Dyslexia

Specialties NICU

Published

Hello my names Erin, I'm 19 and I am considering a career path of becoming a neonatal nurse. I am worried that because I have dyslexia it might be a stopper to what I want to do with my life. Most people who know me have no idea I have dyslexia because I cope with it to the best I can, but it's still there.

My dyslexia makes it difficult for me to absorb new words and what they mean. It is even more difficult to absorb words that are not english such as medical terms/medicine. They appear as a jumble of letters, that I have to pay close attention to even sound it out. My worst fear would be to give the wrong dosage/medication because of my dyslexia.

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Specializes in NICU, PICU, PACU.

Hi! First you have to get thru college/nursing school. See how that goes and see if your program offers any sort of help. That will be a big indicator as to how a job will go!

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Specializes in NICU, Infection Control.

I think you need to deal w/the dyslexia first. If you haven't already, get some diagnostic testing to figure out where the problems are, and develop a program to work w/it. Lindamood-Bell helped my son a lot, but I'm sure there are other options. Many colleges have diagnostic centers for students w/learning disabilities.

Nursing school is intense, and, imho, it would be very difficult to keep up w/the reading assignments. While you might be able to ask for accomadations on test taking (more time, whatever), if you can overcome some of the problems, it would be a lot less overwhelming for you.

Video-taping your lectures might help you review lecture material.

I really admire your ambition and wish you well!

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