Important advice needed for aspies working medical field!!

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Hello my fellow aspies,

Wondering who here works in the medical field? I need some crucial advice.

Here's my predicament - I'll explain it as short as I can

I have a fascination with blood (not like in gory horror movies), and the circulatory system - as well as mainly the other systems in the human body. I hope to have some sort of rewarding career in the medical field.
Not to brag lol - but I am in the 91st percentile when it came to writing my pre-admission tests, and have been graciously accepted into college for two programs, one for nursing and another for paramedic.

My question is which job nurse/paramedic would be easier for an aspie, and also if you could state your career (ie doctor, nurse, pediatrition) plus any tips for being an aspie at work would be greatly appreciated , thanks

I'd say that paramedic probably contains more working under pressure, but I'm 14 so that could be wrong.

I'm not in the medical field, but Phlebotomist sounds like something you may like. During my wife's cancer treatment, finding a person in oncology to handle her tricky veins was a pain. There was this guy who could always get it first try, and he moved on to being a paramedic.

It depends on your traits.

Some AS people are very very calm under pressure & chaotic hectic environments, which is why they can make great paramedics, firefighters, combat medics, soldiers.. etc. It depends on you whether this would be a fit or not.

Do you want to work on the road in an ambulance, or have a regular more routine job as a nurse? Or even more routine as a blood lab technician or something of the sort? There are tons of possibilities. It's up to you to explore them and decide which one suits you best.

Once you've narrowed it down, find some people in these jobs and ask them about their work & what it's like so you can get a feel for it. Also see if you can go hang out with them for a day doing a bit of a job shadow to see if it's something you'd be interested in doing for a career.

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No for supporting trump. Because doing so is deplorable.

I'm a nurse and I would say that nursing is not appropriate for an aspie. To wit:
1. Do you like being alone? Not with nursing. The patients will be ringing their call bells, the nursing supervisor will be breathing down your neck, your CNA's sometimes like to slack off and give you a hard time.
2. Do you like not being in charge? Not with nursing. You have to crack the whip on your aides who sometimes don't speak a lick of English.
3. Do you hate bright lights? Get used to them as those fluorescent fixtures are everywhere.
4. Allergic to loud sounds? Get used to that because of the constant noise from bells, doors opening and closing, people talking in the halls, intermittent fire drills, code red or code blue pages, etc.
5. Love the sight of blood? You'll see lots of that, plus urine, poop, vomit, phlegm, sputum, wound drainage and pea green trach mucus.
6. Prefer to sit and work? Not with nursing. You're constantly on your feet, pushing a med cart or seeing to some issue.
7. Go to the bathroom during your shift? Nope. Wear a catheter attached to a leg bag. Bathroom privileges are forbidden! (Well, not really, but you know what I mean).
8. Eat fast? Good. Lunch is over. Get back to the floor!
9. Problem with authority? Well, every other person you'll meet is your boss telling you what to do. From time to time you will get conflicting signals. Always go with who holds the highest rank.
10. Flexible? Good, because your schedule is subject to change at the last minute, whether you like it or not. Yes, you're expected to plan your life around your job otherwise you're always free to apply at your local Animal Shelter, Wendy's or Merry Maids house cleaning service.

Just a side note: I went to nursing school against my wishes (the choices was that or being homeless). It's been years of torture, misery and pain since. When you enter these facilities you leave your pride, dignity and what's left of your humanity at the door. What's the difference between nursing and prostituting for money? Prostitution is illegal.

I worked as an EMT on an ambulance for a while. I loved being an EMT. Most of the time it's just you and your partner hanging out somewhere until you get a call. Rarely ever a boss or anyone hanging over your shoulder. I only lasted about a year or so with that career though. I just have a really hard time communicating with others and trying to talk with doctors, nurses and give radio reports, etc was just too much for me.

Being a nurse or paramedic is a socially demanding occupation, but it is not impossible for an autistic person to do. If that's what you want to do, go for it--just make sure you have a way of fulfilling the requirement to communicate effectively with patients. Many autistics find that they do well working with special needs populations, because unlike neurotypicals, autistic people are used to communicating with those who are not like themselves--an advantage when your patients/clients/students/etc. are different from the average. We're not naturally any better at understanding atypical minds, but there's something to be said for daily practice, and that means we learn not to start out with all those "this person must think exactly like me" assumptions that mess up NTs so much when they try to understand somebody that's different. Workplace politics can still be an issue, though.

However, if you're fascinated with blood itself, why not go into something a little more directly related to it? On the practical side, you could become a lab tech or a pathologist, analyzing blood and tissue samples; or, if you wanted to go into theoretical research, you could go into biomedical engineering (designing things to interact with the human body), medical research, or biology. In terms of the education you need, that ranges from a few months for a training course as a lab assistant, to the years needed to get a PhD. All depends on how complex the job you want is, and how much you enjoy school.

I work as a Radiologic Technologist (the guy that takes X-rays and the like).
Work mostly alone, low lights, lots of down time. I see some blood, and start IVs to inject fluids for certain studies.
Between the two you are considering I'd choose nursing, if routines and knowing what to expect from your day are important to you. Plus, I'd be useless by the time we got where we were going, if I had to sit under a siren and air horn in an ambulance or fire truck.
There are certain nursing jobs you can find where you mostly do the same thing every day. Just steer clear of the ER or similar areas where it is just as unpredictable as being a paramedic.
Good luck.

I worked as a surgical technologist and then trained as a surgical first assistant. I'm sure many surgeons are undiagnosed aspies haha. Anyway, anal retentiveness and strict routines are appreciated in the OR. However, the environment is very prone to abuse, hostility, and rampant bullying.

Thanks everyone for your answers!!

I've looked further into this and even though I do like working with people, I'm thinking more x-ray or ultrasound technician.

I need a job with some excitement, but also time to sit down and destress.

Have you had experiance just working in the medical setting, even just volunteer work? If so, how did that go? I remember, I volunteered in the hospital for sometime and I got kicked out because the medical staff was intolerant towards my aspieness. Both jobs are very chaotic with high social demands however not all aspies are the same. You might be able to work perfectly fine in that type of setting. As previous people stated phlebotomy work might be more suitable.