The Experiences of Autistic Healthcare Students in a Clinical Learning Environment: A Scoping Review.
Emilie Edwards, Nicolette Porter, Ruby Handley-Stone and 2 others
PMID 41871532WHAT IT FOUND
Autistic healthcare students described clinical placements as sensory overload, pressure to mask, and fear of disclosing their diagnosis, which left them exhausted and isolated.
They also described strengths that placements rarely recognised.
Key findings
01All six included studies reported sensory difficulties in clinical environments, described as overwhelming and as a 'sensory bombardment', with busy areas such as maternity care leading to shutdowns and a need to stim in order to cope.
02Students masked their autistic traits to cope in chaotic clinical environments and described the cost as emotional exhaustion and withdrawal; one called masking a survival strategy that left her social battery empty.
03Disclosure was a risk. 72% of autistic medical students who knew their diagnosis when they entered training chose not to disclose it, and some who did were pressured to interrupt or leave their studies.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they found
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What it does not show
Only six studies were included, and the review itself says this limits the breadth of the findings and how far they travel. Four of the six were personal accounts or commentary rather than research, so they describe individual experience and may not reflect wider patterns. Only two studies were formal research, one of them with five participants. Scoping reviews do not grade the quality of the studies they include, and this one did not. All six studies were UK-based, so the findings may not fit countries with different training and disability systems. Two of the six studies came from the same research group and feature heavily across the themes, which may have shaped the balance of the analysis. The lead author wrote one of the included studies. The themes are topic groupings across published accounts rather than a re-analysis of individual participants' data. Students who left their courses are unlikely to be represented, and the authors say future research should include them.
Declared interests
The authors received no funding for the research, writing or publication and declared no conflicts of interest. Relevant to how the review was run: the lead author is an autistic midwife and authored one of the six studies included. The paper describes extra steps taken to screen that study against the same criteria and to involve co-authors in the screening, selection and interpretation.
The easy way to misread this
Do not treat this as evidence that any particular adjustment, support or training works. It is a scoping review that maps what has been published, and four of the six included studies were personal accounts or commentary rather than research. Nor should it be read as showing that autistic students cannot cope with clinical work. The review's own conclusion is that the barriers come from environments not designed with neurodivergent needs in mind.
Summarised by AI from the full paper, without a clinician reviewing it. Check it against the source before it changes what you do. Read it on PubMed →