OR nurses with ADD-i or SCT?

BridgetJones · Jun 17, 2010

I have ADD inattentive type too...and I start my day with Adderall and a cup of coffee. :) By the end of my 12-hour shift it has definitely worn off, but I find it helpful to just develop a routine and focus on that. Like when I'm turning a room over it's: finalize chart, pull up new one, call support staff for turn help, wipe down bed and monitors, set up head of bed, and so on. It takes a lot of repetition, but I'm remembering stuff pretty well now. Having a little time stress with anesthesia breathing down my neck kind of helps, oddly enough. My advice is to try to get yourself in "hyperfocus" mode...pretend that whatever you're doing is the most important thing in the world. Anything to get a little adrenaline going. :) Good luck!

ASUN2010 · Jun 30, 2010

i know what you mean with the hyperfocus! i just wish i could do it more haha. i have been getting a lot of pressure from other staff to hurry things along and i guess i let it get to me. it seems that my problem is with prioritizing tasks. i often find myself making myself finish a certain page of documentation before i tend to another more important task, if that makes any sense. since i realized this i made (fast) prioritization my goal. i just have to find my groove and go with the flow. thank you for the tips! mind if i borrow some of your ideas?

BridgetJones · Jul 2, 2010

Not at all. :-) Time management is tricky because there are times when you have to prioritize and times where you have to just finish what you started. There were times where I would be setting up the head of the bed and then remember halfway through that I needed a bovie pad so I would leave to do that, and while I was at the cupboard I would think "hey, I should grab my betadine," and then I would get distracted opening my prep tray, etc. My preceptor finally said, "When you start something, just finish it!" That helped a lot. But while a case is going on you need to be prioritizing...ditch the charge sheet if anesthesia asks you to call blood bank!

DIPLOMATICRN4HIRE, MSN, RN · Jul 2, 2010

Of a Nurse in the OR for many many years.. I do not think I have ADD, but pretty sure the OR has given me OCD. The cases we do become pretty routine, the basics never change, you will still set up the basic of the rooms exactly the same as the speciality calls for. When I train anyone, I break things down into the simple form, easiest to recall even to the point to where you keep special tid bits in your locker on things that are barely used but needed immediately.

Think Safety first, charting can always be completed in the pac unit and if your being rush, you let them know YOU control the pace of the room. That is what ALL OR Nurses Should stand on. Safety first. It doesnt matter how many times someone tries to rush you, or breathes down your neck, Your big enough to back them off.

Start a routine that works for you, You will get faster as experience comes under your feet and experience doenst always come with yrs of experience it comes with how well you handle the sh*T hitting the fan and YOU control the pace.

Make safety your first priority and all other behind it, if your patient isnt safe no other job is to be done! When you know that you have done everything within your power to insure the patient is safe, then your room(anesthesia, dr, scrub, bed, materials for case).

Think of things that others overlook. Staplers, tape, betadine, braces....extra drapes..etc

keep them in the corner and what isnt used, put up at the end of the day, keeps you from running, others may whine about it but big deal, they have the time to run, thats thier business not yours, you choose not to run looking for things leaving your patient free on the table without YOUR eye on them.

I hope this helps.

I learned alot from working my first yr in a trauma center.... RUNNING is all you do, so you learn to think smart and quick and grow a backbone quickly.

Z