Is it unprofessional to inform my boss of my pregnancy over the phone?

Nurses General Nursing

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I work overnight and almost never see my manager-usually only a couple of times a year. Our schedules just don't overlap, so I really only see him at meetings. I haven't told anyone yet that I'm pregnant, but want to let them know, and discuss maternity leave. How should I go about this? Email? Phone call? Or ask if we can set up a meeting? It just seems a little excessive to me to set up a meeting to have a conversation that will probably only last a few minutes. I live 30 minutes away and I'm assuming he'll just want to know how long I plan to take for leave, and will tell me I need to go to Human Resources and fill out FMLA paperwork. I do have a night shift supervisor that I see a couple of times a week, that I am quite friendly with. Should I ask her what to do? I just thought that my actual manager should be the first to know. This is my first pregnancy and I just have no clue how I'm supposed to go about this.

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Specializes in Psychiatry, Community, Nurse Manager, hospice.

Email him, short and sweet.

That is your proof that he knew if you wind up being discriminated against.

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Specializes in OB-Gyn/Primary Care/Ambulatory Leadership.

Honestly, you have no obligation to tell him at all until a couple months before you're due (for scheduling purposes). But yes, just let him know in an email, and state your anticipated leave time "Hey, just letting you know that I'm pregnant, due at the end of June, and plan to take 12 weeks off. Will make sure to fill out FMLA paperwork when it gets closer to time of delivery."

As a manager, I am typically the LAST person on the unit who knows about these things, and I usually hear about it through the grapevine, rather than directly from the individual.

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Specializes in Nephrology, Cardiology, ER, ICU.

Agree with Klone....

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Specializes in OR, Nursing Professional Development.

Depending on your facility policy, you may be required to share that info in writing- for the units where I work that deal with radiation or chemo medications, it is expected that the staff notify the manager in writing as soon as they know so that proper precautions can be taken.

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