sick of screwing up at work | ADHD Information

I give you alot of credit being an RN with ADD because my mother is a labor and delivery nurse. I hear her tell me stories of a typical day at the hospitol and it sounds like you have so much going on at once it'd make me go crazy. The school required to become an RN is no stroll in the park either from what I saw (She went to school while raising us as a single mother)

I definitly feel the same things you described at my job so you're not alone. Just be proud of what you have accomplished. Step back for a second and realize that you made it this far with ADD and that is no easy task! I give you all the credit in the world

 I just want to ask if anyone else here is in a profession where mistakes can be really bad. I'm an RN in a hospital, recently diagnosed with ADD although by definition I have to have had it since childhood. I am intelligent, usually hardworking although sometimes lazy, and I care about my patients. However I still screw up. People think I'm lazy because sometimes I'll be very efficient and get everything done, then sit around. Other times I'll be confused and ask my tech to do a lot. So it looks like I'm just dumping all the work on someone else... but that's not the case. And I have a blaise' attitude because I feel like although I make mistakes, I don't hurt my patients, so it's no big deal.

 I feel like they are going to tie me to a stake and start piling on the logs, pouring the gasoline, burn me for my sins. I resent this... I'm a pretty good nurse! I'm very careful with anything that could really cause harm... I check my medications 3 times each, make sure I have another nurse check my math and numbers, etc. I've gotten better since taking Concerta. Yet the witch-hunt continues... I wish I would stop making mistakes, but I try, and honestly, I see no end in sight. I will probably keep messing up my paperwork and forgetting to send people to procedures on time. making the docs mad for inconveniencing them, etc. I take care of my patients, but I just can't seem to be able to do my job. And I'm in the military... so I'm stuck at this job for at least 2 more years. I don't want them to take me off my current assignment and stick me in administration. That would be  humiliating. I would be so ashamed; my family and friends are so proud of me, being the first in my family to get a bachelor's degree and going around the country and world. I'm a war veteran and everything. I'm only 25. Nursing school was ridiculously, insanely hard for me even though my IQ is in the 140s- I just couldn't seem to get my act together, but I finally scraped by and graduated with a 2.9.

Is anyone else just sick of being a screw-up? Should I just keep trying? I've been a nurse for 2 years now. I should be better at it by this point.  I'm not down on myself because I know I'm trying hard... it just doesn't seem to be good enough. Is it wrong of me to stay in this job, possibly putting my patients in danger?

 I don't know what to do.

Are you describing yourself...or me. No let me guess, you spied on me as I was growing up and now you’re just pretending to be me, RIGHT???

Ok, so the above is a bit of bad humor.  I'm not a nurse, but I have had the same problem of screwing up all the time, people not wanting to be involved in the projects I am working on BECAUSE of the screw-ups, and the witch-hunt metaphor is a classic illustration. And the IQ 140+ that's me too.

It's really frustrating. If you get a helpful answer please let me in on it

 Ick. Well it's nice to know I'm not alone in the "smart, work hard, but still keep effing up" category, but I wish I had a better solution. See I thought when I started taking concerta, since I feel so much more focused and am so much more efficient, that I wouldn't make stupid mistakes anymore. I guess Im just disappointed.

I know exactly how you feel.  I am an insurance agent and attention to detail is REALLY important.  I don't know if you are anti-medicine or not but ritalin has really helped me.  Also, doing a ton of research and finding things that work for me has really helped.  For instance, if I am in the middle of something really important and I get interrupted, I always write down exactly what I was doing or if I can put the interruption off for a while, I make myself finish my task first.

 

Sorry I don't have better advice for you but I know how you feel.  About a year ago I had a bad performance review at work and I was mortified.  I have always been a good and hard worker but I was making stupid mistakes and it had to be addressed.  That is when I was diagnosed.

The other thing that I have been thinking about is that sometimes you (atleast I can) get so down on my self and I feel like such a f*** up that I just keep screwing everything up. 

 

Keep in mind that you are still human and that nobody is perfect.  It sounds like you are feeling really overwhelmed right now.  My heart goes out to you because much like you, I am only 25 and I truly do enjoy my job, but I kept thinking, what if I am not meant to do this, what if I am too stupid?  I don't have any other real skills....

 

I hope everything works out for you.  Keep me posted.  Also, read about ADD, it might help you understand yourself and give you ideas of things that will help you with your job.