Just needed to vent a little. What a rough day today, I was terminated today because of may ADD. I made this clear with the DON when she was terminating me if it was based on my work performance and she said Yes. I have just recently been diagnosed and started on meds and still trying to find the right dosage. She is aware of the diagnosis and I reminded her of this again.
I am upset and hurt and she was not willing to work with me on this until I got my meds straigthen out. She has said before how I am such a strong nurse and I can do the job but I just need to be more organzied and have better time mangament. Now she does not want to work with me on this.
If your employer had more than 15 employees; then, once you notified your employer of your disability, they were obligated to make 'reasonable' accomodations for your ADD. If they did not, you have a lawsuit against your employer. The more your grounds for termination are related to your disability, the more cut and dry your case will be.
Many in health care management are not well versed on employment law and it can come back to bite the institution for their lack of proper training to those they place in supervisory roles.
I have had ADD my whole life, however I did not get diagnosed until I was in 6th grade. I went to a private school where there was no special ed or any of that type of thing, and they did not go looking for it. I was not diagnosed until my older sister was being diagnosed.
My parents were filling in a form for the doctor about how she acts at home and they said to him that I had a lot of the same symptoms, he said bring me in. I was diagnosed about 6 months later, after many forms about how I acted in many different settings were filled out.
Put on Ritalin. It helped me, the teacher could tell the days that I forgot it. It made a HUGE difference. Before the meds, I was impulsive and said what ever came to my mind (worse then a normal 6th grader). A few years ago I was taken off the Ritalin because it STOPPED WORKING and put on Stratarra (a NONSTIMULANT!!!!!) that is used to treat ADD. It is helping me amazingly. ADD exists, I am not as my elementary/junior high teachers thought lazy or stupid. Even since I was in preschool there was a noticeable issue. Even my preschool teachers said I was either going to be retarded or have a learning disability (which I have a few but the main one is ADD) It exists, and it upsets me when people say it doesn't. It takes me back to that time when I was thought stupid.
Oh and by the way I don't use it as an excuse. I missed a couple of papers for a class last semester, the teacher said "I know you have been sick a lot but you really need to get the papers in" I said back "Yes, being sick has made it harder, however, I must admit it is partially my own fault, I should have gotten them done anyway, but I was not focusing properly" I acknowledged to him and took RESPONSIBILITY for the fact that I did not get them done
By the way, other then teachers, I have not told alot of people i have it. I actually shocked someone about a month ago, because he said I had never mentioned it to him and everyone uses it as an excuse, not me, it is a reason not an excuse
Thanks for sharing that, JustaPatient. My youngest son has ADHD & he's also getting assessed for asperger's. It's good to hear the success stories, because I do worry about how he's going to cope when he leaves primary school. At the moment we are lucky because his teacher understands his condition and works with it, but many kids aren't that lucky, especially in rural areas like ours. As you mentioned, I don't want him using it as an excuse for anything, but it is real and does affect him. At the moment if he hasn't had his meds he can't be in the class with the other kids as he's too disruptive, and yes- the teachers can tell if he hasn't had them!
Specializes in Vents, Telemetry, Home Care, Home infusion.
knew by age 4 that my youngest child was not functioning well, extremely distracted from even simplest task and was 6 months behind same age children in some skills., 30 minutes just to get socks and shoes on... attributed to his premature birth. thankfully kindergarten teacher recognized severity of symptoms and recommended screenings with pediatrician prescribing meds. within 4 days could see a huge difference. by age 9 discussing his need for meds, get told "mom i have so many thoughts in my head, don't know which one to listen too when i forget my meds."
my maternal grandmother saw him alot both days he took meds and those without stated " my bother joe was just like him....daydreaming and so inattentive....it must be genetic....too bad my brother was never diagnosed and had proper treatment." fast foward 14 years, son off medications since 17, minimally inattentive and graduating college with bs in culinary arts this year, hold 3.5 average.
attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (adhd) is a chronic condition that affects millions of children and often persists into adulthood. problems associated with adhd include inattention and hyperactive, impulsive behavior. children with adhd may struggle with low self-esteem, troubled relationships and poor performance in school.
while treatment won't cure adhd, it can help a great deal with symptoms. treatment typically involves psychological counseling, medications or both.
a diagnosis of adhd can be scary, and symptoms can be a challenge for parents and children alike. however, treatment can make a big difference, and the majority of children with adhd grow up to be vibrant, active and successful adults.
Specializes in Peds Cardiology,Peds Neuro,Pedi ER,PICU, IV Jedi.
I'm so sorry to hear of your termination. It sounds, from your posts, however, that the organization you worked for probably wasn't the best "fit" for you anyway. You deserve better, and I'm sure you'll find it. I can't tell you how many nurses I know...new grads and experienced , who have the exact same problems that your hospital said you have...and they are still employed and doing quite well. I read that you stay over and I understand that to be an issue with some employers. So much for wanting to do a complete and thorough job!
Yeah, you deserve to work for a better employer. Here's hoping you find one soon:D
Absolutely a discrimination issue, go to the nurses with disabilities thread and go to the resources listed. I believe ADD/ADHD is covered under the Disabilities act. Good for your Dr, she's right, get a lawyer and keep on going! Sounds like she is a very caring physician, please tell her thank u !
I also am a nurse with Add. I was diagnosed as an adult.
I rarely tell anyone about my diagnosis because of the ignorance, misinformation, and downright stupidity that I have encountered.
I am an intelligent, caring, and valuable professional. I have no problems interacting with my patients and coworkers. I have been told "you know your stuff". I take pride in the skills and experiences that I can draw on with over 35 years of nursing.
However, I have a problem with end of shift overtime. I am constantly running to get meds, procedures, cares done on time and I always have a ton of charting to do at the end of my shift. "Charting as you go" is not always possible! I see non ADD nurses who never seem to have anything to do. I see other nurses who obviously have ADD/ADHD and are struggling as I do. My manager seems to think that it's a simple problem and a simple fix. "Just change the way you write your assignment" I call myself the "invisible nurse" because I work my ass off and the only thing that's noticed is the excessive overtime.
I have been struggling with this my entire life. You are way off base with your response that the poster is using it as an "excuse".
My niece from my husbands side of the family def. has ADD and they are extremely ignorant to the fact that there daughter has a problem . She is being raised in a hostile enviroment where the parents fight and keep yelling and she is directly effected . Her behavior is staggering and her parents need to wake up and smell the roses , I feel bad for the little girl she is only 3 and they just had ANOTHER kid so that means even less attention then before. I was even thinking of watching her for them just to give her that extra attention she needs to feel loved and protected and for sure her crazy moods would subside.
I'm not ADD, but I do have Aspurger's. I used to have significant difficulty with social interactions and with recognizing, understanding and complying with generally accepted social morays (like social hierarchy structures, for example). Over the years I have learned to adapt, though I still have difficulty at times. Fortunately, I have also developed coping mechanisms for those times. The tactile, light, and auditory hypersensitivities persist - haven't really been able to shake those - but I've developed coping mechanisms for those as well.
I'm curious to learn how this situation progressed. How are things going, LPN&momof3?
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loricatus
1,446 Posts
If your employer had more than 15 employees; then, once you notified your employer of your disability, they were obligated to make 'reasonable' accomodations for your ADD. If they did not, you have a lawsuit against your employer. The more your grounds for termination are related to your disability, the more cut and dry your case will be.
Many in health care management are not well versed on employment law and it can come back to bite the institution for their lack of proper training to those they place in supervisory roles.
http://www.eeoc.gov/types/ada.html