Nearly 3 months ago, I was called into the "office" at work, and told that I am not performing to my full potential for the following reasons:

*Teeny attention span
*Frequently "zoning out"
*Irritability
*Forgetting even the easiest instructions

That was just a small sample of the list.

The problem is... I am training to do a job that relies on my undivided attention, I have to be accountble for everything I do and I cannot afford to make mistakes. In short, I am a student midwife and 100% effective and safe care for patients is essential.

I was told to take 6 months to "sort myself out" or to get out basically. So, here I am 3 months into the "sorting out of myself" and I am now told I have ADHD and I have been prescribed Ritalin which will be changed to Celexa soon.

I just want to know if there is any hope for me. Will the drugs help me enough to be able to combat the symptoms mentioned above so I can do the job effectively? I am passionate about midwifery, therefore I know how IMPORTANT it is that my ladies are as safe as possible. I just want to be normal enough to make my giving safe, high standard care a reality. Can this be done?

Any opinions greatfully received ... :)

Meds do help a lot of us. I haven't tried any though, but they're said to be effective in 70-80 % of people with ADHD.

If they will be working for you and if they will be enough to let you do your job as you want to do it is very hard to tell. You'd have to try them to know if these problems lessened enough.

On a side note: Do you have to keep all instructions in your head? Being allowed to write down instructions could also be helpful.

Gosh.. I really hope that I am not one of the 20/30 % who the meds do not help. I guess I should not worry about it right now until I know what the meds do for me.

I do tend to keep lists and stuff, just so I know what I am doing and keep in a routine, and so things do not get forgotten, but with midwifery, you can't really be seen to need to take notes everywhere, especially in a hospital setting where you are expected to be sharp witted and know ALL the drills and protocols off by heart.. I wish I could take notes and lists in a room with me when I was looking after a lady who was aboutto deliver her baby :S Bottom line is.. I NEED to remember stuff... ohhhhhhhh.. how will I ever do that my brain is like a sieve. Thanks for the suggestion though .. I will write a few things down in my note book when I go back after my keave and try to be discreet, over time I will probably end up doing all the stuff I can' do on autopilot :)

ADDers are often bad at learning things in a training situation, but get really switched on once they are working in a real job with real issues and real problems. So don't get discouraged if it's a struggle to get through the training. Just try your best and get through it. I'm sure you'll be a good midwife if you can get through what you have to do now.
ADDers are great in crisis-type jobs too. If I was giving birth and there was some kind of problem I'd rather have an ADD mid-wife hyperfocussing on me than someone who didn't really give one...good luck!