Does someone on ADHD or ASD could be doctor or paramedic?

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pawelk1986
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21 Mar 2021, 9:27 am

I do not have ADHD only ASD once called Asperger's Syndrome, one of Polish forum I talked with one person that works as Paramedic here in Poland, he said that suprisly high people with his condition ADHD works as a paramedic or trauma doctors worldwide, we talked in context of The Good Doctor American medical tv drama that was actually based on Korean one, i wonder does someone on ASD could be doctor or any other medical profession



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Barbotine
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21 Mar 2021, 2:42 pm

The answer is yes, yes we can :)



Juliette
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21 Mar 2021, 3:08 pm

Absolutely! There are several Doctors(in my family ... AS) who have had illustrious careers, as well as a friend from High School who is now a paramedic.



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21 Mar 2021, 4:43 pm

Yes

The general ability to focus on detail and the matter in hand is a positive asset


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pawelk1986
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21 Mar 2021, 5:04 pm

Velorum wrote:
Yes

The general ability to focus on detail and the matter in hand is a positive asset


As kid, i was initially diagnosed as ADHD until it was changed to Asperger's when i was 17 years old or so, my mum send my every year to a special summer/winter camp for kids with behavioural problems aimed for kids with ADHD and Autism Spectrum, Turret Syndrome, Down Syndrome etc.


For my parents very positive aspect it was almost totally free because it was financed by the Polish National Health Found, a bit like the British NHS :P


I had a lot of weird friends there :lol:

Recently about two years ago I asked a psychiatrist to prescribe me Adderall because I have a problem with mental focus but she refused she said it's a drug for ADHD/ADD not for Asperger's Syndrome ASD and I did not have ADHD only very mild ASD. I said that I read that loot of people in the United States use it's for Asperger's but she said that that American use loot of pharmaceuticals completely needlessly while here in the EU medical consensus is one more psychotherapeutic approach than pharmaceutical.



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22 Mar 2021, 9:04 pm

One thing about Autism is that it has very many manifestations for many people.
My 21 year old son is diagnosed with ADHD and ASD. He is in college taking classes which are very similar to pre-med classes, and is majoring in biology.
His experience is that he needs to be better at time management and organization - also social anxiety keeps him from asking for the help he needs when he needs it some times.
Classes like Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry require a lot of memorization, so it helps to be organized, take good notes, re-write your notes in ways to make studying and learning more efficient. He is finding this to make his progress much harder than is High School.
Med Schools look very carefully at your grades - especially Organic Chemistry.
My son would like to be a Vet - or at least get a job working in wildlife with skills like a Vet might have.
Some Vet schools are even harder to get into than med schools.
So I would say: Can a person with ADHD or ASD be a doctor or Paramedic? Yes - but you may find some real challenges too.
ADHD often has issues with rote memorization, and ASD often has high co-morbid social anxiety. ADHD meds may affect sleep and worsen anxiety. These things can very specifically impact doing well in the biological sciences at the college or post-grad level.
That being said, there are lots of PhDs with ASD.
The stimulation of working with medical emergencies may be just the thing for someone with ADHD.
so your experience will be your own - it depends.


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IsabellaLinton
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22 Mar 2021, 9:08 pm

Of course they can. My father was a paramedic and almost certainly on the spectrum. My daughter's psychologist is on the spectrum. Many of us have ASD / ADHD and have led professional careers in the sciences, or other high-stress fields.

I was very interested in med school myself, but I knew I wouldn't have the people skills to manage others, especially in a crisis. It depends on a person's overall strengths and weaknesses. I'd assume working as a vet would be less stressful socially, than being a medical doctor.

Good luck to your son!


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23 Mar 2021, 1:12 am

Yes we can. I'm a doctor, but not that type of doctor :lol:



Fenn
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24 Mar 2021, 2:51 pm

This reminds me of a quote from Treasure Planet (sort of a play on on the Star Trek quote)
"I'm a Doctor not a Doctor"
- Doctor Doppler

If you drew a Venn diagram of people on the Spectrum and doctors (or medics) you would find that the intersection is not empty. You would also find that there are people on the Spectrum who are not Doctors and Doctors who are not on the spectrum.

I once read a quote by someone who was an expert on Autism who would go on speaking tours. He said "Whenever I am speaking at a College I like to play a little game called 'Spot the professor who has Asperger's' - unless - I am speaking at an Engineering College - then I like to play a little game called 'Spot the professor who doesn't'."


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27 Mar 2021, 12:38 am

I used to work with a doctor who was almost certainly AS and it was very noticeable.
His knowledge and technical skills were excellent, as was his focus on patient satisfaction.
He had a few quirks which were harmless (maybe he had OCD as well).
I would be very happy to be cared for by him.



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27 Mar 2021, 12:11 pm

Fenn wrote:
One thing about Autism is that it has very many manifestations for many people.
My 21 year old son is diagnosed with ADHD and ASD. He is in college taking classes which are very similar to pre-med classes, and is majoring in biology.
His experience is that he needs to be better at time management and organization - also social anxiety keeps him from asking for the help he needs when he needs it some times.
Classes like Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry require a lot of memorization, so it helps to be organized, take good notes, re-write your notes in ways to make studying and learning more efficient. He is finding this to make his progress much harder than is High School.
Med Schools look very carefully at your grades - especially Organic Chemistry.
My son would like to be a Vet - or at least get a job working in wildlife with skills like a Vet might have.
Some Vet schools are even harder to get into than med schools.
So I would say: Can a person with ADHD or ASD be a doctor or Paramedic? Yes - but you may find some real challenges too.
ADHD often has issues with rote memorization, and ASD often has high co-morbid social anxiety. ADHD meds may affect sleep and worsen anxiety. These things can very specifically impact doing well in the biological sciences at the college or post-grad level.
That being said, there are lots of PhDs with ASD.
The stimulation of working with medical emergencies may be just the thing for someone with ADHD.
so your experience will be your own - it depends.


I can vouch that organic chemistry is a make it or break it class for medical school. They do look at those classes hard because it uses critical thinking skills that are needed in the medical profession. There are many students that will retake an organic class if they have an A- just so they can have an A on their transcript for the application process. Some have mental breakdowns if they earn an A- or an B+ as that ruins their perfect 4.0 that they think they need to have to get in. I can tell you that you do not need a 4.0 GPA to get into most medical schools. You do have to have certain skills that they are looking for though.

I would have went into medicine back in college, but I disagree with the Hippocratic oath one must take. Being bullied in my past, I could not be forced to save those bullies on an operating table. I am being completely honest in saying that I would let them die first. It is part of my dark side that they created within me. So, I went into a science field that does not have that restriction.



Joe90
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27 Mar 2021, 12:55 pm

I personally couldn't be a paramedic because I don't like vomit and I also get too sensitive. If a patient is shouting and abusive, as much as I'd understand why, I'd still probably burst into tears and want to run away. Also I'd be too emotional and panicky.

It happened when I was a cleaner at a care home I used to work at. Residents with dementia could get aggressive, and yes I DID understand exactly how they were feeling and why, and I DID expect that sort of behaviour from dementia/Alzheimer's patients, but I was just too sensitive to deal with it.


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