The experiences of autistic medical students: A phenomenological study

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Shaw, S. C., Doherty, M., & Anderson, J. L. (2023). The experiences of autistic medical students: A phenomenological study. Medical Education, 57(10), 971-979. https://doi.org/10.1111/medu.15119

Publication date: 1 Jun 2023 Added to AutiHub: 5 Jul 2026 Type: Article Article language: English
Publisher source (DOI) Full text OpenAlex source

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Authors

Publication authors
3
Publication authors identified as autistic
2 / 3 (66.7%)
  1. Sebastian C.K. Shaw *
  2. Mary Doherty *
  3. John L. Anderson

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Increasing recognition of autism is reflected in the growing awareness of autistic health care providers. Regulatory bodies including the UK General Medical Council and the UK Medical Schools Council have published guidance fostering inclusion. Whilst many autistic doctors and students are thriving, many may not disclose their diagnosis unless difficulties arise, which perpetuates stereotypes. No studies have explored the experiences of autistic medical students. We aimed to do this. METHODS: This was an interpretive phenomenological study. Autistic medical students were recruited using Facebook announcements. Participants underwent audio-recorded, loosely structured interviews. Recordings were transcribed verbatim and underwent an interpretive phenomenological analysis. RESULTS: Five participated from five different UK medical schools. Constructed themes included: Autistic profiles and stereotypes-'I'm a lot better with patients than I am with my peers, with staff, which is hard for a lot of people to understand'; sensory processing and the learning environment-'noises really hurt my ears … It actually hurts'; me, myself and masking-'so, medicine's hard. But I'm also studying myself and I'm figuring myself out and that degree is harder'; the social world-'I always feel like I'm watching my back'; and navigating the system-'[they say] "but you're going to be a doctor one day, so you need to get used to it"'. CONCLUSION: Participants longed for understanding and support from their medical schools. They reported experiences of isolation, bullying and anxiety. Most felt themselves to be victims of the system, whereby they were expected to adapt themselves in order to appear non-autistic. When participants reported not coping due to being autistic, most were advised to 'take time out'. None were offered personalised adjustments to their learning environment. All reported strengths associated with being autistic. This supports the assertion that autistic people can be safe, effective and skilled doctors.

Bibliography cited by this reference

Cited references are imported from external metadata sources when they are available. The list may be partial.

Cited bibliography overview

These indicators describe the bibliography cited by this publication. An author name is counted each time it appears in one cited reference, so the same person can be counted more than once. Names not yet linked to an author already present in AutiHub are treated as unknown, not as non-autistic. Last computed: 2 Oct 2026 17:03.

Cited references
55
With a DOI
40
Without a DOI, from raw bibliography text
14
21 / 55 (38.2%) cited references include at least one author identified as autistic.
References with data to complete
7 / 55 (12.7%)
References with detected author names
48 / 55 (87.3%)
Without detected author names
7
Without a structured title
6
Without a stable identifier
14
References with raw author names still to review
6
References with external metadata lookup issues
0
These indicators apply to cited references displayed on this page, after technical duplicates have been merged. A reference without a DOI can still support author statistics when a title and author names are available.
Author names detected in the cited bibliography
188
From DOI or external metadata
188
From validated raw bibliography text
0
Raw names already validated
0
Raw names still to review
6
133 / 188 (70.7%) names are linked to an author already present in AutiHub. 55 / 188 (29.3%) names are not yet linked.
Names linked to a person identified as autistic
61 / 188 (32.4%)
Calculated across all author names detected in the cited bibliography. Among names linked to an author already present in AutiHub: 61 / 133 (45.9%). Distinct people identified as autistic: 27 / 138 (19.6%).
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