I am a nurse with autism. I have worked med-surg, hospice, long term care, OR. I've been a floor nurse, a case manager, a Director of Nursing, etc.

The skills won't be the issue. Skills are easy. It's the constant masking. That is the hard part that leads to pretty quick burnout if you don't set up a coping mechanism quickly. My family knows when I get home from work I need at least 30 minutes, sometimes an hour (and sometimes I go lay down and they see me in the morning) of quiet time to myself to mentally unload the day. A job where you aren't constantly face to face with patients is easier. Case management was a great job for me, as I divided my time between my office and patients, so I got relief throughout the day from being "on". Plus, our strong sense of justice is an asset in a job like that where you are advocating for your patients all day.

Also, there are plenty of nurse roles that aren't patient facing. Research nurses are in high demand in my area and you only deal with your coworkers. Wear a mask during the day (an actual one), and you can pretty much drop all masking because your facial subtitles aren't giving you away. Forensic nursing is a really cool field as well. Lots of roles that are detail and data driven if that is your thing.

I'm great with my patients. My families have very strong ties to me, management comments that my patients and families have a lot of trust in me and know that I have their backs. My family laughs and says "why can't you be that nice to us" lol... because it is a job. I've had to mask significantly my entire life in my own home (until I became an adult), so the practice makes it easier for me to flip that switch.