Re: RN-Attention Deficit Disorder-Nonhyperactive

Hi everyone

I'm new to allnurses.com. I'm writing from Canada.
I've only been diagnosed with ADD in the last year.
I'm working as a primary health care NP in a community clinic. I too throughout the 15 years of my nursing career have struggled with time management and charting.

What is has been any of your experiences with disclosing your ADD diagnosis to your supervisor and/or team and the outcome?
Under what circumstances did you do this (ie. job at risk vs. in a measure to help with work performance)?

Thank you.

Re: RN-Attention Deficit Disorder-Nonhyperactive

I have AD/HD and I work in the ICU. I've also worked in the ER, and I hate the floors. I love high-paced, high-adrenaline assignments because I don't get bored easily if I don't have time to

Re: RN-Attention Deficit Disorder-Nonhyperactive

Wow,this thread is a year old....

Re: RN-Attention Deficit Disorder-Nonhyperactive

Oops didn't realize that about the thread being a year old already. I only just found out about allnurses.com recently when I did a websearch about nurses with ADD. Hoped to get some discussion going about disclosure of an ADD diagnosis within one's workplace.

positivelyadd

Re: RN-Attention Deficit Disorder-Nonhyperactive

Originally Posted by positivelyadd

Oops didn't realize that about the thread being a year old already. I only just found out about allnurses.com recently when I did a websearch about nurses with ADD. Hoped to get some discussion going about disclosure of an ADD diagnosis within one's workplace.

positivelyadd

It all depends on your workplace. MY boss is fully aware of what goes on with me. I was considered ADHD my whole life but in the last 2 years had multiple practitioners show me that it was indeed Bipolar disorder.

Having her know what is going on has been a big help to me. Now, I don't tell EVERYONE but if someone asks I will.

Re: RN-Attention Deficit Disorder-Nonhyperactive

Thanks for sharing your input re your experience Stanley-RN2B.
A big part of me needs to feel authentic about who I am. It can be a big strain to pretend that all is well and that I can work the same way as everyone else.

I'm planning to discuss it with my supervisor, but in doing so I sorta feel like I am walking into a risky venture career wise-ie. will never be the same after.

Re: RN-Attention Deficit Disorder-Nonhyperactive

My big problem with the brain is I don't remember to write stuff down and if I do, then I loose my brain sheet. I have tried to record big events directly into the computer as they happen, but can't always, so then I try to jot the times of calls to md etc. down on SBARR. I have learned if I get new orders I can always refer back to the time I got those for a general time frame on patient issues. I do have a good memory for events but not for time frames. On a bad night, I can't do major charting till maybe 1 am or even worse after report. I was on strattera for a while in school but I don't know how bad my ADD is, I just can't be in a noisey environment and chart or pay attention to details like computations if everything is wild around me. I am also a bit directionally impaired and find it helps to label lines at top and bottom after following them from the med to the pump to the patient.

I had to take strattera to get through chemistry class, but did okay without it for other stuff. I have a fantastic memory for events, but time and even sequence can be an issue. I also have a hard time with critical thinking at times because I am hung up on one issue like getting blood, where I should probably more focused on getting the new med as ordered.

Part of it is being new, part of it is that I am the most nonlinear thinker imaginable and I don't like seeing ADD as a disability. I see it as just another way of thinking but one that can cause me to stumble at times. Once I have experienced a situation, I generally review it, figure out what I should do the next time and then do it right the next time. Trouble is there is a never ending supply of new situations in our profession.

Mahage

Re: RN-Attention Deficit Disorder-Nonhyperactive

Be cautious !

If you trust your manager to offer new tools to help you get through your day more efficiently, disclosing your condition should gain you some understanding and more support to improve your practice.
BUT, In the case of a manager that perceives ADD/AD-HD as an unacceptable flaw that could not coexist with good nursing practice, it is a risky move...

Learn to know whom you work with carefully before making the decision to disclose your ADD. Or you could just decide to get it over with right from the start, and if your manager has a negative opinion of the condition,you will know from the get go and you won't waste any time and energy training in a unit that will never accept you for who you are and what you have to offer!

Re: RN-Attention Deficit Disorder-Nonhyperactive

I don't mind talking about my AD/HD... someone once made a commend that I was hyper and I said "oops, I forgot to take my Adderall at lunch!" Pretty much everyone knows that I have it, and I don't get any grief over it. I actually think it helps me with my job sometimes because I have a lot of energy, and it's needed to work with my super sick patients in the ICU. It can be both a gift and a pain at the same time.

Re: RN-Attention Deficit Disorder-Nonhyperactive

Originally Posted by jmagn007

Be cautious whom you disclose your ADD to.

I just disclosed it to my manager in an effort to be very honest about my short-comings...her answer was that a nurse, and especially an ICU nurse, could not possibly be a good one if she doesn't have impeccable organizational skills....

I would agree with your manager. ADD peopel DO have organizational problems. Of course, many of them learn how to compensate for it. If you have developed a system then I suggest you share that system with her.

Though, I would also check the Americans With Disabilities Act. She can't MAKE you leave based on that alone.