ADHD nurse and Adderall

Nurses Disabilities

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So I just started a 1st shift PT job in LTC. I am still under training and find it very hard to concentrate. I have been off and one Adderall and Ritalin since I was 4 years old. After I was done with clinicals, I thought I could function without the meds. After being coached yesterday by the supervisor( It took me 4-5 hours to pass am meds) :( I am thinking about going on Adderall again to save my job and be the great nurse I know I can be. If I do this do i have to let my job know. If Im ADHD is this drug considered to impair judgement or is me being med free considered impaired judgement. I also do not want to be judged by my job.... Any help is very appreciated, and nurses who have this and can do it without the meds, god bless you :):):).

Specializes in LTC, MDS, Education.

DO NOT tell your job. It is none of their business. You are taking the med to control a pre-existing condition. It is really no different from someone taking Zoloft for depression or Glucophage to manage their diabetes.

Again, trust me when I say, DO NOT TELL YOUR EMPLOYER or ANYONE at your job.

Best of luck to you and please keep us posted on how much better you are functioning on your meds!

angeleyes123, I am sort of in your shoes. I know that it is my ADD (not officially diagnosed yet) that has caused such problems in my last clinical rotation. My clinical instructor failed me and I have to take that rotation over again. I am going to get evaluated and go on meds within the next few weeks and I am wondering about telling my school and when I graduate, telling my employer. I'll be watching your post! Thanks!!!

Well my first clinical rotation I failed and was not on my ADD meds. I had to wait a whole year to start clinicals. When I did I started back on Adderall and I got good grades and didn't feel "dumb" anymore. I tried working med free and during my traing and I could not keep up. So now that I am on my meds again, everything just makes sense. Thanks for the advice:yeah:

Oh I did tell my school because it came up on a drug screen. The place were I took the drug test called and asked about my precribtion number etc.. to verify that I had a precribtion. Schools are less judgemental than a employer is.. Good luck!!

angeleyes123,

Your story gives me hope!! Thanks! I know the "dumb" feeling very well and I hope that meds will cause that to go away and that I can pick up stuff faster and be done with things faster. In non-medicated ways I have tried to be more proactive this clinical rotation and started to do things very differently for the paperwork AND clinical portions. Pray this time is different!

Specializes in DON in LTC, geripsyche, rehab, med/surg.

Take your Adderall to help you concentrate at work. The help with focusing will help you complete your tasks as well as boost you self esteem where work is concerned.

As a former LTC nurse and DON, I'd like you to leave you with this: Be encouraged. Please know that a 3 hour med pass is NOT unusual, even for an experienced nurse, when you're passing meds to 20-25 residents. You're brand new at this. You're experiencing a lot of new things. Be patient with yourself, keep your determination, & a positive attitude. The job is not impossible. When you've been down the path a time or two, or 100, you'll know exactly where to place your feet.

angeleyes123,

Your story gives me hope!! Thanks! I know the "dumb" feeling very well and I hope that meds will cause that to go away and that I can pick up stuff faster and be done with things faster. In non-medicated ways I have tried to be more proactive this clinical rotation and started to do things very differently for the paperwork AND clinical portions. Pray this time is different!

Hey if I can do it then anyone can, good luck with everything:)

Take your Adderall to help you concentrate at work. The help with focusing will help you complete your tasks as well as boost you self esteem where work is concerned.

As a former LTC nurse and DON, I'd like you to leave you with this: Be encouraged. Please know that a 3 hour med pass is NOT unusual, even for an experienced nurse, when you're passing meds to 20-25 residents. You're brand new at this. You're experiencing a lot of new things. Be patient with yourself, keep your determination, & a positive attitude. The job is not impossible. When you've been down the path a time or two, or 100, you'll know exactly where to place your feet.

Thank you very much, It's crazy how reality just smacks you in the face in "the real worl of nursing" vs passing meds to a few patients in school. It is very reassuring knowing people have been there and people like you who give me just a little more strength. I would like to be as fast as some of the other nurses but I am not willing to cut corners. I want to be the best nurse I can be:lol2:

Specializes in ED, MS, CC.

Do tell your job, Tell your Human Resource person, they have you disclose the medication that you are taking on a sheet of paper so that if you are random drug tested and you test postive for amphetamines then you bring in the prescription and they call the doctor to verify that it was prescribed for you, it isn't considered working under the influence. I take 20 mg of short acting adderall in the morning to help combat the rage, anger, and problems with focusing, assessments, charting, morning med pass, tube feedings, etc along with 15 mg of buspar ( I don't know what its supposed to do?) then around lunch I take 15 mg of adderall to get me through the rest of the day,afternoon med pass, afternoon tube feeds, back to bed with all the patients, chart checks, procedures, etc. Maybe you won't need such a big dose, on days that I don't work I don't take any or only 5 mg twice a day, going to see the dr next week so I am going to ask him if I can increase it on days when I feel it is more hectic for me and decreasing on days when it is less hectic for me, and doesn't require as much focus, I can't handle phones, o2 sat machines, feeding pumps, iv pumps, scd machines, you get the idea--- they make me batty!! I need ear plugs! Good luck dear!

I just wanted to add that since Adderall is a stimulant, it shouldn't impair you anyway. Meds that impair would be those that cause drowsiness, or things like narcotics. I too was on a stimulant for ADD and as an adjunct to my anti-depressant. However I was not on it since I went back to work (was on it while I was out of work). However, my psychiatrist has asked me if I wanted to go back on it.

THANK YOU for the med answers. One of my biggest fears about getting checked out was if I go anything and then get drug tested. I'm a new CNA and given my lack of experience I don't want to risk my job if someone falls or something, because being new, I'm not cocky enough to say nothing's gonna ever happen.

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