Unleashing the Power of ADHD Heroes in Healthcare

Dr. DIana Mercado-Marmarosh: Come join me May 1st through the sixth, so that you can rest, rediscover your strengths, reconnect yourself and those physicians like you who are ready to leave, work at work and re-energize. This is the invitation for you. 2023 your year. Join me in Costa Rica in this really amazing, non-judgmental, intimate decision community.

I am gonna show you how to rest and how to recharge. Let's transform your brain up so that you can start to dream the life that you always wanted this year in 2020. I can't wait to learn all about what kind of year you're gonna have after this conference. Take care. Hello. Welcome to Beyond ADHD, a Physician's Perspective.

I am Dr. Diana Mercado-Marmarosh. I'm a family medicine physician practicing in rural Texas. I used to be hindered by my adhd, but I now. See it as a gift that helps me show up as a person. I was always meant to be both in my work and in my personal life. In the past two years, I've come to realize that unlearning some of my beliefs.

And some of my habits were just as important as learning the new set of skills. Hello. Hello. I am so excited about today's topic. It is called Unleashing the Power of A D H D, heroes and Healthcare. It is a topic that is obviously very dear to my heart because. I am one of those A D H D health providers and also I work with a D H D clients who are physicians who are healthcare providers.

I actually use that type of information to apply for a conference in Rome that I got selected to, to go speak about in July. So I'm super excited about that. But anyways, today, We wanna talk about why. I really think when we lean into those healthcare providers or physicians who have adhd, it is so important to do and again, we all know that when we step into a room where the community just gets us, it makes a world of a difference. It's having that real life experience that can really make a difference. Between how you handle whatever you're going through and how the other person handles whatever they're going through.

The A D H D hero has been in the trenches battling their own symptoms coming out on the top, and when they share their real life experience, it just, Becomes obvious that they have superpowers and strategies and they can use this to show others. They too are on a journey. A D H D is a lifelong condition and it can get easier if you know how to deal with it because you understand it firsthand.

I always tell my own patients just because I'm talking to them about it, it doesn't mean like I have all the answers and it doesn't mean I'm a hundred percent. Got it under control because it is a journey. One day you show up fully, a hundred percent charge. Another day you show up. 20% charge based on the task that you're having at hand is how you are going to deal with whatever comes your way.

But having real life experience makes a big difference because you can just almost tell them exactly what they're thinking because it's your brain that is so similar with theirs. But again I also wanna point out that there is a spectrum. So it's not like a hundred percent of everything that I tell you that I'm doing is you're gonna do.

I'm always very careful with that because it. It almost becomes like gaslighting, right? Instead, it's important to ask yourselves what usually works, what doesn't work, so you can start to create some insight with that. I don't know if you're aware or not, but the AMA released a survey in 2016. It actually stated that 30% of US medical students.

Had disclosed that they had H adhd. It is very likely in your healthcare team you have somebody with H adhd. So it's important to point them out if they want to, right? So that they too can relate to each other and come up with a community to support each other. Brain power, like they get to tap into their brain power with their ADHD brain.

These heroes are unique it that they have this unique perspective. And they have obviously a wealth of knowledge about the condition. They can see things from a di different angle and come up with creative solutions. It's so important to not only. Use the brain powers to help educate your patients, but it could also be used to help educate your colleagues and it can also be useful to help modify the current system that might not be supporting them or not supporting the whole flow.

So what do I mean by this? For example, in my practice we, we were the ones responsible for starting our own notes and I suggested what if the nurse or the ma preloads a template and they may be type in one word or one sentence explaining why the patient is there. Now the note is open. You have an easier way to start.

It seems obvious to do something like that, but it was not until one of us suggested it and the rest of the team was like, oh yeah, we should try it. And all of a sudden we weren't missing, not even having started a note on a patient. We could track it easier. So it's just coming up with more solutions and being creative.

And another thing why it's important to have this A D H D superheroes in your team is because. They can help to destigmatize this condition. They can show others how A D H D could be a superpower instead of a weakness. They can help not only the patients, but also the families come to understand.

There's nothing wrong with them, you know that. Just thinking differently and there's, it's like thinking right or left-handed. And so if you're naturally left-handed and you're trying to use your right hand, it's just a little harder to do that task. But when you understand that you are left-handed, then it's easier for you to.

Do something with it. Taking the stigma away from a condition that is genetic that you didn't choose, it makes a world of a difference. For me, this was the realization that finally got me to open up to others. When I was coached in October of 2020 by Sunny Smith and I was told, A D H D is a circumstance.

You get to decide how you want to. What do you wanna make of it? You can decide that it's the best thing in the world, or you can decide it's the worst thing in the world. You can decide it will benefit you or not. Like it's up to you. And she asked me like, how is the diagnosis of A D H D any different from high blood pressure or from cancer or from diabetes?

And in my mind it was, I was trying to make all kinds of justifications. I was, but then I came to realize that A D H D. Like you're born with it and it's probably been there all along, but you were not even aware of it because that was just your norm and. Once you get the diagnosis or once you come to understand that you, this is it, then you can start to work towards understanding it and using it as a superpower and.

Another reason why it's important to have an A D H D superhero in your team is that it can lead to more collaboration. It could lead to better teamwork, not just for you, but also for your patients. Like you can, because you understand it, you're able to. Find more resources for this individual. You're able to get them to the right people, like either a therapist or a coach or explaining to them that, they might.

Have iron deficiency that can make their D H D worse. Or you could look into vitamin D deficiency and that could supplementing, could enhance their A D H D. Or you have awareness that Sometimes P T S D can almost appear like a D H D. So it's important to be aware of these things because then it could help you enhance, be a patient's advocate, but it can also enhance their diagnosis management once you have identified it.

So I really think having an A D H D hero in your team could, can unleash the beauty of this relationship between management, understanding, and treatment that can really change a person's life. Thank you for spending your time with me. I really believe that time is your most valuable. Please subscribe to the podcast, share with your colleagues, and don't forget to check out my website@hdlivecoach.com where you can find out about my upcoming coaching group classes, as well as free master classes and other exciting events that are happening.