Any nurses who are autistic (2/13/24)

[Shasha, LPN]

Hey, just wanted to ask, any nurses here are Autistic? If so, what are some challenges you deal with?

A few of the challenges I deal with being an Autistic nurse are dealing with sensory issues (bright lights, smells, recognition of body cues in myself at times), being treated badly by anyone in some situations, and at times communicating with others.

[Journey_On, BSN, RN]

I am.

Communication is hard sometimes - sometimes things I want to say don't come out right or I end up sounding like a fool. Also not being able to socialize or talk with other nurses on my unit as "good" as I want to because I am so busy with charting or just not feeling like I can add anything worthwhile to the conversation or worried about coming off weird.

I used to struggle a lot with not being able to prioritize things. Like maybe I would focus too much on an insignificant thing not being done (charting) instead of focusing on the more urgent needs (patient condition) - I feel like I'm getting better at that.

Time management has been a struggle for me (I am rarely one of those nurses who sit at their computer and chat with others - I feel like I am often on the move), but I feel like I'm gradually improving on it and learning how to cluster care better.

I'm not great at small talk and have to force myself to be able to chat with my patients to appear more sociable.

There's more, but those are just some examples.

[Shasha, LPN]

Journey_On said:

I am.

Communication is hard sometimes - sometimes things I want to say don't come out right or I end up sounding like a fool. Also not being able to socialize or talk with other nurses on my unit as "good" as I want to because I am so busy with charting or just not feeling like I can add anything worthwhile to the conversation or worried about coming off weird.

I used to struggle a lot with not being able to prioritize things. Like maybe I would focus too much on an insignificant thing not being done (charting) instead of focusing on the more urgent needs (patient condition) - I feel like I'm getting better at that.

Time management has been a struggle for me (I am rarely one of those nurses who sit at their computer and chat with others - I feel like I am often on the move), but I feel like I'm gradually improving on it and learning how to cluster care better.

I'm not great at small talk and have to force myself to be able to chat with my patients to appear more sociable.

There's more, but those are just some examples.

Thank you so much for replying and sharing!

[Gtikitty]

I am. I agree with the previous poster - I find it hard to have small talk and fit in with others. I really don't know what to say or add to the conversation without sounding like that didn't come out right. 
 

I do struggle with understanding why it's generally frowned upon to call a Dr directly with questions that I feel are important. I know there was a time I was in hospital myself after an cholecystectomy and wanted to leave early. The Dr had written my discharge as promised but it ended up being crossed out. The nurse wouldn't call to find out why or respond to my request to leave. She wanted to wait for the resident to come by, which they never did. I ended up leaving AMA at 9pm (and half wondering if I might have a ?perfed intestine or something as the reason my dc was crossed out). I just don't get why nurses won't call Drs for questions or clarification on stuff. I've never had an issue (as I've always felt my questions were important or relevant) but I've def been criticized for it by other nurses.