Nurse with Aspberger's Needs Job Fit

Nurse Beth, MSN · Oct 11, 2017

Dear Nurse Beth,

I'm an RN, BSN with over 15 years of experience in pediatric nursing. This in spite of having Asperger's, which I was diagnosed with at age 36, to my great surprise. I would be perfectly content to remain a pediatric home health nurse, but I have just been diagnosed with KienbÃ¶ck's Disease in my non-dominant hand. While there is a lot that I can still do, I have a restriction that I cannot lift more than 8 lb with my left wrist. I think I'm going to need a desk job, but what can I do that doesn't require a lot of social skills or going back to school for a master's degree that I can't afford?

Dear Nurse with Asperger's and Kienbock's Disease,

You've done really well with a diagnosis of Asperger's, I'd love to hear more of your experience.

I'm sorry about your new diagnosis of Kienbock's disease, an avascular necrosis that leads to death of the lunate, a small bone in the wrist.

So as you said, you are looking for a job that accommodates our lifting restrictions and does not require intense social interaction. I don't think you need a master's degree to qualify for many jobs that fit the bill. Some Infusion Nursing jobs may have lower weight lifting requirements.

There are many office jobs and work from home jobs (read 8 Work From Home Jobs) that you could look into. Examples include Case Management and Clinical Documentation Specialist (CDI).

To transition from clinical to a non-clinical role will take some strategy. You must make sure your resume and cover letter highlight your experience in a manner that targets the individual employer and grab the recruiter's attention (explained in my book "Your Last Nursing Class: How to Land Your First Nursing Job...and your next!).

Register with a job search engine such as Indeed and start reviewing the different jobs available to see what's out there and what interests you. Also check out the Nursing Specialties Forum here on site to get some ideas.

Related: Confessions of an Introvert

Best wishes,

Nurse Beth

Author, "Your Last Nursing Class: How to Land Your First Nursing Job"...and your next!