Will a New Diagnises of ADHD affect my career opportunities?

[srna1993]

I am currently in school to be a CRNA and I am worried that a medical diagnosis of ADHD may complicate things in terms of obtaining a license and finding employment. (i know airline pilots cant have adhd) Has anyone run into complications with this or know someone who has dealt with this?

[quietlylost]

You aren't required to disclose your diagnoses as part of licensing. I'm a clinical social worker and my diagnoses haven't been shared. Even if they were, you should receive protections under the ADA as well as normal workplace HR and non-discrimination policies.

You can choose to share your diagnosis with your employers if you feel it will be helpful. But sometimes them knowing can do more harm than good as many don't understand what it is and will just assume that ADHD means "lazy" or "unreliable."

A mental health diagnosis comes into play if you've ever been committed to a hospital by a court or if you are pursuing a certain level of security clearance withing the government/military or other organizations. You should be fine.