Hey all! I was wondering if there are any nurses with ADD/ADHD out there who want to comiserate and support each other? I know I need the help/advice. It might also be a place for "regular" people (I hate the word normal) to come and read and understand what its like for us. Or ask us ?'s.
I'll start with an intro:p I'm 29, and I've had an official diagnosis for less than 2 years, but have been trying to find the answer (for what's up with me) for MUCH longer than that:uhoh21: :) I currently work night shift at a drug rehab and on call at a nursing home. I have a lot of trouble in staff meetings - sitting through them, being treated like a brat because I actually show some emotion. I had much difficulty in school, (I didn't know back then), not with grades but with social stuff. I almost got kicked out of school because of the problems I was having.
But its not all bad. I'm funny and creative and often am able to connect with my patients in unique ways.
So we'll see how many of us there are out there?:)
One thing I've learned from this nursing program is to pick my battles carefully. It's always a good idea to "test the waters".
Accordingly, judging from the discriminatory practices of some instructors and administrators in this program, I'd probably be cutting my own throat by declaring. I've come too far to sacrifice my future to wolves.
Yep. Now it's your turn and goal one is to get you in the door first of all. Sounds like you've developed some pretty sharp instincts for self- preservation.
Change is never easily won. But its still far easier to bring about from the inside than from the outside. Keep up the good fight!
I can so relate to all of this. I too had gone through elementry, high school and college for occupational therapy without being diaganosed. Had my head in my books constantly, was passing but not with As by any means. Well, I decided I wanted to go back to school at the age of 28 to become a nurse. I got accepted into a bachelor's program. The first two years I did ok, wanted to do a better but just couldn't seem to get my grade up no matter how much i studied or anything I did. Well, when I hit Nursing 3 that is when things went really wrong. I asked my psychiatrist why no know picked up on the signs of ADHD with me and why it had gone on this long without being diagnosed. His answer was well a lot of females unfortunatley don't get diagnosed because they teachers see they are putting in the time with their work and are passing ( like with Cs ) so they don't do anything about it. Also, sometimes it takes a class of the nursing magnitutude to really see your difficulties. For me I passed all through elementary through an associate degree college program but when the demand of information i needed to know got more and more and the work load got harder that is when red flags went up. Well, to make long story short had to withdraw from nursing 3 and ended up getting diagnosed with ADHD and depression. I did try to go back to the bachelor nursing program but was told they had no room for me to come back so I am now enrolled in a 2 year nursing program which I really don't care for but am sticking it out cause I want to be a nurse and get this education done with before im 90 yrs old. I have been on Adderall and Prozac and have had very good results with this. Since enter the associate nursing program I have gotten all As. I have a year left.
Me, too. 46 years old, in nursing about a decade, second career. Self-diagnosed, after my college-student daughter came home sayingshe thought SHE had it. I read up on it. I dunno about her, but I sure as heck have it. Inattentive type. This explains my whole LIFE to me.
I've had the same GP for 20 years, so when I told her my revelation, she said "Of COURSE you do!" and looked like she wanted to slap her head like in the v8 commercials. I'm on Adderall IR 10 mg TID, prn; most days I get by with two of 'em.
Dealing with a life crisis these days, accompanied by depression and overwhelm and of course it showed in my work; and that damned inattentive ADHD inertia and passivity, and a little passive-aggression from the depression... well, my work as not been consistent with the way I really want to BE. Am regrouping, pulling back, getting my body and soul in order. But my confidence is shaky. My manager is also distressed at my "disorganized" workspace. THAT is something I'm goingto have trouble with, becuase I just don't get that whole "organization" thing that women are supposed to just know about. I am going to ask a couple of particular friends at work if they can check my patient rooms toward the end of the shift and coach me on setting the room up the way mgmt expects. I just don't see stuff, ya know?
I have ADD and didn't find out until recently what my "problem" was. I consider this a definite learning disability as this is the reason why I quit LPN school 13 years ago. I felt stupid, inadequate, and was told that I "didn't follow directions." The school that I am looking at attending had an open house this past weekend and I was thrilled to find out that they have a specialist who helps students with learning disabilities. I am attempting nursing again because it is really what I want to do and I know I can do it. I am an intelligent, caring person who would make an excellent nurse, but I have a serious problem with retaining info and paying attention to detail due to my ADD.
I just want to know if there are nurses or students out there who have or know somebody who does and have found ways to work through their disability? I am so scared and intimidated again and just need the reassurance that nurses with ADD are out there and are successful.
I was diagnosed with ADHD at the age of 38. I am now 51, and attending a community college, taking my prerequisites. In January, I start LPN clinicals, then will bridge to RN. With 25 credits under my belt, I'm carrying a 3.8 average, and have A's this semester, taking A&P I, Micro, & PE.
Yes, I'm confident you can succeed in school and as a nurse! Us ADDers are creative, caring, empathetic, ingenious people! IMO, these qualities will serve us well as nurses. A confident, can do attitude is a necessity.
Some things that have helped me:
*Find a study partner who is good at memorization techniques
*Be meticulous in organizing yourself
*Work on time management skills
A specialist should have suggestions as to how to work through these things. For me, organization and time management are the biggest challenges. I know that I must be diligent in these 2 areas to stay on top of things.
One thing that helps me with time management is having a watch that chimes on the hour, so I'm aware of the passage of time. Most times, I will have to schedule each day, hour by hour to make sure I accomplish everything, and the watch chime helps keep me on track. I find that allowing myself 1 "free form" day a week, where I don't have a strict schedule helps. On that day, I always have stuff to do, just not on a regimented schedule. I also have a large calendar where I color code (different color for each class) all classes, assignments, quizzes, tests, exams, papers, ect. due each day.
I agree with MSMaTCH. I use a similar system. One addition is to find a linear organized partner who you can ask questions from. If you ask your friends to help you be organized that will really help you stay on top of things...
I have wondered for years if I had ADD but never brought it up to anyone. I have several of my co-workers confirming my thoughts. Amphetamine abuse is so common I don't know how to approach a doctor about this or even what kind of doctor to go to. can anyone help?
I have wondered for years if I had ADD but never brought it up to anyone. I have several of my co-workers confirming my thoughts. Amphetamine abuse is so common I don't know how to approach a doctor about this or even what kind of doctor to go to. can anyone help?
I would suggest starting with your family/primary care physician. They usually won't make a diagnosis, but can recommend someone. Another option would be a psychologist or psychiatrist. I would suggest trying to find one who specializes in ADD/ADHD. While a psychologist can make the diagnosis, they can't prescribe medications. There are many medications available to treat this, and not all are amphetamines. In addition to medication, I highly recommend counseling by a psychologist, who can work with you to develop behavior modifications to overcome the challenges we face with ADD/ADHD.
You will find a lot of helpful information at the CHADD (children and adults with attention deficit disorder) website. Their website is: www.chadd.org. Best of luck to you!
I first posted on this thread almost a year ago exactly. I was failing out of nursing school at the time. Well, I ended up working my butt off and passing and graduating. So I got a job at a nursing home, it was the only job that was offered to me. I was excited and thought it would be perfect for me because repetition is the best thing for me to be successful.
I started just after passing the NCLEX, and everyone was very encouraging. Several of the staff told me that they were impressed with my work and were surprised that I was a new grad. Well, they decided that they would cut my orientation short since I was doing so well.(or because it saved them some money..). I had one week of orientation which included passing meds and documenting. Nothing on admissions/discharges, or any desk work like calling the MD's and getting orders. So with my minimum of training, and complete lack of experience, a few mistakes were made because no one bothered to show me what I was supposed to do. My boss knew that I have ADD, and that I would need some extra help at times. She agreed to help out, as she does with everyone, and she suggested to me to stick with one task until its finished and not get pulled away so I didnt forget to get back to my task. None of my mistakes were serious, no one was ever put in danger, and I never caused harm to any of my residents. It was more like I would get some lab results in and get pulled in seven different directions before I get to call the doctor, and once I get back to the labs, its past 3pm and its too late to report anything. After some of my incidents, my boss would tell me that she would want to talk to me, or she and the ADON would have a meeting with me to figure something out. I would approach her, and ask about the meeting, but these meetings never happened. She would be too busy.
So fast forward to the present. Yesterday one of my residents needed his PSA levels drawn. The lab never showed up, but before I left for the day, I left a message with the lab that we needed that lab drawn and it was a stat order. So I get to work this morning, the lab was still not done, but the girl from the lab was there and I asked her to draw the stat lab because it was needed for his urology appointment that morning. So I inform my boss about the lab issue, she is upset with the lab and tells me to make sure I get the results. I call the lab a little later, and the results are not in, but they tell me that they will do it right away. I check the fax machine shortly before the resident has to leave, and still no results. I mention this to my boss, but she doesnt say anything. Too busy. Later on in the day, my boss asks if I got the results to the doctor. I told her that they never sent them. She wanted to know why I didn't call the lab. I honestly didn't think to call again, since they said it would be sent out STAT. She said I was going to be in trouble with the MD since I didn't send the resident with the results. So I call the lab, get the results, and make sure the MD is notified.
This is where she asks me if nursing is what I thought it would be, and "what is going on with me" since I'm making mistakes. She said she cant keep covering for me and checking to make sure everything was done right.
I haven't been working there for 4 months yet, and my boss tells me that she doesn't think its going to work out with me working there. After all the time she was sympathetic and said she would help me. She said that I have made too many little mistakes, and now its coming up to her having to fire me, though she says she doesn't want to. I told my her that I made an appointment with the assistant director of nursing to see what we could do. She said that she feels its too late for that and she doesnt think this is the right fit for me. I bawled my eyes out for the whole ride home. I love this job, and all of my residents, not to mention the damage to my self esteem. I have to worry about not being able to hold down a job because of my ADD.
I feel like I'm trapped in the same nightmare that I was in during school. I thought I had finally succeeded at something, but then failure crushes me again.
I am terrified that I'll never be able to support myself because of this, I just rented an apartment with my boyfriend because I thought I had some job security, but that flew out the window.
Chaya, ASN, RN
932 Posts
One thing I've learned from this nursing program is to pick my battles carefully. It's always a good idea to "test the waters".
Accordingly, judging from the discriminatory practices of some instructors and administrators in this program, I'd probably be cutting my own throat by declaring. I've come too far to sacrifice my future to wolves.
Yep. Now it's your turn and goal one is to get you in the door first of all. Sounds like you've developed some pretty sharp instincts for self- preservation.
Change is never easily won. But its still far easier to bring about from the inside than from the outside. Keep up the good fight!
Chaya