ADHD Nurses-what area do you specialize in?

Nurses Disabilities

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I would very much like to hear from other nurses with ADHD/ADD!

What area of nursing do you work in? What do you love about it?

I appreciate all who take the time to answer :)

Thanks

Do you think a nurse who is recently diagnosed/discovered that they have ADHD should reveal/speak about this problem with his teachers and head nurse?

Or could this affect their career?

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I don't know if anyone is reading this post anymore, but I was just let go or actually forced to resign while at the end of my Nurse Residency program. My boss was supportive, but my preceptor was not a good fit for me and my ADHD. While I was beating myself up for all my little and big mistakes, my preceptor was too. She wasn't supportive at all, but very condescending, belittling, and basically helped my self-esteem and self-confidence to plummet. I really don't know what to do. I'm having second thoughts about this career, and this is my third!! I was only recently diagnosed at 48yo! I found out that I had ADHD when my daughter was diagnosed. I just got a script for Adderall today and hope that someone will give me a second chance. At my age, it's difficult to start over, and a miracle I made it through Nursing school. If it wasn't for the support of my classmates and family, I wouldn't have made it! So my question is, how do I approach an interview or another job without being negative, and should I even mention ADHD? I don't even know in what specialty to apply. I have all the same issues as everyone else who replied. I loved the ER, OR, and ICU. My previous job was on a Cardiac PCU floor. Any help, suggestions, or advise would be greatly appreciated!!

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Specializes in Geriatrics.

Hello,

I had similar problems with my pediatric surgical placement in school. My preceptor was not a good fit, and the nurses on the unit were not supportive, talking to my preceptor behind my back about their concerns. I had trouble staying awake in the morning reports, had difficulty 'reading the room' for appropriate conversations/ volume, and spoke out loud when reading my patient charts. It made me question if I would succeed as a nurse. It wasn't until after that placement that I started taking medication, which made a big difference.

Once I was able to organize my thoughts, it was easier to work towards organizing my day. I took lots of notes to help cheat sheets to include my assessment findings/ important information and set up to-do lists. I'm currently working in Home Care and feel like I've found my niche! You are able to focus on one person at a time and are constantly on the go; it suits ADHD really well. Plus, you need to learn to be a generalist and be able to do a wide variety of skills, so there's always more to learn.

Do not give up; you'll find your place! Take time to reflect on what you can improve on and make an action plan for your next job opportunity. When mentioning this to employers, you can say it was not a good fit for you, and you have a concrete plan to address areas for improvement. Use your non-nursing experience to your advantage and draw on transferable skills that also apply to nursing. Just because your residency did not end well does not mean it can't be used as a learning experience to help you succeed as a nurse somewhere else ?

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ICU nurse here who also struggles with ADHD/ADD, I beat myself up every shift and after. I'm also overly frustrated, but I keep pushing, refusing to give up. Every shift, I'm the last to go home; I'm either too detailed or slow, not sure anymore. Depressing, I tell you; the crazy thing is I love what I do. I also work the night shift; maybe I should shift to days.

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Specializes in Critical Care.
Keisha Lyon said:

ICU nurse here who also struggles with ADHD/ADD, I beat myself up every shift and after. I'm also overly frustrated, but I keep pushing, refusing to give up. Every shift, I'm the last to go home; I'm either too detailed or slow, not sure anymore. Depressing, I tell you; the crazy thing is I love what I do. I also work the night shift; maybe I should shift to days.

I'm an ICU-RN on orientation, and I was recently diagnosed with ADHD combined with inattentive/hyperactive. I know this comment is older, but I came across this post while researching nurses working with ADHD and related to your experience. I always hate that my preceptor has to remind me about so much charting or important things I forgot to take note of. I feel bad for keeping her so late after our shifts double-checking my charting. That being said, I also love working in the ICU. I finally feel like I'm in a career I belong in. It's somewhat comforting to know I'm not the only one who seems to struggle with critical care charting or beating myself up. I'm sure you are an excellent nurse, though, because you seem to really care. Hope things have gotten better for you!

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Specializes in Critical Care.

Fellow ADHD nurse here! 

I was diagnosed at 25. Medications help. Counseling (with someone who specializes and has knowledge/resources to share for you to utilize) with medications was even more helpful. 

Critical care worked best for me. I don't do well with med surgical, ED, having too many patients... everyone is different. I can handle running a 6-hour code calmly and collected. There's adrenalin, and my focus and, critical thinking + detail-oriented side kicks in. I work better in that environment.

I experience more stress being assigned 4-5 or more stable patients, esp with constant interruptions, more people asking questions about each (MDs, family members, PT/OT, progress, etc.), and keeping track of these patients' care it just leaves me riddled with anxiety. 

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Specializes in Critical Care.
Lisa Crum said:

I don't know if anyone is reading this post anymore, but I was just let go or actually forced to resign while at the end of my Nurse Residency program. My boss was supportive, but my preceptor was not a good fit for me and my ADHD. While I was beating myself up for all my little and big mistakes, my preceptor was too. She wasn't supportive at all, but very condescending, belittling, and basically helped my self-esteem and self-confidence to plummet. I really don't know what to do. I'm having second thoughts about this career, and this is my third!! I was only recently diagnosed at 48yo! I found out that I had ADHD when my daughter was diagnosed. I just got a script for Adderall today and hope that someone will give me a second chance. At my age, it's difficult to start over, and a miracle I made it through Nursing school. If it wasn't for the support of my classmates and family, I wouldn't have made it! So my question is, how do I approach an interview or another job without being negative, and should I even mention ADHD? I don't even know in what specialty to apply. I have all the same issues as everyone else who replied. I loved the ER, OR, and ICU. My previous job was on a Cardiac PCU floor. Any help, suggestions, or advice would be greatly appreciated!!

I shared this concern (thought checking sorta thing) with my psychiatrist. If you have proof that they terminated you for having ADHD, per the psychiatrist, they'd be risking being sued. 

Also, now that you have a prescription, you're going to show up positive for this drug, so you will have to be honest. It's not as intimidating as it seems. I would just go with that "it wasn't a good fit" when explaining to a new hiring manager. And then, when drug testing comes around, you ask about how the process works (ex: sometimes they want you to bring in your scripts as proof).  You cannot be discriminated against for having ADHD, taking meds / receiving treatment. 

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The operating room seems to be a good fit for me. Fast-paced and always changing. Seems to mend well with ADHD.

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Specializes in ER, Trauma.

Whatever works best for you is best for you. That said, two very distinct personality types, and where you'll find them, ER nurse = ADHD because of the constant change in priorities, moment by moment. OCD nurses do extremely well in ICU.

I'm retired from decades of ER, so those are the units I was most exposed to.

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Specializes in Surgery- ortho/spine/ neuro.

Surgery! 28-year veteran nurse diagnosed in my early 30s after being mandated to utilize our hospital's EAP (employee assistance program) for my short fuse. I'm 52 now and struggle with it DAILY.

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Specializes in Quality Management.

Shrug, there's a fit for everyone just gotta find you're groove.  I'm not gonna disclose my diagnosis here but suffice it to say I have intermittent FMLA in place so when I am ill, I can safely take time off to rest and recover.  My motto is the nurse should never be sicker than the patients she's caring for.  And it's not a good sign when your patient asks, "Nurse are YOU OK?" so I call out when I  feel that I am too sick to work or will provide unsafe patient care or if I'm unable to make that decision my doctor makes it for me he'll tell me I need to call out for the week and he'll write me a note.   At my school, I am enrolled in my office of disabilities for reasonable accommodations like extra time for assignments. When I get a flareup, I need recovery time.

SPECIALTY:  Ambulatory care primary care clinic

SCHOOL:  MSN: nursing informatics 2nd class

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Specializes in Justice ⚖️ Nursing.

If you made it to graduate nurse and then pass the NCLEX, I believe you can excell anywhere you'd like in nursing. 

Best wishes ❤️ 

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