Any autistic health care professionals out there?

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I'm just looking to see if there's any other healthcare professionals out there with ASD or aspergers. Be it nurses, physios, OTs, radiographer, doctor's or dietitians. I just want to know how you cope because I am struggling. Need some survival tips or possible other career ideas if you've found something else which suited you better. I'm based in UK working for NHS.

Hopefully I'm not alone

I'm in allied health, full time.

It's no picnic dealing with all different types of people: bosses, colleagues, patients and their relatives/carers. It's also a predominantly NT environment. The latter seems to hit the hardest.

So far I've been doing phlebotomy for 3yrs, the only way I cope is to compartmentalize it. The mask I wear for work is friendly, kind and caring; she gets along with everyone, but doesn't befriend anyone; she flies under the radar, doesn't cause waves, partake in gossip or reveal anything personal. She gets the job done and then goes home... pretty bloody exhausted.

Animal health and welfare was really my niche, sadly it's a career I was forced to leave and can't go back to. Everyone there is a little kooky, but mostly they all care so much about what they do.. I used to blend right in and was so happy.

No, they don't make adjustments. Mostly because I've not disclosed to them. They just think I'm pretty intelligent and that makes me a little odd.

It's sad to hear you're having such a rough time. Have you been in the workforce long?
Years ago, during my first lock ward stay, another patient listened to all my work woes and simply said 'just fake it till you make it'.
It worked. I worked on that basic principle and gained the confidence to quit my crappy job and pursue a career I loved. Promotions and job offers galore.
I still follow the same ethos, but now it's less about 'making it' and more about making do. Compartmentalizing allows me to leave work at work and enjoy my untainted, little world away from it all.

It's been around 3 years. i have been trying to fake it and that's how I've burnt out but nevermind. I had had a rubbish morning after not sleeping. On top of these work woes I've just split up with my boyfriend. I'm missing him a lot and so decided to go out for a walk and to the gym. I've just got in, my friend has rung me going on about being stressed then jumped down my throat for saying I was stressed to and why I'd had such a bad morning myself.

So now I feel poop again. Yes she did have a point and so I apologised. But it annoys me that I constantly listen to her woes and give her my full attention when she needs me, yet when I want to talk about something she is only half interested (because she is having a convo with me and multi-tasking doing her shopping or ordering food or whatever, or talking to others while she is on the phone) or cuts the call short because someone is ringing and says she will call back but never does. She knows full well I am in a bad way at the moment and why and yet either shows no real interest or when she does sticks the boot in some more. Oh well

Hi; I don't know if this will help. First I'll explain what I've done and experienced, since that also explains why I'm qualified to speak up. Then I'll share what can be extracted from that and perhaps applied in your case.

I worked for more than 30 years in healthcare-related areas and public health. Trained in the hard sciences, moved right into an R&D environment. Ended up in an area allied to public health as a natural outgrowth from that.

The advice about remaining polite and personable but distant is spot on. I'm not in the UK and the "subculture" around healthcare is slightly different here, but if you google "bullying in nursing/pharmacy/medicine" and similar searches, you will discover that there is a great deal of negative interaction among professionals in healthcare. God only knows why. And professional schools do not generally address this, nor do they seem to prepare their students to recognize and deal with it. The most I've ever seen are "anti-bullying" policies and presentations that consist, in practice, of platitudes and denial. Not useful.

In every place I worked, I saw a tremendous amount of bullying - some directed at me, most directed at others; some blatant, most cryptic but nonetheless very real. It was never about getting the job done. It was about petty people (and insecure groups) needing to make themselves feel powerful at someone else's expense, and I could never understand how such people gravitated into supposedly "caring" professions. And it wasted a shocking amount of time and resources, not to mention the inexcusable human cost.

I wasn't good at keeping my freak flag furled; I look extremely Celtic and that stood out. I worked fast and well, was quick on the uptake, and spoke clearly and intelligently (not stilted. Fluent.) And that stood out. My refuge was writing and organizing.

I could explain scientific and technical concepts very clearly in print, which was something all of my employers needed. I was also very good at anticipating issues through the life of any project I worked on, which again my employers needed (although most were boneheaded about believing my input until disaster proved me right). I was good at teaching, but a bit too honest to be given a training position full time (I wouldn't endorse HR propaganda). I did make it to upper middle management during my early years; I gave it up because my employer seemed to want managers who would harm the people who reported to them, economically and psychologically, when ordered to do so, without a qualm.

All of this is to say: learn as much as you can about the psychodynamics of your chosen profession (IOW, go Google "workplace bullying nurses" "workplace bullying physicians" or whatever other terms seem useful.) Find an advisor who will face the facts about this - outside of your work; most employer-based counseling reports right back to HR while lying about that very thing - and think about parallel occupations. Think very deeply about your own values and what you can and cannot do. I used to call it "owning my soul".

For me, the safe place was a move from R&D into writing and project support. For others I knew, it was a move into writing patient information brochures or training staff. There are niches, safe(r) places to hide; and if you have a tougher exterior than I did, or can hide more effectively, you may be able to hide in plain sight, as long as you know what you're dealing with. (Edit in: some of my colleagues found their safety by leaving to work for contractors with healthier cultures. Not always easy to find, but apparently they exist, and if you do find one, it can be wonderful.)

Best of luck to you. We need good people doing what you do, and as a species we seem to embody Gresham's Law all too often (the bad drives out the good).

Going in circles is absolutely normal. I'm very glad you've received support regarding the bullying. And I think that part-timing it could be the best option if you can, for now; it will provide income, hopefully it won't exhaust you, and you'll have a bit more time to think - time that isn't needed for recuperating. Then if you want to pick up some outside training or go on interviews, you have room for them, too.

The one maddening thing about project work IS interruptions, because you won't be on just one project at a time, and they all have a lot of moving parts. I dealt with that by starting my workday as late as allowed, which gave me several hours a day when nobody was around in the office. With the advent of telework, that refuge slowly disappeared, though.

Again, best of luck to you! (Edit in: and here is a gentle hug and a pat on the shoulder.)

EMS here, so I guess the argument can be made I live the most stressful parts of healthcare.

A - I have a daily plan and stick to it. When i'm going to do X, clean the ambulance, finish trips, etc. Generally I like to have a idea of what I'm doing from punch in to punch out, calls of course in there as they come. Focus on the menial tasks to keep yourself busy, this makes it a lot harder for anxiety to creep in.

Hi
I just joined this forum and found your post. Just to say I'm a clinical psychologist who was diagnosed with ASD four years ago. I'm not sure I have much to say at the moment about how to cope except that I managed it - it can be done. Clinical psychology training itself was immensely helpful. I published an account of my experiences in Clinical Psychology Forum earlier this year. This forum doesn't allow me to post a url to it as a new user. I've also been out of the NHS for several years working part-time and privately, for family reasons, but I did work in a CAMHS team for four years, and passed pretty well as neurotypical (including to myself). Best wishes

Thanks. I actually had another meeting at work yesterday about my sickness and whether I'll be able to return to my job and to be honest it is doubtful. So they want me to think about redeployment. I am seriously thinking about it. The thought of going back to work in my dept and even just putting on my uniform fills me with dread

I just read this and thought I would throw my thoughts in. My husband and I have both worked in the NHS in clinical/allied healthcare roles but have ended up leaving due to health (non-ASD condition)/family reasons. It is possible to cope - but you need to be honest with your bosses and yourself about what you are able to handle. Redeployment sounds like an excellent choice. If the job you are doing is not making you happy and is actively causing you stress or anxiety (as it sounds like it is), then it's time for a change.

I hope things go well for you.

Thank you. I HAve been honest with them and I think both sides recognise a large part of the job is detrimental to my health. So I think I probably will take up redeployment once I get my head around it and feel confident that I won’t be leaping out of the frying pan into the fire.