Neurodiverse Nurses - where are you!?!?

Hi everyone, 

I'm relatively new on this ND journey of discovery, got my assessment coming up in the next few weeks. Excited but nervous! 

I am a registered nurse and at the time I was practising nursing in a patient facing setting, I did not know I was an autistic person.  I really struggled actually and looking back at my experience, I was deeply discriminated against for being "different" and I was bullied as a student and as a registered staff nurse.  Last year, I had an episode of autistic burnout where I completely regressed, had a complete mental breakdown requiring hospitalisation and couldn't even look after myself on a basic level.  Unfortunately, I felt so unsupported (even from a mental health perspective) and I felt that the only option available to me was to leave my permanent post in the NHS.  At the time (and still a bit now tbh), I felt pretty devastated by this decision, even though it was absolutely the right thing for me to do at the time.  I always enjoyed taking care of patients, even when it was stressful and unpredictable and I felt the reasons I wasn't supported was because the NHS, in my opinion, does not do enough to support its staff.   I still maintain to this day  that if I had been given the correct support at the time, I would never have left my post within the NHS.  I still work as a nurse but I work from home and I no longer am employed by the NHS.  I have to wonder how many people are in my position and have been in the past? With the NHS on its knees, nurses are needed more than ever and it just strikes me as such a waste and could be totally prevented. 

I have had a lot of time on my hands in the last year between being off sick for several months and working from home, and I've done a fair bit of research on autism in females and then I decided to do some research on neurodiverse nurses and was quite astonished at the lack of support systems out there for nurses and the lack of research in general which has been done for ND nurses.  One of my friends with whom I worked in surgical services has just recently found out herself that she is autistic and her charge nurse, in an attempt to support her, was unable to find any managerial resources on neurodiversity and couldn't actually locate ANY resources of any kind on our health board's intranet which would help her as a charge nurse. My friend still works in the NHS.  

Am I the only one that is aghast at how autistic nurses have been forgotten?  We exist.  Being autistic does not mean we care less, or lack emotion.  In my experience, I feel as an autistic person I'm actually really sensitive to the emotions and feelings of the people around me and it EXHAUSTS me. I don't think people know anywhere near enough about autism and it's actually pretty shocking that there are no resources available for line managers to consult. My friend is lucky in the sense that at least her manager is trying to find out more; it's certainly a lot more than I got which was " well if you can't cope, acute services just aren't for you".    Autistic nurses are committed, caring, consistent, consumed with details, and we have the ability to retain an insane amount of information. These are qualities which should be celebrated and sought after when hiring nurses, just because we don't fit with the neurotypical way of doing things, does not mean that we're "not worth the effort". 

SOOO, as I am constantly on the quest for knowledge, I am planning on writing an academic piece or "thought piece" on autistic nurses.  I have had a look at various journals and libraries and I have managed to locate ONE article from 2023 that a nurse with autism has written. Again, pretty shocking if you ask me.  Before I get started, I was looking to get some feedback from other neurodiverse nurses:  what do you think?  

I am interested in hearing about other people's experiences (positive, negative, whatever you feel happy sharing).  Note: I am not interested in health board bashing or NHS shaming, I know the NHS is under a lot of strain (trust me, I know, I worked in ICU during the pandemic), however I think most people reading this post will agree that even if they have had a positive experience with ND in the NHS, there are areas which could be a lot better.  

So i've got a few questions floating around in my head which I can't fully understand until I hear from other people who are ND, or who think they might be. 

- Would you like to see more literature, guidelines and research on autistic nurses? This could include journal articles, or something as simple as a poster in a break out area. 

- How do you think we could raise awareness on autism in nurses and break the stigma? 

- Has anyone had any similar experiences to me? i.e. have you had to leave your NHS post or move jobs because you did not not feel supported by your line manager or clinical area? 

- What sort of clinical areas do people work in? I worked in surgical, high dependency, intensive care and accident & emergency.  Again, not looking for specific hospitals or wards or any identifying information, just interested to see the type of areas ND nurses work in to see if there are any themes.  I've always loved working in acute areas; charting beautifully, writing documentation, following algorithms and protocols for nursing practice has always been the way I've enjoyed working. CPR terrifies people but I love the predictability of how to manage it,  if that makes sense?  I think that's why I enjoyed critical care, it's very planned and measured, even in medical emergencies.  Also, if I can make the obvious joke that there's significantly less talking involved with an unwell or ventilated patient so that also might have something to do with it! 

 - What about reasonable adjustments at work?  If anyone has any adjustments that they'd like to share that would be welcome.  (again, no personal or identifying information needed, just generic responses such as being able to take extra breaks, or shorter working hours etc). On the flip side, has anyone had issues with keeping their adjustments in place?  I certainly had this issue as taking extra breaks to decompress etc is nice in theory until people start to notice you being away from your patients, or it's busy and you feel too guilty about leaving the busy clinical area. 

- Does anyone have any experiences of "coming out" to their colleagues as neurodiverse? Were they supportive or do you feel like it changed the way they treated you or behaved towards you?  Do you think it's important for your colleagues to know you're an autistic person or do you prefer to keep this part of yourself private? 

- Does anyone now work out with the NHS and is well supported at work?  I'd rather not disclose where I currently work but the difference between working there and working in the NHS is like night and day. My employer is so well informed, there are countless resources on ND, accessibility, employee adjustment plans and access to an amazing health and wellbeing service. It is actively encouraged to put adjustments in place to ensure my wellbeing and a few months ago when I was really struggling with low mood, I was referred straight to occupational health for assessment which allowed me to have reduced work duties in place for a month just to take the pressure off. I ended up going back to full duties within a few weeks but I could have had it extended past a month if I needed this. I'm saying this to prove the point that if it is done well, autistic nurses can THRIVE in the workplace, not just survive and get through the day. Since working for a new employer, I feel so much more confident and it's actually really nice to have my differences and quirks celebrated!  Don't get me wrong, I still have some really bad days but luckily, these are far and few in between and the difference now is that I feel supported through bad days as opposed to feeling mis-understood and judged.  I am also ashamed to admit that I had A LOT of sick time when I was in the NHS.  I have been in my current job since January 2023 and I have not had a single sick day. Not one.  

I realise I've written a lot....I'm sorry and congrats if you've read this far xD  Seriously though, thank you in advance to anyone who shares anything and thank you for reading. 

Signed by a 31 year old neurospicy registered nurse from Scotland.