fluffybear

I looked at that site you mentioned, and took the "test" and boy, it did actually seem to describe the mental issues that I seem to have had to continuously deal with throughout my life. However, lately, since starting on Ritalin, I have seemed to be experiencing some depression that is a lot worse than I have ever experienced before. I am currently on Wellbutrin, but it doesn't seem to be working. I would really like to know if anyone else has experienced this when starting a medication and what they did.

I was diagnosed with Adult ADD December 23rd, 2003. I am 27 years old. This was only after I researched it online and approached my doctor about it. I have constantly had different anti-depressants pushed on me since I was 15, which I refused to take because I never thought that was my problem. I lacked drive, energy, had great ideas, but got distracted easily unless it was something I really wanted to do. When I talked to my doctor, she was like AHA! She hadn't thought about ADD because it's always the classic symptoms that the public knows about, but it can manifest quite differently in some girls and women. I have always done well in school, although having to stay in a structured class room frustrated me, and I dropped out at 16. When I returned at 20, I was able to go at my own pace and excelled. I never had close friends through school, feeling that I wasn't the same as everyone else. I also have this unbelievable temper that would just flare without warning (prisoner of the moment is what "they" call it now) until I exhausted myself. I started in a nursing program at this one school ...... well that was a BIG mistake, but definitely not my fault since I know the evil instructors have done the same thing to one student in the class prior to mine and to at least three classes since mine, however, I digress. I then got into my present nursing program and am loving it. I have organizational issues now that I am on the surgery ward. But, the word and the line is the way I keep it all together too! JP ____ Drsg ? _____ Lung assess _____ BSx ___ Abd assess ______ and so on, then when I have to chart the info, report off to the primary nurse, and to the student coming on to replace me, it is all there and I don't go off on a rambling babble. It works well, and checking it regularly allows me to know what things I've done, and what things must be done, and I am then able to set up my time appropriately. A little thing that I've added though is two fifteen minute "screw-up" times too. This allows any unplanned incident (ie. catheter pulls apart from the collection bag and urine ends up all over the floor) to also have it's time without it upsetting the schedule. I have to say though, I have been on a classic ADD medication since the 23rd of December 2003 and I feel like a totally new person. I can concentrate, my procrastination level is minimal, I can have conversations with people without blabbing to such an extent that when I think about it later I'm embarassed, and I even went on a 12 hour bus ride a couple days ago and was able to write an essay without getting distracted! My relationships with my friends and family are improving ten-fold too. It's been great to read the postings on this thread. I have a greater confidence now of my own success once I'm out there working.

I've done some searching on sites to see if there is any information on this sort of thing. I found an article at the international nursing site that is a Framework for addressing health sector violence. I feel it is a great starting point for finding better ways of dealing with the many potential violent situations, but that it isn't very realistic in its need for resources that are not available in today's Canadian health care systems. I could not even begin to comment about other countries health care systems. If anyone is interested in this .pdf file, you can find it at http://www.icn.ch/proof3b.screen.pdf . I would be curious as to what others think of this framework. One of the points that were made to stop workplace violence was to create a job design that would decrease the potential. A few of the ways this could be acheived are (and I am quoting directly here): * job planning is improved * work overload should be avoided * pace of work is not excessive Having only gotten to the point where I am now doing my clinical practice on a surgical floor, and seeing the low morale of the nurses there, I wonder how much would have to be done to make it an environment that worked for the nurses, the patients, and all the other members of the health care team.

It seems that there is more being said about violence and confrontation in the workplace in regards to nursing. This is a somewhat understandable trend considering the increasing stresses facing nurses and the health care system with shortages, budget cuts, staff cuts, and yet a continuously expanding role and expectations. This violence is present at several different levels; nurse to nurse, patient to nurse, nurse to nursing student, and other health care professionals to nurse. With increased awareness comes increased ability to deal with it through appropriate channels. I have faced a few situations as a student in the clinical setting that have created feelings of unease for me. Learning new skills, new procedures and protocols can be quite distressing when first beginning in a new unit. Unfortunately, an accepting atmosphere is far from reality in my experiences. True, it is just as stressful on the nurses having us students on the floor. Somehow there has to be a happy medium that can be reached, right? I went to a workshop regarding workplace conflict resolution, and many levels of workplace resources have available information, courses, and support networks. But does the awareness and resources make a difference? What options are available to assist in making a workplace more tolerable? What does one do when the communication "scripts" don't work? Any horror stories and how you dealt with them?