Amphetamines+Clinicals = Allowed?

EricJRN, MSN, RN · May 27, 2008

Best to check with your school. Each program defines the specific policies that govern its students' behaviors during classroom and clinical experiences.

rph3664 · May 27, 2008

I was recently put on Adderall, and was wondering if there is some sort of regulation against this while doing my clinicals?

I don't see why this would be a problem if it was prescribed for you and you are honest about taking it.

classicdame, MSN, EdD · May 27, 2008

it is not so much the honesty issue - it is how you think and behave while taking it. Better check with the school.

A nurse I worked with broke his arm and was back to work on Oxycontin. He had to go home because it affected his thinking (DUH!) not because it was a narcotic. Heck, Benadryl has that affect on me.

merellis2009 · May 27, 2008

Just be honest with the powers that be at your school. Let them know you're on the meds and why. I stayed on my ADD meds throughout nursing school (still on them now as an RN) and just showed them a note from my doctor stating that I have ADD and am taking XXX meds at XXX dosage. The school said it was fine and no big deal.

PMHNP10 · May 27, 2008

I was recently put on Adderall, and was wondering if there is some sort of regulation against this while doing my clinicals?

If they have an issue with a Dx of ADD, that's one thing, but I'd think they'd encourage you to stay on your meds, esp. if you respond to them.

medicrnohio, RN · May 27, 2008

You may also want to check with the school's disability services office. I'm sure they have dealt with situations such as this before. Their job is to advocate for students with disabilities and I believe ADD qualifies as a disability. Good luck.

elizabells, BSN, RN · May 27, 2008

I was on Adderall in nursing school and never had a problem. I went off it before I started work, and my preceptor there (who had precepted me for my capstone course) told me she noticed a difference in my energy and focus, without knowing why, but I ended up doing fine. I was never drug tested during school, but if I had been, I'd just have declared it. My PCP at the time was at student health, and she never indicated that I needed to notify the school.

iwanna · May 28, 2008

You must be honest when you are screened for your drugs. For employment screenings, they will not divulge any meds with valid prescription. It is only if you do not have prescriptions for positive results that will pose a problem. e.g. my husband takes vicodin for chronic pain condition. He has a valid prescription and it does not impair him, as he takes it everyday.(legally) They are not allowed to divulge that he takes narcotics. But, if he did not provide proof and tested positve then they notify the employer.

I don't think that you will have problems with the Adderall, if you take them as prescribed. And, if you get plenty of rest and don't abuse them. But, if you start abusing them, that's another story.

Just be honest about it, and you should be fine.

swee2000 · Jun 3, 2008

If I were you, I'd consult your student handbook and see what it says about students on prescription meds & in the clinical setting. Also, I don't know if this is necessary, but maybe ask the prescribing doctor to write a letter to your instructors explaining why you're on the Adderall. Same thing for employers. But by no means should you hide, or feel that you have to, the fact that you're on this medication. Especially when its use & effects on you are being monitored by the prescribing doctor.

As an FYI, I also take Adderall 2x/day for Narcolepsy. When I returned to nursing school in January 2006, after a one-and-a-half year absence due to issues r/t my undiagnosed-at-the-time narcolepsy, I did not hide that I was taking a prescribed, controlled substance or for what. In my opinion, there was no reason to. Plus, the medication allowed me to function, concentrate, and be me....which boosted my confidence level immensely. (At the time, I was actually on Ritalin; I didn't switch to Adderall until 10/07). Luckily, most of my instructors were supportive, happy to see me back, & also very relieved that the docs figured out what was wrong with me. The best part was when I finished the semester & graduated with a 4.0, yet knowing how close I was to the opposite end of the spectrum in 2004.

rph3664 · Jun 3, 2008

I know of a couple of pharmacists who have ADD/ADHD and take Concerta or Adderall. It enables them to do their jobs better, and like I said earlier, if it's used legitimately, no big deal.

:)