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RN w/ ADHD
I’m an RN w/ ADHD. The symptoms have been part of my life as far back as I can remember, but the actual diagnoses came in 1994, when I was in nursing school. It explained a lot of things & I first realized that I was not really a dummy, but it’s been a struggle to keep jobs. I keep reminding myself that many successful people had ADHD, but sometimes it feels like I'm crazy & that no one will understand. I know there must be successful RNs w/ ADHD in this world that have found their niche. I need some feedback please (after I post this, I’m going to figure out how to navigate this website & read more of the posts, which I’m sure will be helpful).
After graduating from nursing school in 1995, I worked some, had my 3rd child, & decided to be a stay at home mom. I eventually went back to work as an RN, gained some experience, lost the job(s), found new different types of nursing jobs & kept trying. I became a single parent & worked as much as I could under my circumstances (still loosing jobs), & somehow managed for a while amidst the chaos. I lost everything but my kids, but survived the divorce process, & left the nursing field for several yrs d/t stress, illness, & disillusionment w/ nursing (but w/ possible plans to someday return). I’ve had to try & coordinate a lot of different things, which have been overwhelming. Between all this, it felt like my nursing skills had gone "kaput". I’ve had no family here, other than my kids (now only my 12y/o daughter living at home).
I’ve taken Dexedrine for several yrs, but don’t have health insurance now. I've found that, even if people do believe ADHD is real, some seem to think that one "outgrows" it in adulthood. Of course, that’s not the case! I've learned some coping skills, like making lists & breaking things down into smaller pieces. Trouble is, things build up & it never seems to end when you're trying to do it all by yourself. Sometimes I can hyper-focus on a task & do a really good job & sometimes I’m so distractible that every time I get interrupted, I have to start over again. I can work hard & be pretty good at multi-tasking when I know how to do something. I’ve also had to learn not to be too hard on myself, as that only makes things worse, & to focus on what I DO want, rather than what I DON’T want!
I love many aspects of nursing & enjoy helping people, so after getting somewhat stabilized after a bad divorce, I decided to give it another shot. Last year, I completed the Nurse Refresher course & clinical to update my nursing skills. I got a job at a nursing home, which was very difficult for me, but I liked many things about it too. I learned a lot & was becoming more confident in my role as a nurse again. After the nurse Refresher course, & working again, many things came back to me that I thought were gone.
Well, I won’t go into details, but now I’m back to square one & looking for a job again. It’s been too much of a long, hard road & I’m tired of trying to convince others that I'm not lazy or making excuses. I wish there was such a thing as an IEP for employment. I know I’m of at least average intelligence (psychological testing has revealed so, but w/ some “learning disabilities”). I’m a strong & tenacious person, who does not give up easily, but this has been so difficult, that I’m wondering if I should permanently go to another job field (I do not want to).
I try my best. Sometimes my best doesn't seem good enough. I’ve realized that ADHD is a part of me that I’m not going to get “rid of” it. I have no health insurance & no job right now! I really want to find a nursing job that I can keep. I KNOW there has to be nurses out there, who have ADHD, who have found their “niche” in nursing! I want to know what’s worked for them. If you are reading this, maybe you can identify w/ it. Thank you for reading & for any feedback.
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Last edited by samb12 : 27 Jun 2009 @ 7:35 PM.
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