Scoping review of neurodiversity in nursing workplaces

This scoping review investigated the literature surrounding neurodivergent nurses’ workplace experiences. Efforts to understand why nurses are leaving the profession have not considered neurodivergent traits, which is critical given those traits could impact nurses’ experiences and intent to leave the profession. To support this need, the current review considered the extant literature on neurodivergent nurses’ workplace experiences. Scoping Literature Review The search strategy was prepared with the help of a medical librarian. Four databases (PubMed, CINAHL, APA PsycINFO, and Embase) were searched for English language articles for major concepts of nurses/neurodiversity with workplace. Two coders independently reviewed the work at the different stages. A total of 1828 articles were found, but 411 duplicate articles were removed, leaving 1417 to review. The coders excluded 1360 after title and abstract review. An additional 46 were excluded for irrelevance after full text review. Seven articles remained for final review and synthesis. Several important themes were uncovered by this review. First, the articles highlighted the lack of knowledge regarding how many nurses are neurodivergent. Second, nurses value trustworthy colleagues, but fear of ridicule keeps them from disclosing their neurodivergence to their teams. Third, there continues to be lack of awareness and stigma against neurodivergent nurses. Despite this, neurodivergent nurses frequently described their perseverance, resilience, and adaptive coping strategies. Fourth, many nurses believed their neurodivergence has affected their careers, and that simple accommodations would make a big impact on their wellbeing.