Female Aspies and the medical field

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I can see why a lot of non-NT's would not want to work in the medical field, but from personal experience I think some employers find some female Aspies better suited to the work (if their smell sensory issues do not hinder them). I have always worked in the medical field, and find that my natural tendency to avoid gossip circles and ability to stay focused and break up my tasks has gotten me a little favor among bosses (kiss ass, maybe). I also pace when I'm thinking or have a few minutes to spare between breaks, so I pace the hall I'm assigned to, constantly doing a hall check instead of searching for others to pass free time with by talking. I also have very thick skin when it comes to patients yelling or physically becoming violent, but that is admittingly from the fact that I do not have an emotional attachment to them either and won't develop one while they are there. I get my job done and move on to the next task. Although I do have a habit of zoning out during those checks and people have to call my name a few times to snap me out of it, that's the only odd habit that I get teased for.

Atom84, good luck in medicine. You and I are the exact same age, and I am glad that you went for it! I think that having good visual skills and analysis (which I don't have as I am a very pervasively verbal individual) would suit a medical career well. Also, not being social so not being distracted would be good. And I have heard that good communication with patients can be taught (take a look at the works of the late dr. Rob Buckman for instance), so good for you!

Communication with patients I've found is fairly easy. You are looking for basic signs of pain or dehydration at the top of your list daily, and usually your facility will give you pamphlets on these and other signs (which are not hard to spot once you have trained yourself). What can be hard is continually avoiding your other coworkers during your shift so that you don't have to hear about their grievances or personal problems, stressing you out more so at an already difficult job. I've also unfortunately ran into a few aides who were verbally abusive, and interestingly, all were very extroverted NT's (maybe the need to verbalize frustration led them to direct it at the resident directly instead of waiting for an appropriate time).

I only got called into the office once by my charge nurse, and she wound up defending me against a family member's accusation that I was too "cold and unemotional" when performing a task with their family member. Although I did everything by the book and safely, I didn't say anything other than directions for the patient while I was helping them, but they felt that I should have "initiated more conversation and smiled more" while in the room. My boss told them I was the "best worker" on that shift and that any issues were only a result of my "quiet personality" and their misunderstanding my personality, not anything that I did.

I later wound up being that patient's favorite caregiver and she would ask for me by name, because I was much quicker and quieter than the other aides.

I liked that story! Thank you for sharing it! :0)