Nursing student with ADHD, struggling in clinical!

milksgalore · Mar 25, 2013

I have taken medication: Ritalin and Adderall. Ritalin used to work veeeerrrryyyyyyyyyyy verrrryyyy well for me...when I was 18. Then when I started to take it again a few years later, it stopped working! My doctor said that my metabolism must have changed for its therapeutic effect to go awry. !

I do have a timesheet, and it helps...but my timesheet is so messy! It helps a little, but it doesn't solve the problem. Though, I am working on revamping my timesheet to make it a bit neater, like switching from pen to pencil (my 1st clinical instructor didn't let us write in pencil, so it became a habit). Even though I could organize on paper, I just feel like I could be unsafe and frantic with my mind being all cloudy. I wish that there was a solution to that...

milksgalore · Mar 25, 2013

Thank you!

How about when you are WITHIN one of those tasks? Like doing an assessment? I know that you don't have ADD, but sometimes I get lost in doing something like that haha. I end up hyperfocusing.

Have you found other ways to control the clutter? Are you still disorganized or are you now organized since you've made yourself a timeline?

milksgalore · Mar 25, 2013

My jaw began to hurt with Adderall too! I found myself clenching my teeth in my sleep!

What did you do to get through nursing school, especially med-surge? How did you manage the chaos outside and inside of your mind?

Did you find anything else that helped you with your ADD and clinical?

Most of the stuff that I've looked up about ADD students and nursing school regard test taking and in-the-classroom solutions...but clinical is real life, and there's no sugar coating the workload there.

milksgalore · Mar 25, 2013

I feel like I may be incompetent because I will find myself not being able to apply the theory knowledge to the clinical setting. I will not be able to connect point A to point B. It's like I just become dumb and clueless.

gabriellegoss · Mar 25, 2013

Adderall 30 mg XR. I'm 21 now been on it since 4th grade - and I have ADHD. Works wonders

MendedHeart · Mar 25, 2013

Meds work different for everyone. ..hummm...well honestly I had to learn not to get bogged down by the useless info like percentages..I learned to focus on what the prudent nurse would do rather than how many chapters I was supposed to read. If I did not pick up the material in lecture then I would go to the text and also to pick out little things that wasnt mentioned in class such as breakfast choices for the HD pt. A lot of my teachers adk a few questions outta the reading that they didnt go into detail in clasd on. Also..if you truely understsmd the patho of whats goin..it makes it easier to remember the interventions. Its really all CONCEPTUAL...if you can think in concepts it will b easier...but the biggest reason ive done good is because Ive been a nursing assistant for 9 years, 6 in the hospitals. .so I have observed and learned A TON!!! I suggest every nursing student work at least per diem/prn..the exposure to the nursing process is invaluable

MendedHeart · Mar 25, 2013

Also..check with your instructors..its law that schools have to offer YOU alternative test taking options such as a private room and more time

kld394 · Mar 25, 2013

Quote

Hi everybody,
I am struggling in my advanced med-surge clnical rotation. Although I am a really compassionate and meticulous person, I don't do well under pressure and with lots of things to balance at once on my plate. Under those circumstances, I freeze under pressure and become clueless. It's absolutely embarrassing to have my classmates see me be so clueless!

At clinical, I have learned to manage to workload of one, maybe two patients, and the required tasks within the shift, such as taking vitals, doing an assessment, giving meds, and performing treatments. However, I do struggle a lot with being able to do this in a timely manner. I have to REALLY try to not hyperfocus, and I have to REALLY try to get things done in a timely fashion-and even when I am successful, I embarrassingly still take much longer than my classmates to do the bare minimum, while they've done that and more. Now if unexpected tasks or events occur, then I really run around like a headless chicken, jumping from one patient to the other, one task to the other, jumping all over the place. I really struggle with organizing things in my mind. And working harder does not work. It's all a complete mess. I'm a complete mess.

I don't know if I am just really not good in this setting, if my ADD really has the better of me, or if I am just really not set for nursing because I'm incompetent.

What do you think? Does anyone share a similar problem? What have you done about it? Does anyone have any advice that could help me?

I've only got 6 more weeks of this semester to pick up my act or else I'll fail and be kicked out of nursing school for good. Somebody, halp!

I feel the exact way you do! I doubt myself all the time because of my inability to effectively manage my ADD in clinical. I am genuinely interested in what I am learning and experiencing, but I make careless mistakes all the time and I have issues with time management as well. These are 2 huge issues with nursing because obviously a successful nurse can manage both.

I was only diagnosed with ADHD about 5 months ago so its been particularly difficult for me because I am trying to cope with a new diagnosis and a tough program at the same time.

milksgalore · Mar 25, 2013

gabriellegoss said:

Adderall 30 mg XR. I'm 21 now been on it since 4th grade - and I have ADHD. Works wonders

Have you had any off days where you are tired or haven't been exercising, so even with the medication, you ADD still takes control of you? What do you do in those cases? What else do you do to help you in clinical or in other non-test or classroom settings?

milksgalore · Mar 25, 2013

2013SNGrad said:

Meds work different for everyone. ..hummm...well honestly I had to learn not to get bogged down by the useless info like percentages..I learned to focus on what the prudent nurse would do rather than how many chapters I was supposed to read. If I did not pick up the material in lecture then I would go to the text and also to pick out little things that wasnt mentioned in class such as breakfast choices for the HD pt. A lot of my teachers adk a few questions outta the reading that they didn't go into detail in clasd on. Also..if you truely understsmd the patho of whats goin..it makes it easier to remember the interventions. It's really all CONCEPTUAL...if you can think in concepts it will b easier...but the biggest reason I've done good is because I've been a nursing assistant for 9 years, 6 in the hospitals. .so I have observed and learned A TON! I suggest every nursing student work at least per diem/PRN..the exposure to the nursing process is invaluable

I wish I had outside additional practice! And thanks, I will try to think in CONCEPTS. That's a huge problem of mine-that I often hyperfocus TOO MUCH, I will think too much about what's the next two steps that I must do, rather than the next seven, which is the concept. Rawr! But it will probably help if I think of it as the concept, rather than the next 7 steps, which seems easier to manage than thinking of it in steps for some reason. Thank !

lmccrn62, MSN, RN · Mar 25, 2013

Unfortunately many students make school harder than it has to be. So much crap is given to students to have basic knowledge it can be hard figuring out what you are really supposed to know. It's all basic just need to think through the scenario. I spent and still anything I don't understand go home and read up on. I find this easier then the mass of information the book gives. One if my favorites that I used with my students was to ask them how fast to set an IV pump for to run a 100ml of fluid in over a hour. The students would all start to sweat then ask if they could use their paper to do the crazy calculation. They would come up with all different crazy answers. So after I walked them through the common sense way they all wondered why they make it so hard for them. You need to have patience with yourself find how and what works best for you to learn. If you can get the basics then add on from there. Try not to be so hard on yourself and how others perceive you. The best nurses are those that can think it through and apply what you know. To be able to spew all kinds of stuff and have straight A's doesn't mean they are smarter.

Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN · Mar 25, 2013

Organization is key maybe you need a good brain sheet.

Here are a few.

FinalGraduateShiftReport.doc

DAY SHEET 2 doc.doc