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“Well, This Is Awkward”: Autism Spectrum Disorder in Medical Trainees

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Remediation in Medical Education

Abstract

Interpersonal communication can be a significant career stumbling block for medical trainees, even when they have exceptional knowledge and technical ability. If physicians have difficulty accurately reading verbal and nonverbal cues in patient encounters, they will likely be perceived as detached or lacking in empathy. Similarly, if trainees do not regulate their physical distance or the intensity of their speech, they may unintentionally alarm or anger patients. In this chapter, drawing on her extensive experience as a psychologist and healthcare management coach who works with students and residents referred for poor clinical skills, the author explores the common issues facing medical trainees with awkward interpersonal communication. Based on her experience, she recommends utilizing remedial skills-building strategies recently developed for adults with autism spectrum disorders (also referred to as neuro-atypicals) to work with such trainees. Strategies for partnering with trainees to ensure a successful remediation are discussed.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, 11215, USA

    Sandra Yingling Ph.D.

Authors
  1. Sandra Yingling Ph.D.
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sandra Yingling Ph.D. .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Office of Medical Education, Department of Medicine, New York University School of Medicine, New York, New York, USA

    Adina Kalet

  2. Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine, San Francisco, California, USA

    Calvin L. Chou

Appendix A Appendix: Online Resources

Appendix A Appendix: Online Resources

http://www.medicinenet.com/autism_and_communication/article.htm

  • Dr. Roxanne Dryden-Edwards is an adult, child, and adolescent psychiatrist. She is a former Chair of the Committee on Developmental Disabilities for the American Psychiatric Association, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, and Medical Director of the National Center for Children and Families in Bethesda, Maryland

http://aut.sagepub.com/content/10/5/511.short

  • Quality of life in high-functioning adults with ASD: The predictive value of disability and support characteristics. JO Renty, Herbert Roeyers. Ghent University, Belgium

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http://www.hindawi.com/journals/aurt/2011/325495/

  • Prevalence in UK, reduces with age related to self-report or actual symptoms becoming subclinical.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16913963 Neuro-typical vs. neuro-atypical

  • J Child Adolesc Psychiatr Nurs. 2006 Aug;19(3):137–44. Two terms—one meaning: the conundrum of contemporary nomenclature in autism. Cashin A, Sci DA.

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  • All children on the autistic spectrum demonstrate the same core deficits, in (a) reciprocal social interactions and (b) verbal and nonverbal communication, with (c) restricted and repetitive behaviors or interests (APA,1994). There is, nonetheless, marked variability in the severity of symptomatology across patients, and level of intellectual function can range from profound mental retardation through the superior range on conventional IQ tests (Filipek 1999).

http://psychcentral.com/lib/2009/book-review-cognitive-behavioral-therapy-for-adult-asperger-syndrome/Valerie Gaus

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  • Recognizing AS Adults in Today’s Challenging World

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  • I took this quiz… it produces and interesting graph and report that help understand the facets of neurotypical and atypical function… also starts with “reading eyes” test which is really interesting to do and I bet will help when debriefing and discussing … a good self-awareness process.

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Yingling, S. (2014). “Well, This Is Awkward”: Autism Spectrum Disorder in Medical Trainees. In: Kalet, A., Chou, C. (eds) Remediation in Medical Education. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-9025-8_10

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-9025-8_10

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4614-9024-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-9025-8

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