Anyone here in healthcare?

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I'm fascinated by medical records, too. Are there any openings where you work, Lyra?

When I worked in a medical library when I was 18, I spent all my break time reading about genetic disorders.

@Lyra: That does help, actually. It fits with what I was kind of thinking; I can engage some of my more autistic traits in this field, but yeah... by aspie standards I'm very extroverted. By NT standards I'm not, but still a sociable enough person.

i used to be a doctor practicing internal medicine. it was rewarding. did it for nine years. got messed up over hospital politics and got drummed out of the profession. be very, very tactful. one of my mentors stressed three characteristics that make a good doc: tact, punctuality, and attention to detail. patients won't know if you're competent or not. they will judge you on appearance, affability, and availability. if you can stand long hours and many years of training and see yourself doing well in the above categories, medicine may be for you.

There's also nurse practitioners who can write scripts in some states (so you can have your own practice). The mental health field can always use people who care about others and can relate to some of the patients. Emt can be a stepping stone, or you may stick with it. One thing to keep in mind is that it's not just the stress of being the first responder to a heart attack and the pressure of saving them, you're also there for a suicide, major traumas, a little kid hit by a car. So i think it can be a pretty emotionally hitting job as well.

As I understand it, it's often used as a stepping stone; probably has to do with the not-so-great pay and the aforementioned stress. That would be a crazy hard job for anyoneto do their whole career.

NP is something that's been suggested to me before. It's interesting to note which things that are suggested by multiple people.



That might just work. I'll need to do some more research to know if it's a good fit, but that sounds achievable. Based on what I know so far, I don't know about going for that particular career, but the field as a whole could work.

There's always openings, kortie, but mostly in reception, answering phones, and clinicians (MA's and RN's for which you have to have state certification to practice medicine).

We've been saying for years that we need a third and even a fourth records technician, but we're bottom of the barrel priority level. So even though there's a recognized need there is no evidence of intent to fill that need.

I would love to have another partner in the records and archives department, but there is unfortunately no workstation at which to employ one.

To the OP: I'm glad you found my input helpful. Good luck in pursuing this if you make it your career path.

A loooong time ago I was a medical secretary. I have worked with and for aspies in administrative health care. One was in IT and the other was an office manager. The office manager was obviously stressed out when he had to handle office politics, which was a regular part of his job. He also didn't really get to shut his office door and take breaks, which I think was a problem. The IT guy seemed/seems to really like it.

Now as a regular person, I have noticed that my son's pediatrician and my ataxia specialist are both aspies. They seem to have regular scripts that they use with patients. The pediatrician clearly likes kids and the ataxia specialist is clearly interested in brains, so they both seem happy in their jobs.

I have done some research and it seems as though there may be increased bullying at the doctor level for aspies. If you are interested in going to that level, I would make sure that you put in measures to protect yourself from negative social interactions.

Thanks, SocOfAutism!

I can tell right off the bat I wouldn't want to do administrative stuff. I know the vast majority of aspies would probably love a job where they don't have to interact with people and can just do things in a quiet office or something... but I'm not one of them. I know myself well enough to know I'd be deeply unhappy with a position like that. If I'm in a medical career, I need patients to be people I could speak to... not a name on some papers.

Good tip on the bullying thing. I'll keep that in mind.

I am going in to the medical laboratory science profession. It is a great field for introverts like myself because you very rarely have any interaction with patients. There are two general degrees: med tech (which is a 2 year degree), and medical lab scientist (which is a 4 year degree). I am going to be a medical lab scientist in a few months. MLS's get paid about the same as registered nurses.

I think research would be better for many Aspies, too; at least for the introverted ones who lack the incentive to learn all the necessary skills to overcome our social awkwardness.

I hope AJisHere does well both in school and in practice. I can tell you that I have not experienced much people wanting help understanding the Aspie point of view from an insider (by which I mean a person with Asperger's). The admins where I work know I'm Autistic, and I think several of the pediatricians have figured it out as well. But I'm never asked for any insight on what might be making an autistic patient act in a non-neurotypical manner. Though I think sometimes I would be able to figure it out and explain if from an Aspie p.o.v. no one wants to hear my opinion because I'm just freaky and hard to converse with. Knowing I have Asperger's has removed every bit of confidence I had in my ability to communicate my thoughts and ideas effectively.

I don't yet have a diagnosis but I'll be amazed if I'm not on the spectrum.

I am a nurse in the UK and work in an extremely busy acute medical ward as a charge nurse/ sister. I trained as a degree level nurse in my late 20's as I was interested in healthcare and wanted a job for life. I figured if it wasn't for me then I had three years of student placements to find that out.

As a staff nurse I loved nursing, even in such a busy, demanding and usually short staffed environment. I love the interaction with the patients in a role with clear expectations and duties. Healthcare fascinates me and I absolutely love the speciality I'm in.

As a sister I'm struggling with fulfilling my role as there are many manageral duties associated with it, courses to go on and I may have to step back down to a role I'm more comfortable and capable of. In the process of working it all out.

Ask me anything you want to know.

I started out working with patients more and now do more administrative things in my new job. I would say go for one on one interaction such as OT. Also there are jobs for people who do medical coding. Good luck.

Thanks everyone!

I agree that most aspies would prefer something that's administrative or lab work; I'm just not one of them. I'd lose interest really fast if I wasn't interacting with patients in some way and probably end up burning out on the job as a result. I think you've got some good advice with looking at something that maybe has more one-on-one interaction, Gazelle.

Wewnaw, I hope you get that sorted out soon and can get yourself into a position you love!

LyraLuthTinu; I'm not very good at giving autistic perspectives, apparently! Mine are radically different from pretty much any other autistic person I've ever met. I do hope that you get a chance to share your perspective in your work though; it's clearly important to you. Maybe talk to someone at work you trust about these concerns?

First off, apologies for necroing this. I’m not big into social media and networking.

I just logged on for the first time in i don’t know how long to ask this very question. I’m currently working in healthcare, supported living, for people with learning difficulties, which generally speaking means a lot of people who have autism. But I have never met another aspie as a staff member. It’s totally NT dominated and our autism professional refuses to acknowledge me being on the spectrum due to me being in the line of work, but since I started it about 7 or so years ago, it is my obsession.

It fulfills my need for researching things, as you have buckets of stuff to go off from medications service users have, case histories, etc. You know the people you care for more than yourself. It’s easy to get into and understanding your own mind as an aspie helps no end with understanding where your service users are coming from a lot of the time. Not to say it’s easy. I’m a little more extroverted, like yourself, so I have a slightly easier time dealing with colleagues, and the work itself keeps you on your toes and thinking. The improvement I see in people with serious behavioural difficulties within a short time working with them, because I look at their histories and records differently, am apathetic regarding being the target of violence, and can line up their compulsions with how I understand my own “problems”, has made me beyond appreciated in the line of work.

It sure isn’t for everyone of course. My manager knows I do my job well and she won’t have issues with me being stressed or working to the letter, and she knows I really help make people’s lives better. The only thing she ever has to worry about is me being overly blunt with families and social workers, who either love or hate me being honest. It’s well worth thinking about if you’re interested in healthcare. Just make sure if you do, let other staff know what you’re like. NTs get loads of training re:autism in people with learning difficulties, but they have serious trouble with aspies. Reported 7 times in the first year at my previous company for things I said finding them amusing

I am. I can tell you a lot about it, if you need it.

I'm in health care! I'm a nurse and I work for an agency that sends nurses out to care for (mostly pediatric patients) in their homes. I like it because I only have one patient and a lot of down time. The only thing that sucks is dealing with difficult families, which honestly can make your job difficult even if the patient themselves are in fairly stable condition.