Nurses with ADD/ADHD?

Nurses Stress 101

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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?:)

Specializes in M.S, CORR, LTC, Sub. Abu, ER.

1st off,;)

thank you so much for your honest sharing and what i'd

call a rather hard lesson to learm as a new nurse & new graduate nurse, i might add.

i cant even begin to pretend to have an easy answer or advice as to what you might do now.

like you were saying, no one was harmed and i feel you can be proud of all your accomplishments & also your un reliquishing efforts to make that job work for you.

remember we are all human & if a nurse ever tells you he or she has never made any mistakes as a nurse, ha,ha

just know one thing, (they are lying through thier teeth)----big time!!!

my suggestion, is to pick yourself up,

dust your self off & get back on that horse! so to speak!

also, it might be a good idea to take an honest look at what part you played in the whole spectrum of things.

in other words, do a self inventory. not so much to beat yourself up.

but to just make sure you have your eyes wide open.

it sounds like, from what you wrote, you made some really honest mistakes that really any and all of us make.

perhaps this particular place, might not be a place where you'd want to work any way! not exactly a teaching hospital is it!

think about what doors might be open now!

hope i didnt over simplify what your are going through or went through.

just know your not alone and that there are nurses out there, who are

more than willing to extend some support. not every nurse, mind you!!!

but the really good ones, the ones that you'd want to work with & work for are worth seeking out. and think about what kind of person would you really want to work for any way? dont worry about job security.

if you have a nursing license, you will always hav job security!

~ good luck to you~

lin

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Thanks for your support. It's helpful that there are ENCOURAGING people, let alone nurses, out there.

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Specializes in geriatrics.

Funsizedliv,

I'm sorry that this has happened to you. I'm also confident that, given your determination to finish school, you can overcome and find another position.

As romiia stated, take a look at where/how your mistakes happened, along with how the challenges of ADHD relate to them. Are you challenged with time management? organization? forgetting tasks? Once you identify these areas, I would highly recommend finding a psychologist trained in ADHD or an ADHD coach. They can help you look at the challenges you faced and help develop tools and modifications to overcome them.

Also, are you on any medications for ADHD? If not, you may want to look into that. Medication is not a solution or cure, rather one tool that can help you focus.

Please keep us posted!

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Hi all,

I'm starting to work on a nursing skills manual with lots of pictures included, along with the steps of each different skill. I think this will give extra help in learning the skills due to my ADD. Anyone have any other suggestions or tips for nursing students with ADD?

I will post my manual when I'm done with it. I'm hoping to finish it over the Christmas holiday.

Thanks!

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Hi all,

I'm starting to work on a nursing skills manual with lots of pictures included, along with the steps of each different skill. I think this will give extra help in learning the skills due to my ADD. Anyone have any other suggestions or tips for nursing students with ADD?

I will post my manual when I'm done with it. I'm hoping to finish it over the Christmas holiday.

Thanks! :balloons:

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Hi,That's a great idea and wish you all the presence of mind. Does any one know why we loss some much stuff. If there is anyone out there that can relate to this topic and has some suggestions I would appreciate it alot.

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I've found there are certain triggers that cause be to be more forgetful at times than other times. Certain stresses, people, and probably more that I'm not aware of. Most of the time I'm not like this, but when it starts happening now, I know to look for what is triggering it. Hope that helps :idea:

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ADD and ADHD are widely abused diagnosis's

now the Have also AAADD...Age Activated Attention Deficit Disorder, shuckins I just thought I was getting old.

GOSH, you made me laugh so hard my sides hurt! :lol2: But I can understand and sympathize with others who have trouble in that area. Being a person with Bipolar, I do understand the nature of not feeling "normal"! Then I think . . . . who wants to be normal?! :o

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I am so sorry about your experience. Believe me, I know how you feel. I was a legal secretary for over 20 years and 17 of those years I worked for one particular atty. I had always received great performance reviews and got along well with co-workers. Then I moved to another state. (one coast to the other actually). Got job offers rather rapidly, but one right after the other terminated me due to "not working out". No other reason given! After the 3rd time, I said "alright, this is it"! God is trying to tell me something. You're not supposed to be in the legal field out here. You need to find something else that's more rewarding and useful of your talents. (I talk to myself all the time! Scary, I know). Anyway, after many many hours of crying and analyzing myself, my husband and I made the decision together (because I trust him and love him . . . sappy I know) that I would return to school at the ripe old age of 48 and start a new career. I am loving school, getting high marks, and getting my self-esteem back. Sometimes, God has to hit me over the head with a brick before I get the mesage! :idea: It sounds to me like your supervisor wasn't mentoring you as she should have been and the rap was coming down on her and she wasn't going to take the blame for any of it. I am sure there will be a better place for your talents and skills! YOU MADE IT THROUGH NURSING SCHOOL WHICH IS PRETTY DARN HARD (I HEAR!!) so you should be patting yourself on the back for that one! I think it was Eleanor Roosevelt who said "no one can make you feel inferior without your permission"! Was it her that said that?! Boy, that was a hard one for me to learn -- still learning!!!!

GO OUT THERE AND GIVE 'EM ALL YOU GOT!!! :)

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Psych..

Hello Funsize:

I am so sorry to hear what you had to go through. I was never been diagnosed with ADD/ADHD but I did work with children who were diagnosed with this illness.

The bottom line is that we are all forgetfull at times. I feel that that manager of your's was using an excuse. Dont let this incident ruin your life and your career that you earned so hard.

I am a very forgetfull person and my attention span is very scattered. The way I handle my forgetfullness and scattered attention is by making a list of the things that I have to do at the begining of the shift and I continue to do that as the day go by. I write down each and every task that I have to do in my small paper that I call "my brain"! I work in a very busy med/surg floor and this paper that I call "my brain" keeps me on track. I dont forget doctors order or the things that I have to do.

Look for another job....there are plenty out there...and I am sure with your hard work you will be very successfull one day and always keep your head up:)

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hi all,

too busy at this time of year with kids and all for a skills manual so thought i'd post some great links i've found on this site. happy holidays!

lung:

http://mtsu32.mtsu.edu:11259/normal_...ounds_back.htm

http://www.vh.org/adult/provider/int...ungsounds.html

heart:

http://www.medstudents.com.br/cardio...s/heartsou.htm

http://www.bioscience.org/atlases/heart/

a great vitals/physical assessment site (uc san diego site):

http://medicine.ucsd.edu/clinicalmed/heart.htm

this site tells you where to find all the best lung sounds:

http://www.emory.edu/whscl/grady/inetgrp/hplung.html

tracheostomy

http://www.clinimmsoc.org/teaching/downloads/subcutaneous_injections.pdf

i had added the sites to my favourites, but one of them is no longer available. however these two sites have videos [color=#3333cc]http://www.umanitoba.ca/nursing/cour...ab/index.shtml and [color=#3333cc]http://www.emtb.com/8e/videos.cfm. hope they're what you're after.

[color=#3333cc]http://medinfo.ufl.edu/other/opeta/vital/vs_main.html - videos on how to take vital signs

[color=#3333cc]http://www.geocities.com/nyerrn/2/p/video.htm - listing of videos of procedures and skills from er nurse, some paramedic skills here also

http://www.thinairproductions.ca/tcoywpreview.htm - "taking care of your wound" video

http://lib2.hacc.edu/nursing/nursing206/ - from harrisburg area community college. click on videos to see movies of various iv procedures, ng tubes, and wound packing. will need a real one player to view. site states you can download a free version of the player. heparin well, piggyback, iv push, ampules, pediatric medication administration, pediatric iv administration with soluset.

http://lib2.hacc.edu/nursing/nursing104/ - from harrisburgareacommunity college more videos of nursing procedures. this site includes links to videos on bandaging, bedmaking, enemas, iv therapy, medication administration (most all routes of administration are addressed), ng tubes, nursing skills (sterile gloving and dressing, dressing change, straight catheterization, indwelling catheter and rom), physical assessment and positioning.

i found another site with nursing skill videos! they are interesting and like i said they can be downloaded to a pda. that sounds great because next time you are in a clinical and unsure of the procedure for a skill all you have to do is look at it before you perform it. check it out. http://www.etu.sgul.ac.uk/cso/

also, here's website with even more skills like basic life support. it has short video clips you can watch. http://cal.fmc.flinders.edu.au/gemp/...il/default.htm

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I have been treated for ADHD for 3+ years now. Like many I did not know I had it. In jr and sr high school I was impulsive and fidgety. I couldn't stand myself. Fast forward 10 years later and I am taking my placement exams for college and within 5 minutes I started "dot racing" through the test form. I could not believe it... I was soooo upset because I felt like I did in high school.... I thought that I had outgrown this. Well I did drop out of HS however after my "dot racing" I went to a psychiatrist and started Dexedrine... well I have made the Dean's list and the honor roll 5 times and I am also an honors student. I can actually sit and study for hours and actually enjoy it.

Simply put... before meds... I read Reader's Digest... short little stories...

After meds, can read/study for hours. The mind is amazing.

I would like to mention one thing... even with taking meds. I feel that because I did not take them in elementary school (many years ago :rotfl: ) or in HS.. I feel like I didn't know how to study when I first started college.. if that makes sense. I get better each semester in college but I had to work very hard at first. The meds gave me the ability to read and to sit but I had to teach myself what I needed to read and how to absorb the content. (which one learns in elementary and HS)

If that didn't make sense sorry...my meds are wearing off! LOL...

ALSO...for anyone in school you might get accomodation because of the ADA act. I have twice the time for exams/quizzes as well as a quiet distraction reduced environment. It is worth checking out with your Dean of Student.

Yes there are some people who abuse/sell them but a good HCW will catch it within a couple months and hopefully address that issue with their client.

Take care and good luck!

~Psych

OMG are you my twin or what? You just described me to a T.. I start nursing school in Jan. I take straterra 25mg twice a day. I am 36 yrs old and nervous about starting. I am afraid I will not be able to stay focused when the teacher is talking. I never took med. in lower school. I just got my tail beat just about every day because I could not sit still. I consider myself to be a smart person but my mind just runs 90mph and I make careless errors. I know this is very crucial in nursing but this something I have always wanted to do. It is so encouraging to know that there are other people with the same diag. I am so proud that you are doing great in college. I pray I do the same. Thanks for the encouragement. Keep me informed....:lol2:... ps. This smiley is me off of my med... lol

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