First time Mom

[dtristan89]

Im at a bout 5 weeks pregnant with my first child.

In a perfect world, Id wait until end of my first trimester to disclose my pregnancy but would like some other nurses opinions. Im definitely not wanting to notify my boss or HR for a light duty assisgnment. We only have one nurse at staff on nights and I have amazing CNAs that would totally take care of me BUT my job is a *** show at times. We are 40 resident medicaid short term medicaid facility. We have some residents here that have assaulted staff and other residents and DHS is drag assing on getting htem out of the facility especially now because of COVID. Residents that should be 1:1s but arent. Residents that come back intoxicated and fall. My night CNAs are older so I do what I can to help lift and transfer but im beyond scared especially with me being high risk.

I've never called in or had disciplinary action taken against me but wouldnt put it past them to throw me under the bus as soon as the moment comes. I know thats terrible and Im hoping to get a VA job for instant health insurance but im at a loss

any thoughts?

[Nurse SMS, MSN, RN]

Why do you say you are high risk? I ask simply because pregnancy in and of itself doesn't make you "high risk" per se. It can make you awkward, tired and achy and you definitely don't want to lift and transfer by yourself, but there isn't any reason why you can't continue to do so as part of a team working together.

If you are covered under health insurance with your current employer then you will be able to have seamless coverage through a new employer. You may have to pay for a month or three of COBRA, but you won't have to be without insurance.

Good luck whatever you decide.

[meanmaryjean, DNP, RN]

Light duty assignments are for specific medical conditions verified and requested by your PCP. Most pregnancies don't get to that point (if they ever do) until late 3rd trimester- certainly not five weeks along.

[dtristan89]

1 hour ago, meanmaryjean said:

Light duty assignments are for specific medical conditions verified and requested by your PCP. Most pregnancies don't get to that point (if they ever do) until late 3rd trimester- certainly not five weeks along.

Let me clarify that I’m not wanting to notify for light duty. More so for job protection. I’ve seen this job find shady ways to let people go. Theres just a high chance of injury at this job. For example, we have a resident that constantly tries to crawl out of bed. Managements solution was to switch out the hospital bed with a low to the floor PVC bed that didn’t move up. For him to be changed, the CNAS would have to be on their knees. After I let them know that people’s chance of work related back injuries would increase, they switched the bed back. It’s shady stuff like that

[dtristan89]

2 hours ago, Nurse SMS said:

Why do you say you are high risk? I ask simply because pregnancy in and of itself doesn't make you "high risk" per se. It can make you awkward, tired and achy and you definitely don't want to lift and transfer by yourself, but there isn't any reason why you can't continue to do so as part of a team working together.

If you are covered under health insurance with your current employer then you will be able to have seamless coverage through a new employer. You may have to pay for a month or three of COBRA, but you won't have to be without insurance.

Good luck whatever you decide.

I had thyroid cancer at 19, so total thyoidectomy and grand mal seizure 3 years ago from hypocalcemia. My parathyroid has just farted out so I’m dependent on calciferol and others,

I thought about COBRA and marketplace but I’ve never had to use it. Any idea on which is better money wise?

[Nurse SMS, MSN, RN]

16 hours ago, dtristan89 said:

I had thyroid cancer at 19, so total thyoidectomy and grand mal seizure 3 years ago from hypocalcemia. My parathyroid has just farted out so I’m dependent on calciferol and others,

I thought about COBRA and marketplace but I’ve never had to use it. Any idea on which is better money wise?

Cobra is usually better than the marketplace, both in terms of coverage offered and the price of it. Marketplace is often very expensive and generally offers coverage for catastrophic events.

Your health issues were there prior to your pregnancy and adding pregnancy onto them would have to feel worrisome, especially if you are a first time Mom. I think finding other work might be in your best interest, particularly given your level of distrust of your employer. Be warned though, that all nursing jobs have things like you discussed to one degree or another. Even good employers have some policies and cultural issues that will make you scratch your head.