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Discussion

Is this doable? Advice!

So I am an RN, BSN who has basically only worked psych since graduating five years ago. I did one year of pseudo skilled nursing (pretty minor stuff, one vent, some G/J tubes, some end of life).

I recently applied for a med-surg job PRN, not thinking I would even get an interview.

Turns out I got offered full time! Normally I would be THRILLED to get out of psych and try something new.

Here's the catch: I'm 32 weeks pregnant :/

The hospital said that they might be able to work with me about starting some orientation at 1 day a week until I deliver, then having me come back at 8 weeks post baby to start on my full time.

I'm having so much apprehension about it. On one hand I don't want to lose this chance and really feel like this might be my only opportunity for a long time.

On the other hand I'm super worried about how to actually make this happen. I have a 3 year old, a husband in school full time, and no one who can help us with childcare at all.

I'm dedicated to breastfeeding and was very successful with my first, but had a job where I could easily pump every two hours.

That being said, I did have pretty significant post-partum depression though and struggled A LOT!.

This job would be on nights too and I'm really a day person (especially with a newborn).

Would I be crazy to take this?

Crazy not to?

Any advice, personal experience, or words of wisdom would be so greatly appreciated!!

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    Just one gal's opinion, but that sounds like a lot of red flags.

    I think if you do make the move, you have to be mentally prepared to make some sacrifices. You should be prepared for the possibility that you may not be able to pump frequently enough at work to maintain your supply, and may have to supplement. You should be prepared for the possibility that by making time to pump, your managers and preceptors may view you as being less efficient at handling a full assignment (especially since med-surg is notoriously busy and requires substantial time management even without the added time-suck that is pumping). You should be prepared for the possibility that you may need to pay for additional child support. You should be prepared for the possibility that you may rarely see your husband since you'll be on opposite schedules.

    I'm not saying that any/all of these things will necessarily happen, but they could. Especially given your history of PPD, you need to be sure that if these stressors do occur, they won't send you into a spiral. Even worse, if you were to fall into a deep depression, you wouldn't qualify for FMLA (assuming you're moving to a new facility) and you could lose your job.

    If I were in your position, I would consider turning down the offer and apply again at a more opportune time, especially if your current job offers you FMLA and sufficient time to pump. I'd write a thoughtful note to HR and the hiring managers explaining that you'd sincerely appreciate the opportunity to work with them in the future, but the timing with a newborn will be too great a challenge. There have been a bunch of posts on AN lately about how HR doesn't like to hire pregnant nurses (yes, it's illegal discrimination, but that's life); they'd probably prefer to hire you when you're not pregnant, anyway. That said, they could be miffed that they spent the time, energy and money interviewing you just to be turned down over a pregnancy you'd already known about.

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    • Author

    Thank you for your response!

    If I'm being hones then I have to admit that putting my 8 week old in daycare is just a deal breaker for me. I'm a lactation counselor and supplementing is pretty much out of the picture too.

    I think writing HR the letter though is an awesome suggestion that never entered my mind!

    Thinking about it now, I think it would look a lot better to them to follow your suggestion than to accept this job, have it all fall apart, and then leave after they've worked so much to accommodate me.

    Thank you for writing me back on this!

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