Metron

:uhoh21: Do you know any exp nurses? If you did, you would think it was funny. "Old" nurses are awesome. My ambition one day is to be an "old" nurse. They know everything!

I take meds. My dr wouldn't prescribe strattera - she was worried about liver damage. I felt like my meds helped for a while. But they don't seem to be helping as much lately. No I still am not very organized. I make fewer med errors now. I know that I need to write things down because I can't trust my memory when things get crazy. Staff meetings drive me nuts. We had one today that lasted 2 1/2 hrs! I got angry about an issue that I feel I'm being lied to about and everyone got upset because they thought we'd solved it. We never solved it, we talked about it and I got doubletalk in triplicate:rolleyes: Then it went on and on, boring little details. Ah well, some days are better than others.

I started this thread because I wanted to talk to nurses with ADD. Please save the "overabused" or "it doesn't exist" argument for another thread. I deal with these myths enough in everyday life.

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?:)

Fortunately, this isn't much of a problem where I work (in a drug rehab) because so few of us have kids, and there's always someone chomping at the bit for the extra pay. I'd just like to make a request in general to everyone to never say - Wait till you have kids, or you'll understand when you have kids, or the worst one - You're so lucky not to have kids. :angryfire I wish I did, I want them, it's just not happening for us and I've been married almost ten years. Whenever somebody at work (my other job) gets pregnant, people start saying, oh, I hope it doesn't happen to me. I hope it DOES happen to me and for a coworker who has been through a lot of treatments and a miscarriage. Sorry, this became my own little rant. As a PS, I kinda like working holidays, the place is decorated and there's lots of extra snacks around

I am studying with Excelsior through CHANCELLOR'S. They are a LOT cheaper than the others.

Funny!!! A new nurse tries to impress the doctors. The old nurse knows that the doctors are impressed by him/her. The new nurse will work to prevent her patients from falling because she/he doesn't want them to be injured. The old nurse doesn't want her patients to fall because she doesn't have the time to deal with it and doesn't want to do the paperwork.

I was a CNA first and I think its the only way to go. You get some exposure to the field and get to test whether you like it or not. Also, it really gives you a heads up on nursing school.

Don't worry Kayte! When I transferred my nursing license from MO to WI, I had to list bipolar (although now I know - and am diagnosed with - ADHD, not bipolar) It was just delayed briefly because they wanted a letter from my doctor. Then it went through without problems. Sounds like you are already doing the right things, like finding the right employer. And turning a negative into a positive by writing and wanting to help others.:)

A personal saying of mine - "Sometimes I feel like I've been let into the adult world without a hall pass" -another (referring to my ADHD) I just don't have the same programs wired into my harddrive. -A favorite quote from STAR WARS "But Sir, no one worries about upsetting a droid." "That's because droids don't pull peoples arms out of their sockets when they lose. Wookies are known to do that." "I see. I suggest a new strategy, R-2. Let the wookie win." True intelligence is being able to discern the line between courage and stupidity.

Trach Care by Mucus S. Green:rolleyes:

I can definitely relate to you bulky. I've had my ADHD diagnosed since April of last year. I never knew why I made so many med errors. It was very discouraging to fill out those Med Error Report sheets and come to the question - What steps could you take to prevent this from happening in the future? - and I always had to write - "look at the order more closely". Right now I am working at night in a drug rehab and I'm on call at a nursing home. I try to work night shifts whenever possible - less distraction, fewer people to clash with, etc. I've also decided to get my RN (I'm an LPN) through Excelsior so I don't have to go through the agony of nursing school again. (I always made good grades, but had a lot of difficulty getting along with everyone - I didn't know about the ADHD back then. And all the deadlines and the evil instructors.) My best advice - find a specialty and a shift that work for you and be assertive about advocating for your own needs.

Chancellor's is alot cheaper than Rue or the College Network. They have a one week lab that you can go to that increased the pass rate of the CPNE from 60% to 92%. I'm an LPN with experience and a lot of other college credit. So this is the best option for me. I have ADHD and learn differently and LPN school nearly cracked me completely. Also, I have a night job at a drug rehab and have lots of time to study.

Another Mc'D's story - My husband used to work in a little Mc Donald's in the back of a wal-mart. The most hated times in his life were when the toy in the happy meal was a beanie baby. people would call all day long to find out which one they had that day. It got to where they would answer the phone and say Thank you for calling MacMArt, we have the bear (or whatever). At that point the person calling would hang up. One particular day, the one they were selling was the lobster. My hubby's boss answered the phone and said "Thank you for calling MacMart, we have crabs." :imbar :chuckle _________________________________________________________________no trees were killed in the sending of this message. However a large number of electrons were temporarily inconvenienced.

I noticed a big change in what I was allowed to do when I moved from missouri to Wisconsin. In Missouri, LPN's are IV certified in school (during their program) and are charge nursed in LTC. When I came to WI, I had a rude shock. It seemed like they didn't let me do anything. If someone fell, I had to go get an RN to assess them before we got them up off the floor. After a while, I learned that most of these strange rules were imposed by the facility and were not state regulations. The last few weeks I worked there, they kept assigning me (and the other LPN's) to work as CNA's. Thankfully, I have a new job at a drug/alcohol tx house for women. They are excited to have another nurse and they actually want me here. That's a nice change. I would love to work in Pediatrics - but will have to go back to school first. I used to think I would go right back to school, but I have another career (I'm a pastor) and just don't have time