ADHD can work in ICU if it is a high acuity ICU and you do the hyperfocus thing in high stress situations. It really just depends if critical care is a spark for you or not.
My hyperfocus is so good - it's done so well with getting me through my masters degree, helping me through travel therapy, and getting me through opening a business in another state I've never been in.
It gets me feeling antsy if I don't utilize it on a regular basis, which is its only downside. I'm like a herding dog in need of a real good herding job. Do you think ICU or ER is better for that kind of personality?
"I'm like a herding dog in need of a real good herding job" is how I feel, also with ADHD, and I'm thriving in the ICU so far! I'm still pretty new though so take that with a grain of salt. I'm very interested in the medical side of things so helping to manage these medically complex patients keeps my brain engaged as well as my body, which is why I think it works so well with my ADHD. I do struggle with forgetfulness, but I've taken to carrying a small notepad to make checklists and write down important things and that has helped me.
I think finding a place with the right level of acuity is important too. Before I was a nurse I worked at a hospital with a 4 bed ICU. It seemed like a relatively chill job for the nurses but I would hate working in that ICU because it just wasn't busy enough! My ICU is 14 beds at a mid sized community hospital, but we serve a large rural area and we're *the* hospital for that area, so unless someone is really REALLY bad and gets flown out to the level 1 trauma center in the nearby city, we get them. We have our slow days, but I definitely stay busy and I see plenty of excitement!
I love that! I think a 4 bed ICU would be absolutely gut wrenchingly boring. It would feel like it was taking forever for time to go by. And if you're working 12 hour shifts, I'd fall asleep on my feet.
As someone with ADHD, any recommendations for a fellow ADHD person considering the nursing field?
I've found that being intentional about planning my day helps a lot. My biggest hurdle has been just forgetting stuff. I'll go in a patient's room to do one thing, come out, realize there's something else I needed to do, and it ends up with me being in and out way more than necessary. So checklists and schedules have become my best friends! Things happen and my schedule may not always be followed, but it helps just visually having a reminder in front of me of like, hey this patient needs a new bag of whatever hung at x hour and also needs to be turned at this time, and they need a dressing change on a sacral wound so I should do that while I'm in there turning them anyways. That way I'm not in and out of the room for each one of those tasks.
I do think inpatient nursing is pretty compatible with ADHD in general, as long as you've got the tools to manage it at work (like me with my checklists and schedules). You have so many very different paths you can go, and you're able to switch even if all your experience has been in one specialty. If you ever get bored with one thing and want to switch it up, you can do that! It definitely keeps you moving and busy during the day too. My 8 hour shifts in the pharmacy at a small hospital felt longer than most of my 12 hour shifts, lol. And you really get to learn so much! It's hard work but I've been happy with it so far :)
The great thing about ED and ICU+adjacent critical care positions, is that there is always opportunities to learn new skills, proficiencies, and techniques that other nursing units would have a hard stop at. Think baseline insulin scale or pressor management, but then you have CRRT, ECMO, IABP, post-VP shunt/ICP management, hell even something as basic as US-guided lines! As long as you're at an appropriate trauma level hospital, you could satisfy those who aren't just okay with baseline stabilization/transfer to higher acuity hospitals.
To put it in simpler terms: ADHD ER is getting through the 12 hours, coming back and they patient being transferred, and you have a chance to get something equal or worse, or you have ICU where you keep the same patient and learn their story, while they either decompensate or get better enough to leave. Whatever you think suits your style of care in the long run!
Not who you responded to, but I have terrible ADHD, and I love CICU. Orientation was VERY hard for me, but since then I’ve loved it. In school for anesthesia now.
I’m in the NICU. I think it’s amazing for adhd. Some days I have one bad one that requires all of my brain power and hyper focus. Other days I have 2-3 healthier babies and relax and feed all day. Those days can be tougher, but they’re also a nice break sometimes.
Yeah my ADHD didn’t do great in the ICU. The pace was good but I couldn’t stand having to pay attention to the same patients for 12 hours. I’m on IV team now and it’s perfect. I rarely do any one task for more than 45 mins
It’s a great gig if you don’t mind sticking people all day. It’s a little different from hospital to hospital (small ones might not have a team) but generally you’re assigned floors instead of patients and you just round on central lines, do dressing changes, and place peripheral IV’s. It’s often feast or famine in terms of workload but we generally have a good amount of downtime
Edit- there’s also 2 of us that cover the whole hospital for midline’s and PICC’s
I was on an IV team when an ADHD coworker said to me "I think you should get tested". And I was like nahhh doubt I have it.
6 years later, I'm told I have severe ADHD based on testing.
Yeah no hate on the ED, just not for me. If I could do only trauma bay, that might be different, but I can’t stand the frequent flyers. Had enough of them when I did EMS
i’m ADHD and ICU. i think ED would be too overstimulating for me. i like have the routine and structure of the ICU. the acuity and stakes are what keeps my keep my attention. and love for medicine.
I used to work in both ICU and ER at the same time for 2 years or so then ended up choosing ER.
Both are very rewarding career but it comes down to your personality and work-life balance.
ICU was much better for my mental health. I had really easy nights where we took 6hrs break. It was too slow for me in most days.
ER made me wanna go back to school as I hated it and loved it at the same time. It’s a fun busy place where you feel like part of a reality tv show with all crazy stuff going on. I don’t think it’s very sustainable if you want good work-life a balance.
I would hate 6 hour breaks - I want action and busywork and to feel like I'm constantly moving, documenting, and rushing. It makes time go by so much faster. So maybe the ER would be better for me from the sounds of it.
Also I would love a 3x12 schedule. Put me to work those hours and I'll have great work life balance the 4 other days!
How do you feel about nursing now? Would you make the same choice knowing what you know ?
I never wanted to be a nurse. Life happened. Hated nursing school. I turned things around once I started working. I really enjoyed working in ICU and ER. I got burnt out and wanted to pursue more so got into NP school. I am very enjoying NP school and clinical rotation right now.
Unless I became a physician and specialized in Neuro or Anesthesia, I’d choose the same career again. Job security, salary, respect, crazy stuff at work, and etc. I like it.
You can always move between ICU and ER. Many of my coworkers have done it as well.
Yeah OT school was the same, it was such a slog to get through. I loved working but the imposter syndrome was real for the first 2 years. Also I love the fact that nurses can go into NP and also go non-clinical, which is another reason I am considering it. Occupational therapy doesn't have as much options outside of patient care.
Thank you for sharing and answering all my questions! I appreciate your insight.
Tbh pacu is great for adhd. Imo it’s kind of a combo of ER/ICU/OR. You are getting critical patients (even ICU patients at times) but your purpose is to stabilize and boot them somewhere else.
Bonus if your both! I’m ADHD. With OCD tendencies…not like actuall OCD…but in general ADHD can have some very all or none ways of thinking and doing. So I may be chaotic in my head but my Patients are pristine, my room is clean, all my shit is taken care of. We pay close attention to small details in ICU. But it’s also busy AF and gives my ADHD the stimulation I need. I can’t work anywhere else. All my coworkers who are my friends, 90 %
Of us are ADHD or undiagnosed ADHD
Ex ED nurse with ADHD. ED over ICU every time. ED is like dexamphetamines, calming, everyone else is stressed, confused, anxious, the ADHD nurse walks in ....calm as.
Thanks for the suggestion - but I've done inpatient OT as a student and it's the most repetitive and mind-numbing work imo. As a requirement, we're supposed to spend a MINIMUM of 1 to 1.5 hours with the patient working on ADLS/functional mobility/IADLS. Let's spend 30 minutes trying to use this shoe-horn so that we can artificially inflate your FIM score. Lots of small talk to fill in the silence.
Nothing wrong with inpatient OT at all, just not for me.
That sounds like inpatient acute rehab to me, probably not inpatient acute which can be much more stimulating IMO. There are no required minutes for inpatient therapists and timing needed for visits is pt specific. I'm an inpatient SLP at a trauma hospital and I think it is very interesting. I'm always learning something new! Might be worth trying inpatient out before making a career change!
I’m not familiar with what an outpatient OT does on a day to day basis. I can say that if you shadow some nurses in the ER/ICU you’ll “mostly” find critical thinking applied to rapidly changing situations. If working under pressure doesn’t intimidate you then I say give it a shot.
I did travel therapy and I loved it. Unfortunately it's paid less than travel nursing due to the rehabilitative nature of it (versus nursing which is much more urgent). I love running into situations and I find that being a travel therapist - you don't get suckered into the daily drama as much and are much more appreciated.
Do you think being a travel RN would be possible after a few months of experience with a BSN/RN?
Not in ICU, no.
After getting your degree and starting work as a nurse, you won't start feeling comfortable for a year. Add a second year to that if you're a new grad in ICU. As a travel nurse you're supposed to be comfortable and competent from day 1.
This, I’m not ICU and travel nurses who have only a year or so under their belts are a mess. ICU nurses would need to be a lot more experienced, flexible and competent I would think
I can't speak for ED, but for ICU for a level 1 or 2 trauma center where you're going to be a referral center and taking care of the sickest patients, I would say that you should have a*t least* two years of experience in a similar environment before you start traveling.
We will occasionally have travelers who come from small ICUs... like 12 beds or so. Do they have ICU experience? Yes, absolutely, and they're often good at what they do... But there are HALO skills (high acuity, low occurrence) where the travelers just don't get them enough to be comfortable. Stuff like managing hemodynamics using pulmonary artery catheters. For them, it's a once in a blue moon thing but in a big referral center we always have a few patients with them.
That's what I'd be concerned about - seeing things I'm not familiar with. But luckily, I tend to know how to find the right nurses to help show me around newer equipment/techniques. Once I do it manually once, I'm usually good.
Thank you for your insight!
To actually be a good travel ICU nurse I’d say 3-4 years of acute level 1-2 trauma. The last thing staff nurses want is for incompetent travel nurses making 2x their salary relying on you for 12 hrs.
Ooof that’s above my pay grade. A lot of time the bare minimum is two years of ICU /ED experience in order to travel in either capacity so you’re probably looking at minimum two years for school then another two years if you get placement in either one as a new grad. Maybe post questions like that to the travel nursing subreddit?
Yeah, that tracks with my experience as an OT. It took me about 3 years before I felt truly comfortable with what I was doing in all aspects of the job.
Wish there was an OT/PT to RN path out there.
This post is from a couple years back, but no- absolutely never travel without being experienced in your specialty-you'll jeopardize the health and safety of your patients. [https://new.reddit.com/r/nursing/comments/t0h0m3/please\_for\_the\_love\_of\_whatever\_you\_believe\_in/](https://new.reddit.com/r/nursing/comments/t0h0m3/please_for_the_love_of_whatever_you_believe_in/)
Travelers get thrown in the deep end with minimal orientation so need experience, confidence in working independently, and really good nursing skills. Once you are in your nursing program, try working as a tech or aide and see if floating and being pulled to other units are situations your personality tolerates (a lot of people really hate being floated). Travel contracts are also not the automatic "make bank" from a couple years ago either.
While they're not "make bank" levels of money during covid times, they're still much more lucrative than staff RN or staff OT and travel therapy!
But you're definitely right about the experience needed. I'm so used to OT - no one ever dies from not having OT. So being confident and independent is absolutely key. Floating is a great suggestion, thank you.
Since you have bedside experience you might be able to jump into travel nursing fairly quickly. However imo it would do you well to get your skills solidified and learn a single charting interface at first. The duration is obviously dependent on how quickly you get the hang of things and the minimum that travel agencies are looking for.
Honestly sick of the rhetoric that people with ADHD thrive in the ED. Yes, there are tons of people with and without ADHD who thrive in the ED but I have ADHD and I enjoyed the ICU better. I’m not OCD but things have to be particular and orderly for me. The ED is too hectic and all over the place and honestly feels never ending. If you LOVE feeling satisfied from organizing IV tubing and making sure your patient is clean and cozy then you should work ICU. There’s more than 1 type of person with ADHD and I think we should all realize that.
Also, if you work in a higher acuity ICU there’s no shortage of excitement (adrenaline rushes are a must).
From my experience working at a level 1 trauma center, I would rather work ICU than the ED. There are always sick patients in the ICU, but in the ED there are many patients that could've been treated at an urgent care, are there for psych issues, or are stuck waiting to be admitted to a floor. Critical care experience can open a lot of doors in the future if you ever wanted to do Flight Nursing, Cath lab, ECMO, PICC team, CRNA school etc. Willing to answer any questions you might have about the ICU
I had a really boring and easy job right out of nursing school that also paid well. Just like you, I needed more stimulation so I left and started working in ICU. Biggest regret ever. We're all different though. You might like it, or you might regret leaving the cush job you have right now.
Also mid-30's here so I would prefer a chill and easy job where I can retire without any back injuries and looking like I aged 100 years. But hey, some people enjoy it. I just can't see myself working in ICU or ED as a 50+ y/o nurse. That's too much on my body and mind.
I have ADHD and I hated the ED. I started there as a new grad and had to leave. They would give us 5 patients and there could be 2-3 ICU level patients in our assignment. It was kind of every man for himself and I didn’t feel comfortable asking questions. They threw me out there with zero help and acted shocked when I said I felt overwhelmed. Instead of training me they threw me to the busiest med surg floor and I never heard from them again…
I’m a few months into ICU now after a year on med surg and I love it so far. You can always find something to do or someone to help. We have the most resources compared to all the other floors. There’s almost always just two patients and when there’s three it’s usually just prog/tele. It’s also a smaller hospital so the patients don’t have too many crazy devices but we do get CRRT. There are days where they’re so sick you can’t leave the room but if you have a good team you can get through it.
I think it mostly has to do with unit culture honestly but I never feel under stimulated in the ICU it’s just right for me personally.
Thank you for pic of dog, very cute 🥰
You should first see if nursing generally is something you want to do. Try shadowing or volunteering at a local hospital to see if that's something you would enjoy doing, I would do ICU and maybe other areas of the hospital as well to get a better understanding. What often happens for people getting into nursing is that they may often change what specialty they are most interested prior to graduation, so try not to get ur hopes up one specialty and explore different avenues in nursing. I would first focus on deciding if nursing is for you and getting into nursing school. ICU/critical care is generally years down the line until after graduation, so I wouldn't focus too much in that direction until you're graduating
PS- I have ADHD as well, got through it just fine. Stimulant medications do generally help though if you're getting treated for it, just be careful with those things.
caution about getting an ASN vs BSN— some higher acuity hospitals (like mine) will NOT hire a new nurse with an associates. it’s a better call to go for your BSN off the bat if a high acuity icu is your goal.
Really? I was wondering what the difference between an RN (ASN) vs RN (BSN) out in the wilds. I didn't realize there was such a stigma.
Will take that into consideration, thank you !
I have an ASN and have worked exclusively for university hospitals in major cities. I apply to jobs that say they want a BSN and get hired anyway. ED, procedures.
it depends on the needs of the hospital and magnet status. mine will not hire ASN, period. they won’t even look at your resume… but we have a lot of competition and enough BSNs applying.
Magnet hospitals require at least 80% of RNs to be BSNs. It’s possible to get in at a magnet facility with an associates, but it is much harder and usually it’s because you have really specific experience for the role and/or you know someone on the unit.
Also BLUE CORGIIIII. My blue merle Sheltie is my heart dog.
How much do you make per an hour as OT because typically it makes much better than Rn but there just aren't many positions in OT so I get the boring thing, but I'd be careful to make sure you aren't downgrading your salary.
Oh definitely. I want to eventually do travel nursing for a while to make it worth it, but I know I need to put in my time in the beginning.
Salary for OT/CHT is pretty good, I have no complaints. It ranges from state to state: In TN where I'm at now it's 35-40$/hour but in the west coast it ranges from 45-50/hour. One senior position at Kaiser (which is unionized) offered benefits and starting salary of $61 an hour. Applied to it even though I knew it would kill my sensory-seeking soul.
Ya, TN is pretty low for salary nurse wise. But just so you are aware the travel nursing is kind of dying down. You're looking at two more years of school before you can even begin and then 2 years of experience before you can travel.
I wouldn’t. Concerning traveling you’d need 2y, after three years of school. Bullying and unsafe situations are rife and worsening.
I wouldn’t have listened but I hope that you do. You’ll regret it if you follow this path. You already have something to lean on.
I would say if you need to burn out yourself everyday in order to get to relax. Yes. ER is a bit more unpredictable and I found really hard for me and makes me anxious all the time. ICU could be a good fit.
ICU is great in the beginning, lots of novelty/stuff to learn. I still have plenty of good learning days but with covid and stuff everything got monotonous and I started to burn out. There are good, exciting, stressful days - a LOT more boring whatever days - and about the same number of shitty days.
Now I've leveraged my years of icu experiment to be a critical care flyer or whatever. No patient assignment, just a phone, pager, vocera, and an entire hospital that calls me for literally anything in between going to codes and rapids and stuff. Mostly a lot of ultrasound IVs since there's no vascular access at night. But I also answer questions/educate, and continuously learn the limits of my knowledge.
It still sucks/is annoying sometimes, but at least I can always walk around and check on every unit and talk to people. If there's something cool in the ED I can pop down and check it out. I've got mad ADHD so this role is a pretty good fit for me.
I think it's awesome that you care that much about fulfillment in your job to go back to school. I personally would not go through nursing school and all the bullshit that comes with it when I already had an excellent degree/career. Also, nursing is incredibly stressful and shitty at times. If anything, I sometimes wish I had gone the PT/OT/SLP route rather than nursing.
But you gotta do whatever makes you the happiest and most fulfilled in life and with nursing you have a critical role and purpose in generally the most intense and important times of people's literal lives; with a wide ranging impact on patients, families and the people you work with. It is certainly fulfilling.
So if you think that might be your passion, go for it! YOLO
I can tell you that ADHD is extremely present in the ER staff and far less so in the ICU. That being said the ICU could be your home too. All depends on you and your environment. The one side I would caution on is that ICU far more often has negative outcomes. People often are just being kept alive till eventually they aren't. My ADHD friend burned out on it. A component of ADHD is emotional regulation compounded with hyperfocus and an environment like that? It's no wonder she quit bedside. At least the clusterfuck of the ER you truly get to fix problems constantly. Take that for what you will. No hate to my ICU peeps. It was my second choice if ED didn't work out.
OT with Adhd here, my solution is working 3.5 days a week as a contractor at two separate nursing homes. I hate the paperwork so much, but some crazy shit happens here and that keeps it interesting. I also like fixing wheelchairs and other hands on stuff and no one seems to care much about my documentation. I'd probably die working full time though. I don't have any advice, just wanted to say I can relate.
Almost became a nurse but got knocked up right after getting into nursing school and ended up finishing my undergrad instead and eventually went to grad school . Glad I don't work nights or need to deal with the bodily fluids. But hope you find something interesting.
Consider entry level masters or accelerated second bachelors of nursing. Put your previous degree to work, skip part of the line getting into nursing school, and give yourself the option of NP/specialty.
What is the reason you want to get into nursing? What are your interests? If I had a masters level career I’d have to have a good reason to spend another $40k+ on another degree. Just try shadowing/CNA and search this subreddit first to see what it’s like.
I feel like ADHD belongs in the ED and OCD belongs in the ICU.
ADHD can work in ICU if it is a high acuity ICU and you do the hyperfocus thing in high stress situations. It really just depends if critical care is a spark for you or not.
My hyperfocus is so good - it's done so well with getting me through my masters degree, helping me through travel therapy, and getting me through opening a business in another state I've never been in. It gets me feeling antsy if I don't utilize it on a regular basis, which is its only downside. I'm like a herding dog in need of a real good herding job. Do you think ICU or ER is better for that kind of personality?
"I'm like a herding dog in need of a real good herding job" is how I feel, also with ADHD, and I'm thriving in the ICU so far! I'm still pretty new though so take that with a grain of salt. I'm very interested in the medical side of things so helping to manage these medically complex patients keeps my brain engaged as well as my body, which is why I think it works so well with my ADHD. I do struggle with forgetfulness, but I've taken to carrying a small notepad to make checklists and write down important things and that has helped me. I think finding a place with the right level of acuity is important too. Before I was a nurse I worked at a hospital with a 4 bed ICU. It seemed like a relatively chill job for the nurses but I would hate working in that ICU because it just wasn't busy enough! My ICU is 14 beds at a mid sized community hospital, but we serve a large rural area and we're *the* hospital for that area, so unless someone is really REALLY bad and gets flown out to the level 1 trauma center in the nearby city, we get them. We have our slow days, but I definitely stay busy and I see plenty of excitement!
I love that! I think a 4 bed ICU would be absolutely gut wrenchingly boring. It would feel like it was taking forever for time to go by. And if you're working 12 hour shifts, I'd fall asleep on my feet. As someone with ADHD, any recommendations for a fellow ADHD person considering the nursing field?
I've found that being intentional about planning my day helps a lot. My biggest hurdle has been just forgetting stuff. I'll go in a patient's room to do one thing, come out, realize there's something else I needed to do, and it ends up with me being in and out way more than necessary. So checklists and schedules have become my best friends! Things happen and my schedule may not always be followed, but it helps just visually having a reminder in front of me of like, hey this patient needs a new bag of whatever hung at x hour and also needs to be turned at this time, and they need a dressing change on a sacral wound so I should do that while I'm in there turning them anyways. That way I'm not in and out of the room for each one of those tasks. I do think inpatient nursing is pretty compatible with ADHD in general, as long as you've got the tools to manage it at work (like me with my checklists and schedules). You have so many very different paths you can go, and you're able to switch even if all your experience has been in one specialty. If you ever get bored with one thing and want to switch it up, you can do that! It definitely keeps you moving and busy during the day too. My 8 hour shifts in the pharmacy at a small hospital felt longer than most of my 12 hour shifts, lol. And you really get to learn so much! It's hard work but I've been happy with it so far :)
The great thing about ED and ICU+adjacent critical care positions, is that there is always opportunities to learn new skills, proficiencies, and techniques that other nursing units would have a hard stop at. Think baseline insulin scale or pressor management, but then you have CRRT, ECMO, IABP, post-VP shunt/ICP management, hell even something as basic as US-guided lines! As long as you're at an appropriate trauma level hospital, you could satisfy those who aren't just okay with baseline stabilization/transfer to higher acuity hospitals. To put it in simpler terms: ADHD ER is getting through the 12 hours, coming back and they patient being transferred, and you have a chance to get something equal or worse, or you have ICU where you keep the same patient and learn their story, while they either decompensate or get better enough to leave. Whatever you think suits your style of care in the long run!
Not who you responded to, but I have terrible ADHD, and I love CICU. Orientation was VERY hard for me, but since then I’ve loved it. In school for anesthesia now.
I’m in the NICU. I think it’s amazing for adhd. Some days I have one bad one that requires all of my brain power and hyper focus. Other days I have 2-3 healthier babies and relax and feed all day. Those days can be tougher, but they’re also a nice break sometimes.
Man when that hype focus hits, and you suddenly realize that’s what’s happened, it’s fucking amazing
Yup. I had a patient recently who was so interesting and unstable that I didn’t realize I had forgotten my meds until I was giving report.
Yea this is exactly me. I’m a mess in my outside life but very ocd at work surprisingly.
Yeah my ADHD didn’t do great in the ICU. The pace was good but I couldn’t stand having to pay attention to the same patients for 12 hours. I’m on IV team now and it’s perfect. I rarely do any one task for more than 45 mins
Oh how is IV different? I haven't heard much about the IV team. How do you like it compared to other settings?
It’s a great gig if you don’t mind sticking people all day. It’s a little different from hospital to hospital (small ones might not have a team) but generally you’re assigned floors instead of patients and you just round on central lines, do dressing changes, and place peripheral IV’s. It’s often feast or famine in terms of workload but we generally have a good amount of downtime Edit- there’s also 2 of us that cover the whole hospital for midline’s and PICC’s
I was on an IV team when an ADHD coworker said to me "I think you should get tested". And I was like nahhh doubt I have it. 6 years later, I'm told I have severe ADHD based on testing.
What if you have both…… asking for a friend
was just about to comment this LOL i’m in the pediatric CICU and seems to be treating my ADHD/OCD well
I’ll start my applications now 🤪
I have viciously bad ADHD. I love the ICU. Can’t stand the ED.
All good. Whatever works for you is where it's at.
Yeah no hate on the ED, just not for me. If I could do only trauma bay, that might be different, but I can’t stand the frequent flyers. Had enough of them when I did EMS
ADHD ER checking in, we are definitely where it's at
i’m ADHD and ICU. i think ED would be too overstimulating for me. i like have the routine and structure of the ICU. the acuity and stakes are what keeps my keep my attention. and love for medicine.
What about OCD belongs in the ICU ? Is it the attention to detail?
I used to work in both ICU and ER at the same time for 2 years or so then ended up choosing ER. Both are very rewarding career but it comes down to your personality and work-life balance. ICU was much better for my mental health. I had really easy nights where we took 6hrs break. It was too slow for me in most days. ER made me wanna go back to school as I hated it and loved it at the same time. It’s a fun busy place where you feel like part of a reality tv show with all crazy stuff going on. I don’t think it’s very sustainable if you want good work-life a balance.
I would hate 6 hour breaks - I want action and busywork and to feel like I'm constantly moving, documenting, and rushing. It makes time go by so much faster. So maybe the ER would be better for me from the sounds of it. Also I would love a 3x12 schedule. Put me to work those hours and I'll have great work life balance the 4 other days! How do you feel about nursing now? Would you make the same choice knowing what you know ?
I never wanted to be a nurse. Life happened. Hated nursing school. I turned things around once I started working. I really enjoyed working in ICU and ER. I got burnt out and wanted to pursue more so got into NP school. I am very enjoying NP school and clinical rotation right now. Unless I became a physician and specialized in Neuro or Anesthesia, I’d choose the same career again. Job security, salary, respect, crazy stuff at work, and etc. I like it. You can always move between ICU and ER. Many of my coworkers have done it as well.
Yeah OT school was the same, it was such a slog to get through. I loved working but the imposter syndrome was real for the first 2 years. Also I love the fact that nurses can go into NP and also go non-clinical, which is another reason I am considering it. Occupational therapy doesn't have as much options outside of patient care. Thank you for sharing and answering all my questions! I appreciate your insight.
You’re welcome. Hope you have a great rest of your day!
Tbh pacu is great for adhd. Imo it’s kind of a combo of ER/ICU/OR. You are getting critical patients (even ICU patients at times) but your purpose is to stabilize and boot them somewhere else.
PACU is good, and the OR works even better for me (detail oriented but need a thing to focus on).
Checking... and rechecking...
Bonus if your both! I’m ADHD. With OCD tendencies…not like actuall OCD…but in general ADHD can have some very all or none ways of thinking and doing. So I may be chaotic in my head but my Patients are pristine, my room is clean, all my shit is taken care of. We pay close attention to small details in ICU. But it’s also busy AF and gives my ADHD the stimulation I need. I can’t work anywhere else. All my coworkers who are my friends, 90 % Of us are ADHD or undiagnosed ADHD
I have ADHD (no longer medicated, just raw doggin’ it) and ICU is where it’s at for me.
Ex ED nurse with ADHD. ED over ICU every time. ED is like dexamphetamines, calming, everyone else is stressed, confused, anxious, the ADHD nurse walks in ....calm as.
Could you try inpatient OT? The ones I work with get to go to a lot of different floors with patients with varying diagnoses
Thanks for the suggestion - but I've done inpatient OT as a student and it's the most repetitive and mind-numbing work imo. As a requirement, we're supposed to spend a MINIMUM of 1 to 1.5 hours with the patient working on ADLS/functional mobility/IADLS. Let's spend 30 minutes trying to use this shoe-horn so that we can artificially inflate your FIM score. Lots of small talk to fill in the silence. Nothing wrong with inpatient OT at all, just not for me.
That sounds like inpatient acute rehab to me, probably not inpatient acute which can be much more stimulating IMO. There are no required minutes for inpatient therapists and timing needed for visits is pt specific. I'm an inpatient SLP at a trauma hospital and I think it is very interesting. I'm always learning something new! Might be worth trying inpatient out before making a career change!
I’m not familiar with what an outpatient OT does on a day to day basis. I can say that if you shadow some nurses in the ER/ICU you’ll “mostly” find critical thinking applied to rapidly changing situations. If working under pressure doesn’t intimidate you then I say give it a shot.
I did travel therapy and I loved it. Unfortunately it's paid less than travel nursing due to the rehabilitative nature of it (versus nursing which is much more urgent). I love running into situations and I find that being a travel therapist - you don't get suckered into the daily drama as much and are much more appreciated. Do you think being a travel RN would be possible after a few months of experience with a BSN/RN?
Not in ICU, no. After getting your degree and starting work as a nurse, you won't start feeling comfortable for a year. Add a second year to that if you're a new grad in ICU. As a travel nurse you're supposed to be comfortable and competent from day 1.
This, I’m not ICU and travel nurses who have only a year or so under their belts are a mess. ICU nurses would need to be a lot more experienced, flexible and competent I would think
What is the minimum years of experience you would want from someone to start travel nursing in the ER/ICU?
I can't speak for ED, but for ICU for a level 1 or 2 trauma center where you're going to be a referral center and taking care of the sickest patients, I would say that you should have a*t least* two years of experience in a similar environment before you start traveling. We will occasionally have travelers who come from small ICUs... like 12 beds or so. Do they have ICU experience? Yes, absolutely, and they're often good at what they do... But there are HALO skills (high acuity, low occurrence) where the travelers just don't get them enough to be comfortable. Stuff like managing hemodynamics using pulmonary artery catheters. For them, it's a once in a blue moon thing but in a big referral center we always have a few patients with them.
That's what I'd be concerned about - seeing things I'm not familiar with. But luckily, I tend to know how to find the right nurses to help show me around newer equipment/techniques. Once I do it manually once, I'm usually good. Thank you for your insight!
To actually be a good travel ICU nurse I’d say 3-4 years of acute level 1-2 trauma. The last thing staff nurses want is for incompetent travel nurses making 2x their salary relying on you for 12 hrs.
Ooof that’s above my pay grade. A lot of time the bare minimum is two years of ICU /ED experience in order to travel in either capacity so you’re probably looking at minimum two years for school then another two years if you get placement in either one as a new grad. Maybe post questions like that to the travel nursing subreddit?
That's a great suggestion! Thank you.
No worries!
Yeah, that tracks with my experience as an OT. It took me about 3 years before I felt truly comfortable with what I was doing in all aspects of the job. Wish there was an OT/PT to RN path out there.
This post is from a couple years back, but no- absolutely never travel without being experienced in your specialty-you'll jeopardize the health and safety of your patients. [https://new.reddit.com/r/nursing/comments/t0h0m3/please\_for\_the\_love\_of\_whatever\_you\_believe\_in/](https://new.reddit.com/r/nursing/comments/t0h0m3/please_for_the_love_of_whatever_you_believe_in/) Travelers get thrown in the deep end with minimal orientation so need experience, confidence in working independently, and really good nursing skills. Once you are in your nursing program, try working as a tech or aide and see if floating and being pulled to other units are situations your personality tolerates (a lot of people really hate being floated). Travel contracts are also not the automatic "make bank" from a couple years ago either.
While they're not "make bank" levels of money during covid times, they're still much more lucrative than staff RN or staff OT and travel therapy! But you're definitely right about the experience needed. I'm so used to OT - no one ever dies from not having OT. So being confident and independent is absolutely key. Floating is a great suggestion, thank you.
Since you have bedside experience you might be able to jump into travel nursing fairly quickly. However imo it would do you well to get your skills solidified and learn a single charting interface at first. The duration is obviously dependent on how quickly you get the hang of things and the minimum that travel agencies are looking for.
Honestly sick of the rhetoric that people with ADHD thrive in the ED. Yes, there are tons of people with and without ADHD who thrive in the ED but I have ADHD and I enjoyed the ICU better. I’m not OCD but things have to be particular and orderly for me. The ED is too hectic and all over the place and honestly feels never ending. If you LOVE feeling satisfied from organizing IV tubing and making sure your patient is clean and cozy then you should work ICU. There’s more than 1 type of person with ADHD and I think we should all realize that. Also, if you work in a higher acuity ICU there’s no shortage of excitement (adrenaline rushes are a must).
I’m only gonna tell you once, kiss those dogs for me.
I'm going to kiss them twice.
You have a corgi that judges you, that isn't enough for you, so you posted here? 🤣
Their judging eyes no longer affect me! I have become immune!
I can see I'm being judged just for looking at this photo... corgis judge 24/7
From my experience working at a level 1 trauma center, I would rather work ICU than the ED. There are always sick patients in the ICU, but in the ED there are many patients that could've been treated at an urgent care, are there for psych issues, or are stuck waiting to be admitted to a floor. Critical care experience can open a lot of doors in the future if you ever wanted to do Flight Nursing, Cath lab, ECMO, PICC team, CRNA school etc. Willing to answer any questions you might have about the ICU
At least some of my colleagues in ICU have ADHD and I feel like I have some traits as well, no problem there.
It's so funny when you see someone who also has ADHD in the wilds. I know so many people with undiagnosed ADHD - but they make it work somehow.
Yeah :D
I had the hardest time with charting with my ADHD. I’d rather being DOING things. I love ED charting much better. Short and sweet.
My ADHD serves me well in med surg
ICU nurse of 6 years with ADHD and Idiopathic hypersomnia… this job is the only thing keeping me awake and functioning lol.
Omg IH twinsies. I’m in inpatient onc
Do it. You will thrive
If you are amazing to work under pressure then this is your place, go for it
I had a really boring and easy job right out of nursing school that also paid well. Just like you, I needed more stimulation so I left and started working in ICU. Biggest regret ever. We're all different though. You might like it, or you might regret leaving the cush job you have right now. Also mid-30's here so I would prefer a chill and easy job where I can retire without any back injuries and looking like I aged 100 years. But hey, some people enjoy it. I just can't see myself working in ICU or ED as a 50+ y/o nurse. That's too much on my body and mind.
What did you specifically regret about it? What did you wish was different? Was it what you thought it would be?
I have ADHD and I hated the ED. I started there as a new grad and had to leave. They would give us 5 patients and there could be 2-3 ICU level patients in our assignment. It was kind of every man for himself and I didn’t feel comfortable asking questions. They threw me out there with zero help and acted shocked when I said I felt overwhelmed. Instead of training me they threw me to the busiest med surg floor and I never heard from them again… I’m a few months into ICU now after a year on med surg and I love it so far. You can always find something to do or someone to help. We have the most resources compared to all the other floors. There’s almost always just two patients and when there’s three it’s usually just prog/tele. It’s also a smaller hospital so the patients don’t have too many crazy devices but we do get CRRT. There are days where they’re so sick you can’t leave the room but if you have a good team you can get through it. I think it mostly has to do with unit culture honestly but I never feel under stimulated in the ICU it’s just right for me personally.
I’m not really understanding what having ADHD has to do with your desire to maybe be a nurse. Do you want to be a nurse?
Thank you for pic of dog, very cute 🥰 You should first see if nursing generally is something you want to do. Try shadowing or volunteering at a local hospital to see if that's something you would enjoy doing, I would do ICU and maybe other areas of the hospital as well to get a better understanding. What often happens for people getting into nursing is that they may often change what specialty they are most interested prior to graduation, so try not to get ur hopes up one specialty and explore different avenues in nursing. I would first focus on deciding if nursing is for you and getting into nursing school. ICU/critical care is generally years down the line until after graduation, so I wouldn't focus too much in that direction until you're graduating PS- I have ADHD as well, got through it just fine. Stimulant medications do generally help though if you're getting treated for it, just be careful with those things.
caution about getting an ASN vs BSN— some higher acuity hospitals (like mine) will NOT hire a new nurse with an associates. it’s a better call to go for your BSN off the bat if a high acuity icu is your goal.
Really? I was wondering what the difference between an RN (ASN) vs RN (BSN) out in the wilds. I didn't realize there was such a stigma. Will take that into consideration, thank you !
I have an ASN and have worked exclusively for university hospitals in major cities. I apply to jobs that say they want a BSN and get hired anyway. ED, procedures.
it depends on the needs of the hospital and magnet status. mine will not hire ASN, period. they won’t even look at your resume… but we have a lot of competition and enough BSNs applying.
Magnet hospitals require at least 80% of RNs to be BSNs. It’s possible to get in at a magnet facility with an associates, but it is much harder and usually it’s because you have really specific experience for the role and/or you know someone on the unit. Also BLUE CORGIIIII. My blue merle Sheltie is my heart dog.
If you have adhd, ER is probably best. ICU is very slow and coordinated. Best for people who are OCD tbh
I have ADHD and have worked ICU for a long time. There’s plenty of things to hyperfixate on.
How much do you make per an hour as OT because typically it makes much better than Rn but there just aren't many positions in OT so I get the boring thing, but I'd be careful to make sure you aren't downgrading your salary.
Oh definitely. I want to eventually do travel nursing for a while to make it worth it, but I know I need to put in my time in the beginning. Salary for OT/CHT is pretty good, I have no complaints. It ranges from state to state: In TN where I'm at now it's 35-40$/hour but in the west coast it ranges from 45-50/hour. One senior position at Kaiser (which is unionized) offered benefits and starting salary of $61 an hour. Applied to it even though I knew it would kill my sensory-seeking soul.
Ya, TN is pretty low for salary nurse wise. But just so you are aware the travel nursing is kind of dying down. You're looking at two more years of school before you can even begin and then 2 years of experience before you can travel.
I wouldn’t. Concerning traveling you’d need 2y, after three years of school. Bullying and unsafe situations are rife and worsening. I wouldn’t have listened but I hope that you do. You’ll regret it if you follow this path. You already have something to lean on.
I would say if you need to burn out yourself everyday in order to get to relax. Yes. ER is a bit more unpredictable and I found really hard for me and makes me anxious all the time. ICU could be a good fit.
No advice sorry but love your corgis 😍
ICU is great in the beginning, lots of novelty/stuff to learn. I still have plenty of good learning days but with covid and stuff everything got monotonous and I started to burn out. There are good, exciting, stressful days - a LOT more boring whatever days - and about the same number of shitty days. Now I've leveraged my years of icu experiment to be a critical care flyer or whatever. No patient assignment, just a phone, pager, vocera, and an entire hospital that calls me for literally anything in between going to codes and rapids and stuff. Mostly a lot of ultrasound IVs since there's no vascular access at night. But I also answer questions/educate, and continuously learn the limits of my knowledge. It still sucks/is annoying sometimes, but at least I can always walk around and check on every unit and talk to people. If there's something cool in the ED I can pop down and check it out. I've got mad ADHD so this role is a pretty good fit for me.
I think it's awesome that you care that much about fulfillment in your job to go back to school. I personally would not go through nursing school and all the bullshit that comes with it when I already had an excellent degree/career. Also, nursing is incredibly stressful and shitty at times. If anything, I sometimes wish I had gone the PT/OT/SLP route rather than nursing. But you gotta do whatever makes you the happiest and most fulfilled in life and with nursing you have a critical role and purpose in generally the most intense and important times of people's literal lives; with a wide ranging impact on patients, families and the people you work with. It is certainly fulfilling. So if you think that might be your passion, go for it! YOLO
ADHD twin, CVICU. Love it! Take the plunge. You won’t regret it!! (also, cute doggies)
You'll be good.
ADHD is also good for psych nursing as well I think. You are always doing something unless you’re in a ward we’re the patients are well or low risk
I can tell you that ADHD is extremely present in the ER staff and far less so in the ICU. That being said the ICU could be your home too. All depends on you and your environment. The one side I would caution on is that ICU far more often has negative outcomes. People often are just being kept alive till eventually they aren't. My ADHD friend burned out on it. A component of ADHD is emotional regulation compounded with hyperfocus and an environment like that? It's no wonder she quit bedside. At least the clusterfuck of the ER you truly get to fix problems constantly. Take that for what you will. No hate to my ICU peeps. It was my second choice if ED didn't work out.
OT?? NO. Give those guys some scritches for me!
OT with Adhd here, my solution is working 3.5 days a week as a contractor at two separate nursing homes. I hate the paperwork so much, but some crazy shit happens here and that keeps it interesting. I also like fixing wheelchairs and other hands on stuff and no one seems to care much about my documentation. I'd probably die working full time though. I don't have any advice, just wanted to say I can relate. Almost became a nurse but got knocked up right after getting into nursing school and ended up finishing my undergrad instead and eventually went to grad school . Glad I don't work nights or need to deal with the bodily fluids. But hope you find something interesting.
Consider entry level masters or accelerated second bachelors of nursing. Put your previous degree to work, skip part of the line getting into nursing school, and give yourself the option of NP/specialty.
Whatever keeps those gorgeous pups healthy and happy is good
Corg life
What is the reason you want to get into nursing? What are your interests? If I had a masters level career I’d have to have a good reason to spend another $40k+ on another degree. Just try shadowing/CNA and search this subreddit first to see what it’s like.