8 Tips For How To Thrive As A Nurse With ADHD

ADHD shows up differently in men and women, and women are often diagnosed late or not at all. That delay matters most in fields where women dominate the workforce, and nursing is one of them: in 2021, 82.5% of nurses were women.

ADHD brings real challenges, but it also tends to come with strengths: high empathy, spontaneity, courage, and the ability to hyperfocus when something clicks.

Molly Foss is a registered nurse at a level 1 trauma center, diagnosed with ADHD at 29. She didn't go straight into nursing out of high school because the work intimidated her. "When I realized what I'd chosen wasn't working, I was very intimidated to go back to school," she says. "I finally realized it's all just a series of small steps."

Knowing yourself comes first

Strategies only work once you understand your own limits and needs, which may look different from other people's ADHD. For Foss, medication is the foundation. "Taking my medication is like putting on my glasses in the morning," she says. "Everything goes from foggy and blurry to clear and obvious."

Medication helps, but the daily systems are what keep you steady. Foss built an assignment sheet with tick boxes for everything she tracks during a shift. "More neurotypical people make their sheet on a blank piece of paper, because their brain is more organized," she says. "Mine isn't, which is why my report sheet needs a spot for everything."

8 tips for nursing students and nurses with ADHD

Use these on their own or in combination. They may also spark a system of your own.

1. Use flashcards

Repetitive, consistent exposure helps retention, and flashcards let you test yourself almost anywhere. Movement helps your brain engage, so run through cards while eating, walking, or playing a game.

2. Change your environment

Studying in one spot for hours is hard with ADHD. Move your study space every hour or two, and don't limit it to the library or home. A coffee shop, a park, a student lounge: anywhere you can sit and focus is fair game.

3. Ask for accommodations

Contact your school's office for students with disabilities. With documentation of your diagnosis, you can access accommodations that make a real difference. "One of the students in my class could take tests in a quiet room so they wouldn't be distracted," Foss says.

4. Seek out resources

Build a library that helps you understand and work with ADHD. Foss recommends ADDitude magazine, which is full of tips and stories for adults with ADHD. Dr. Gabor Maté, who has ADHD himself, wrote "Scattered," which digs into where ADHD comes from and how to reduce its impact.

5. Try the Pomodoro Technique

This one fits a short attention span. Work for 25 minutes, take a 5 minute break, and after the fourth round take a longer 15 to 30 minute break. You can shorten the work block to match your focus, just don't stretch it past 30 minutes.

6. Build your own structure

The freedom of college can be a trap when you have ADHD. Create your own structure for studying and set up an accountability system so you aren't going it alone. Build in downtime and recreation too. Keep a notepad or your phone handy to capture stray thoughts as they pop up, then deal with them later instead of derailing what you're doing.

7. Prioritize treatment

You can't care for patients, family, or yourself if you don't care for yourself first. Many people with ADHD find medication calms the mind and sharpens focus, and stimulants often help people function calmly and sleep better. Cognitive behavioral therapy and environment changes ease symptoms too. Set an alarm to take medication on time, stick to your coping strategies, and connect with others who have ADHD.

8. Practice flexibility and self-compassion

No one runs at full output all day. When you're hyperfocused and productive, point that energy at the work that needs the most brainpower. When focus runs dry, ease off and do something lighter, like making flashcards. Work with the flow of your attention, not against it.

Seeking a diagnosis

Foss saw her doctor after a classmate with the same struggles was diagnosed. The diagnosis lifted a weight. Her symptoms still vary day to day. "Sometimes I can multitask like a pro; other times I forget the warm blanket I promised a patient," she says.

She's also found that ADHD gives her real advantages at work. She's comfortable deviating from a fixed plan, so she's the nurse coworkers come to for a workaround when supplies run out. Her managers noticed: the education department schedules her to cover staff when three rounds of training land in one shift. "I can go with the flow and rotate between three assignments better than others can," she says.

How ADHD shows up in adults

ADHD looks different in adults than in children, and adults who weren't diagnosed young may never seek support at work or school. Up to 5% of adults have ADHD, and that figure is likely underreported. Common traits include:

• Trouble holding general focus
• Hyperfocus on details
• Poor impulse control
• Poor time management
• Inattention
• Heightened empathy and intense emotions
• Hyperactivity
• Executive dysfunction

There's no single test for ADHD. It has three presentations: primarily inattentive, primarily hyperactive, or combined. Of the nine inattentive and nine hyperactive symptoms, an adult must show at least five across multiple settings to be diagnosed.

The best treatment usually combines several approaches, and the right mix varies by person: medication, behavioral therapy, exercise, nutrition, supplements, and stress reduction.

Finding what works for you is the first step to thriving as a nurse with ADHD. As Foss puts it: "Right out of high school, I told people I wasn't going to a university because I didn't have a four-year attention span. Now I have two two-year degrees and my BSN. Take the first step, even if it's scary."