Nursing and Asperger's Syndrome

[Spritenurse1210]

Hello everyone! I have a childhood friend that has recently told me that she wants to become a nurse. She has Asperger's Syndrome, and is very dedicated to becoming an RN. She is currently an EMT. Does anyone have any suggestions that I can give to her in order to assist her in becoming a nurse?

[Mommycakers]

Maybe she should see if she can shadow a nurse for a day to see if it is something she is comfortable with doing. I know for my son who has Asperger's just looking someone in the eyes in impossible for him. How would she get past the basic patient assessment if she has a similar trait? But your friend is already an EMT so maybe she is very comfortable in the health care setting.

[GoldenFire5]

L8RNN

You're right, my personal experience with people with this disorder is very limited. But I will admit my bias and say that my view of the disorder is very colored by my experience.

In any case, I didn't say that people with the disorder couldn't be nurses. I said I was concerned, and that "I guess it would depend on the degree of severity [and I should have said how it manifests] and also what kind of nursing they want to do."

There are lots of opportunities in healthcare. Nursing is well-known, but some other important roles are not. For someone just beginning to enter the field, those roles deserve consideration too, especially in this economy where so many nurses are having a hard time finding jobs.

[Cyn2school]

I was a special education teacher ( high school ) and am now in an RN program myself. I loved my students with Aspergers. If a student with "A" can get through high school, earn an EMT, and has high enough math skills, consider an LVN first. A job in a research may be an option. Anyone here know about Temple Grandin? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_Grandin

[meluhn]

I was a special education teacher ( high school ) and am now in an RN program myself. I loved my students with Aspergers. If a student with "A" can get through high school, earn an EMT, and has high enough math skills, consider an LVN first. A job in a research may be an option. Anyone here know about Temple Grandin? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_Grandin

I think I read a book by this author once. Something about animals and her struggle with AS.

[Snickerdoodles]

Aspergers is such a high functioning form of autism that, of course, school should be a breeze. I also think that an aspie may do well in critical care nursing, where many patients are "out of it" and assessment and knowledge is key. They may also do well in long term treatment, like chemo or dialysis. Although they are "socially akward" they seem to warm up to people. I have 2 cousins with aspergers, and both have those qualities with thier peers and prefer to be alone, but are very close to their immediate family (that they see on a regular basis). So it would make sense to me, to have someone with aspergers either in an area where patients are not awake or patients who need consistant care, and they are allowed to build relationships over time. Of course, family treatment is important in both of these aspects, so as stated before it depends on the individual. It also seems that because most aspergers patients are so smart they have either been conditioned to or fake empathy very well! I am not saying that as an insult, but it is very true. I wrote a paper on autism and found that Bill Gates, Al Gore, and Darryl Hanah are all believed to have aspergers or and autism spectim disorder and you would probably never notice.

[TiffyRN, BSN, PhD]

My step-son is diagnosed with Asperger's. Though my only personal experience is with him, I have read extensively on the subject. He is quite high functioning with a normal IQ.

I am hesitant to discourage anyone to go into nursing, and yes, many people with different personalities & quirks are in nursing (some who maybe shouldn't be). But there are many concerns your friend needs to be aware of before they make a decision to go through the difficulty of nursing school.

Though we as nurses value clinical skills, patients are really primarily concerned with interpersonal skills. These are specifically the skills that people with Asperger's struggle with. Temple Grandin mentioned above is very successful in her profession and I believe she would tell you it is because her specialized skill involves cattle, not humans. I believe the last special I saw on her was "the woman who thinks like a cow".

A big difference between nursing and EMT work is that EMT's operate almost exclusively on protocols (according to my husband who worked as an EMT-P for 9 years). There is not as much clinical judgment needed because protocols dictate almost all actions. This is actually an ideal situation for an individual with Asperger's.

But I still think the biggest challenge would be that patients do not judge us by the extensiveness of our knowledge or the preciseness of our clinical skills. They want comfort, reassurance, & empathy from their nurses. Is that fair? Maybe not. Can your friend function as a nurse without those qualities? Maybe so, but it will be very challenging.

I think some of the other healthcare fields mentioned earlier would be so much less challenging for someone with Asperger's; such as US tech, Rad Tech, RT. Not so sure about ST or OT. OT specifically requires a lot of creativity and thinking out of the box. ST is a specialization in communication. Both of those things are generally challenging to individuals with Asperger's. But as many have mentioned, manifestations of Asperger's vary so much. My step-son in particular doesn't really struggle with eye contact, but has zero creative thought.

I think your friend could really benefit from a day of following around a nurse (who is aware of & sympathetic to your friend's AS). Maybe this nurse could make sure to show not only the clinical skills of a nurse, but point out the multiple times interpersonal skills are used. With an individual with AS, these times must often be pointed out as they just don't see or notice such interactions, which is one of the hallmarks of their AS.

[Nurse80sbaby]

Im not gonna say it cant be done....however nursing is more than IQs and task mastering. I have been the nurse and the patient. As a patient I was more accepting of the nurses that took time to know how I was feeling and tried to establish a bond with me. I couldnt give a rats orifice that you brought my pills at exactly 6pm but you cant even ask me why Im crying or show the slightest concern for me. I try to remember those exact things in my practice. The hardest thing I EVER had to learn as a nurse had less to do with a task and more to do with how to read the room when I walked in that first time. Like I said, not impossible, but those skills are WAY CRITICAL.

[Cyn2school]

Autism is known as a "spectrum" disorder. There are those who are so badly affected with the cognitive impairments that they cant learn much,aren't verbal, easily frustrated/ repetitive soothing habits etc... to the other end of the spectrum, barely affected cognitively but maybe a little less social or empathetic. That would be more like Aspergers syndrome. It also depends on how a child with the disability is socialized/educated. A lot of learning disabilities seem to be diagnosed in clusters. Like dysgraphia (cant write or impaired fine motor issues) along with Autism... Or sensory issues (texture of food or how clothing feels on skin, or sensitivity to sounds...

Persons with Autism don't necessarily have "super powers" like in the movie Rainman, but many have strong areas of interests/hobby's like trains, or a student of mine who knew all the dialog to all the Batman movies...

I wonder if something like clinical lab science may be more appealing to someone with Aspergers...

[greenbeanio]

I think that both the OP and the Disabilities Services advocate who posted have gotten very good information from people here. I agree that what needs to be explored is identifying fields of nursing that involve minimal patient contact. I would also suggest that they (the 2 people posted about) not go into an ADN program, because (in my limited experience) they seem to stress clinical skills very strongly and prepare one for a career in bedside nursing. If their academic skills are strong enough, they might want to consider a direct-entry MSN with an eye to research.

I have a learning disability and I can see that there are certain fields of nursing that would just be too stressful for me, like ER, Critical/Acute Care, flight nurse, OR, etc. It's not that I couldn't do them - eventually - but why struggle so hard when there are other fields I naturally shine at?

[PostOpPrincess, BSN, RN]

Hm....

Picking up on social cues is inherent in nursing...

I'd hate for that person to be constantly called to the "carpet" because of their disability.

Remember, that ridiculous Press-Gainey thing is a big deal...just a thought...

Jo

[PostOpPrincess, BSN, RN]

I think that both the OP and the Disabilities Services advocate who posted have gotten very good information from people here. I agree that what needs to be explored is identifying fields of nursing that involve minimal patient contact. I would also suggest that they (the 2 people posted about) not go into an ADN program, because (in my limited experience) they seem to stress clinical skills very strongly and prepare one for a career in bedside nursing. If their academic skills are strong enough, they might want to consider a direct-entry MSN with an eye to research.

I have a learning disability and I can see that there are certain fields of nursing that would just be too stressful for me, like ER, Critical/Acute Care, flight nurse, OR, etc. It's not that I couldn't do them - eventually - but why struggle so hard when there are other fields I naturally shine at?

This is the only direct entry program that I like for non-nurses. The only one that should be allowed, frankly.

[SaraO'Hara]

I was a special education teacher ( high school ) and am now in an RN program myself. I loved my students with Aspergers. If a student with "A" can get through high school, earn an EMT, and has high enough math skills, consider an LVN first. A job in a research may be an option. Anyone here know about Temple Grandin? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_Grandin

...because LVNs don't have to utilize "people skills?" :stone