of 3

Dr. Wayne Nickens, M.D. received a B.S. from Howard University in 1968 and an M.D. from George Washington University in 1972. After beginning his practice as a family physician, Dr. Nickens experienced great frustration with his own and others’ inadequacy to serve those struggling with addictions and other stress related illness. It was this frustration that compelled him to set out on a lifelong career path in the field of addiction medicine in a search for understanding and an empowerment to do good for others.
In his 37 years of practice, Dr. Nickens has directed family practice clinics, served as Clinical Director and Medical Director of various hospitals, wellness centers, and chemical dependency treatment centers. Dr.Nickens is certified by the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) as an addiction medicine specialist. He has also served as medical consultant to corporations, governments, indigenous people groups, nonprofit foundations, professional legal organizations, psychiatric groups, mental health business development projects, churches, and spiritual counseling groups. He served as president and founder of the Foundation for National Education on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse, 1984-87, member of American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM), 1987- present, introduced the Employee Assistance Program services to the business community of Maui County, and established an Employee Assistance Process at the Pahio Resort in Kauai, Hawaii. He functioned as Life Coach in developing healthy business cultures for corporations.
He has trained numerous doctors, nurses, counselors, psychiatrists, psychologists, ministers, program administrators, military chaplains, students, and educators. He has lectured at the National Library of Medicine at the National Institute of Health, testified before Congress on a Senate subcommittee on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse, served as a panelist for the White House Conference on Drugs in Omaha, Nebraska in 1988, and was the invited keynote speaker at the 1989 South Dakota Governors Conference on Substance Abuse. He has taught as a professor or instructor at the Washington Area Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse, Creighton University in Lincoln Nebraska, the Methodist College of Allied Health Science in Omaha Nebraska, and University of Southern California, and UCLA in Los Angeles California.
He is the author of “Not Guilty, Not Crazy”, Alcoholism is an Inherited Disease (1986) and wrote and developed the continuum of care program for chemical dependency treatment for Charter Hospital of Long Beach. He co-founded the Green Oak Healing Community as a service of the Union Rescue Mission of Los Angeles, for recovering, abused individuals and families in 1993 and established a Healing Ministry for the Union Rescue Mission of Los Angeles, CA at the Green Oaks Ranch near San Diego, CA. 1994-95.  He presented an integrated model for treatment of alcoholism and diabetes at the Indian Health Service conference on Alcoholism and Diabetes in Portland, Oregon in 1994, provided consulting services to the Healing Lodge of the Seven Nations, in the development of the adolescent treatment facility of the Inland Tribal Consortium in Spokane, Washington, and wrote a plan for development of the Behavioral Health management and delivery of services, and systems for community based managed care for the Cherokee Nation, Oklahoma. 1995 -96.

Dr. Nickens has pioneered holistic models of stress disease diagnosis and treatment management and designed technology and telecommunications systems to improve quality of care and access to health services. He has also developed spiritual and community components of a multidisciplinary team approach to facilitate healing for the individual and the community.  Dr. Nickens has served as a consultant to the University of Oklahoma, College of Nursing, Director of Native American Student Success Program and the Healing Community, He serves as consultant to the Native Alaskan American Indian Nurses Association and Life Coach and trainer to business managers, pastors, chaplains, the homeless, military, veterans, government, and community leaders in Hawaii. He is also founder of the Healing Community Ministries, a nondenominational faith based health service organization that serves distressed communities worldwide.  Dr. Nickens currently serves as advisor to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs for the Center for Minority Veterans and researcher for Department of Defense and Congress; testifying before Congressional Caucuses.