4 months pregnant New grad RN about to start oreintation

[lss2829]

I recently found out I'm 16 weeks pregnant and was just offered an position on a PCU/Telementary unit. my due date would be around may 29th and I have 2 options i can start in the beginning of Jan. with regular 8 week new grad floor training. Or I can start of Feb. 8th (will be 24 weeks on FEB. 7th) with a 12 week orientation called the STAR RN program. It's a program tailored just for new grads in critical care/ICU/ER units 6 week class type setting, then 6 weeks on floor with my preceptor. Here is a link about the program the are offering: Educational Services | Parallon.

The way it has been described is it's different from Nursing school in the sense that School prepares you for NCLEX and this prepares you for actually working on the floor. I've heard such great reviews from other new grads about the program and how they are excelling as RN's since finishing this type of orientation. I had all intentions to do it but not sure now.

I'm nervous about how the other nurses and my manager will take it. I would be going on leave like 2 weeks after the orientation is over

Could they let me go if I had the baby early during orientation (my last child came at 34-35 weeks)? Should I just start in Jan. with just regular 8 week training (following my preceptor around) and pass up such a great opportunity or still take the offer for the program? Has anyone experienced what it's like pregnant and working on a unit like this? Any advice, tips insight anything would be great right now?

Thanks!

Also, I was thinking about accepting the STAR RN offer tomorrow and then letting the HR recuiter know I am pregnant next week. Should I tell them or wait until I start on the 8th? could they rescind my offer if I tell her next week since Feb 8th is a month away?

[OCNRN63, RN]

You won't be eligible for FMLA, so I would find out what their policy is for maternity leave. They can't rescind the offer because you're pregnant, but they could wind up letting you go if you need more time off than you've accrued.

You should talk to HR, the sooner the better.

[emmy27]

With either of the options you're likely to have a problem with getting maternity leave unless your employer is unusually generous and progressive- you won't qualify for FMLA with either of these start dates even if you don't deliver early, and you'll likely have accrued only a few days of PTO by the time you need to stop working (assuming you start accruing it during your probationary period, which not all employers do).

I'd definitely talk to HR and the manager as soon as possible and before accepting either job offer. They may or may not be willing to work with you, but it's better to be upfront, since the longer you wait, the greater the chances they'll believe you intentionally concealed your imminent need for maternity leave, and this being your first nursing job it's better (in the worst case scenario) not to take the job at all than to start, burn bridges with a manager over what appears to be intentional deception about your ability to commit to the job after orientation, and then wind up losing your job soon after when you have no choice but to take leave and don't qualify for FMLA.

It's rough timing. I hope they're willing to work with you. Congratulations on your pregnancy and good luck with the job!

[traumaRUs, MSN, APRN]

Moved to Nursing First Job Assistance forum

[turtlesRcool]

Here's the thing: they liked you enough to offer you not one, but two jobs. That's pretty good, and suggests they are REALLY interested in hiring you. It might make sense to talk to HR or the nursing director to see what can be arranged.

I personally was 33 weeks pregnant when I interviewed. I was really expecting a "thanks but no thanks" response from them. I only went to the interview because I hoped to make a good enough impression that they would call me back when I applied for another position after the baby was born. Not only did they offer me a job, but they scheduled my start for 12 weeks past my due date. I realize this isn't exactly the same as your situation, but my experience showed me that this was a hospital that was invested in me for the long term, not just in churning through new employees.

Your employer probably isn't going to want to give you all that orientation and risk you not coming back. They're probably not going to give you all that orientation and then give you three months off. What they might offer is 6-8 weeks off, though some might be unpaid. And they might have some sort of compromise. Like you'd do the STAR program classroom portion, and maybe hold off on the preceptor portion until after you deliver so you could transition seamlessly from working with a preceptor to working on your own.

The way they react to your pregnancy news will tell you a lot about how truly family friendly they are and how invested they are in you. By you going to them with honesty about your pregnancy, and expressing a sincere desire to work at that hospital and being willing to do whatever it takes to make that happen, you will allay some of their fears that you'll decide to stay home with the baby and not come back after they invest in training you.