How to study as a Nursing Student with ADD/ADHD

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I'm on vyvanse and Adderall in the afternoon for my ADHD. It helps with concentrating which is majority of my issue but also helps not being as impulsive. I'm the type of person with ADHD to the extreme so despite the medicine (that does work wonders) I still struggle with it on the daily. Also I struggle so much with the things that often come with ADD/ADHD like organizational and studying skills. I am all over the place trying to study for my fundamentals final because we weren't given a guide or told anything about what to expect. I am studying my notes but does anyone have a more structured way to study/what works best to get my time organized and go over it all? Thank you!!!

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Specializes in NICU, PICU, PACU.

My daughter uses a lot of different colored notecards and keeps a strict planner with each day planned out. She also keeps a dry erase calendar on her desk and erases items as she completes them. It's sometimes a challenge but keeping to a regimented study plan helps!

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Specializes in Hospice.

What has worked for you in the past? Do you do better with bite size bits of studying/ blocks of time with activities scheduled it between? Does a timer work for you? Are you able to focus better with looming deadlines (self-imposed even?) Do you study better in a quiet environment or does back ground noise help you?

Sometimes it's so easy to get caught up in "setting up a system" that no actual studying gets done and your energy supply/ attention span has been exhausted. Although easily visible/ colorful tools can help:)

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Specializes in NICU, Trauma, Oncology.

Google the Pommodoro method I love it. I've used it successfully (3-As and 1-B so far: and the B was 0.25 short of the A) in nursing school and without ADHD meds. I find the meds ineffective for "thinking like a nurse" but that's just my experience.

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Specializes in NICU, Trauma, Oncology.

Another thing. for finals I only review the material I got incorrect in previous exams. And I also find that the study guide books such as Demystified series or Davis Content Review much better for studying than the text book.

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Specializes in Long Term Care and Dementia / Alzheimers.

I also struggle with concentration issues, although I've never been formally diagnosed with ADD/ADHD, but will share a few tips and tricks that have worked for me throughout the years. I'm not sure what your classes are like or if you have lecture, but I take notes, highlight, and put post-its on pages/concepts that are mentioned in class and then transcribe that info on to flashcards. Book reading doesn't work for me at all. I also make myself a schedule and set aside a block of time each day to study, find a quiet place, put in my earplugs, and study. I'm also big on mnemonics- for symptoms and signs of diseases/ drug side effects/ etc, coming up with an interesting mnemonic can make things easier to study and to remember. If your teacher is not telling you what material to study, I would talk to him/her and just explain your situation. Legally, the school is required to provide special accommodations, but you may not want to be labeled as "adhd" in nursing school. I've told some of my teachers that I need a quiet environment for testing and they usually accommodate as best they can. Also, it sounds like you're just starting school- pay attention to the type of material and questions on your first test. From there, it should be easier to hone in on the important material in the future. Hope some of this helps and best of luck to you!! :D

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