Modifying tasks when pregnant. My boss says "no".

[RNnik07]

Has anyone else had to modify their tasks at work for being pregnant?

I'm an RN in General Pediatrics & Pediatric Oncology and my OBGYN wants me on "light duty" at work for my pregnancy and I told my boss about this, I have a note and all from the doctor too. My boss told me there is no such thing as light duty for pregnant women and that I'd either have to be on maternity leave or not, however I've seen on several occasions that they assign light duty to others who have had a sprained ankle or wrist or who have hurt their back. These women have been assigned transport or come in to help with admissions or just to walk through the units to help the other nurses out.

My position is such that I can be on my feet for literally up to 12.5 hours at a time. There is a lot of heavy lifting (which I've been avoiding), a lot of running, and extreme stress as I'm sure many of you can relate to! To top it off I work over-night and have always had a hard time sleeping during the day.

I don't want to push the issue of "light duty" with my boss but I feel like I'm being treated very unfairly. I found a government website stating "If an employee is temporarily unable to perform her job because of her pregnancy, the employer must treat her the same as any other temporarily disabled employee. For example, if the employer allows temporarily disabled employees to modify tasks, perform alternative assignments, or take disability leave or leave without pay, the employer also must allow an employee who is temporarily disabled because of pregnancy to do the same." http://www.eeoc.gov/facts/fs-preg.html

I'm really frustrated. I still have 3 months left before the baby is due and I was planning to work up to at least 38 weeks (unless of course my OBGYN wants me out earlier). I wanted more time off with the baby and I am so upset about this. I don't want to hurt myself on the job because my boss won't help me to modify my tasks.

[GadgetRN71, ASN, RN]

I guess I should have been more clear. My doctor wants me to be on light duty due to something that came up with my pregnancy earlier this week. I had some clear fluid loss (sorry if too much information but I'm hoping you can better understand where I'm coming from). I also had some moderate abdominal cramping (not the normal mild cramps that come and go). I went in for an exam and my doctor said he didn't know whether he should or shouldn't take me out of work for the remainder of my pregnancy yet. I told him they allow light duty to other nurses who were injured and he said I could go back on light duty.

His main concern was of course the fluid loss and the fact that my mother had given birth 2x's to premature babies at 27 weeks (where I am now) and lost one of her children. My brother is a strong and healthy man now but spent the first 8 weeks of his life in the NICU. My OBGYN said my mother's history wasn't of too much concern, but was of some concern to him. He said "I need you to carry this baby at least 2 more months."

I'm not looking to be on light duty because I'm "just pregnant." I expected to work until at least 38 weeks with my normal everyday assignment, with the exception of taking patients who would need a lot of heavy lifting, or someone on contact/droplet precautions that could be harmful to my baby.

I'm looking to go on light duty so I have a chance to carry my baby full term and not have to leave work yet. Of course I will leave work if he wants me out when I go for my next visit, but until he says that I want to work so I don't use up all my time off while sitting home alone. I want to spend the time with my baby and we can't afford for me to go out earlier if we can prevent it.

I hope that makes things a bit more clear...

What I'm most frustrated about is the fact that they assign light duty to other nurses who have been hurt both on and OFF the job.

I'm sorry you're having these issues. I believe in most cases that pregnancy isn't a reason for special treatment-we have several nurses, techs and surgeons that recently gave birth and they were involved in surgical cases where xray was used. They took precautions(special lead aprons) and all their babies were fine.

However, I am also a firm believer in looking out for yourself(and your baby).Find out the temporary disability protocols in your state and go from there. I think you should go back to your doctor, explain your situation with your boss and do what you need to do. I agree, it's kind of sketchy that your boss accomodated these other people. I also agree that we nurses can be an unsympathetic bunch- I swear, I could be mauled by wild dogs and there would be co-workers who would insist that I should still come to work and be 100%. This is why when I was ill in April, my doctor took me out for a month, gave me a note and I had zero guilt over this. Had I come to work, there would have been those complaining that I wasn't pulling my fair weight(couldn't see so much out of my right eye)-there is no light duty at all in my department.

Hope everything goes well for you and baby.

[nursel56]

When I worked at the hospital, my NM wouldnt allow us to work unless we could work a regular load.. no light load for ANY reason, which was really bad for some. One nurse came to work with 2 JP drains hanging out of her abdomen. She tucked them into her scrub pants so no one would know. She knew that if she told the NM, she would make her go home. So we all secretly helped her out with everything. If you are already having problems, then the health of your baby is most important. If I were you, I would stop working and ensure that I carried baby to full term. I had a placental abruption and my son died, I almost died. With my next pregnancy, I did not work because I didnt want to risk it. Maybe its best if you dont work now if you are already leaking fluid and have a family hx of preemies. But thats just my opinion.

I'm so sorry that happened to you, chenoaspirit. OP, I think the list of specifics by your OB would probably help. Although I'm not a manager, the "light duty" requirement would pose a problem for the person making out assignments-- ie what can/can you not do- how you would divide the remaining tasks to other nurses and that sort of thing.

Unfortunately, everybody has worked with people who will take advantage of a situation and milk it for all it's worth. People who are honest and sincere and doing things for the right reasons get unfairly tarnished because of them. I don't think it's a lack of compassion. Do what you need to keep you and your baby healthy! Best wishes!

[RNKPCE]

I guess I should have been more clear. My doctor wants me to be on light duty due to something that came up with my pregnancy earlier this week. I had some clear fluid loss (sorry if too much information but I'm hoping you can better understand where I'm coming from). I also had some moderate abdominal cramping (not the normal mild cramps that come and go). I went in for an exam and my doctor said he didn't know whether he should or shouldn't take me out of work for the remainder of my pregnancy yet. I told him they allow light duty to other nurses who were injured and he said I could go back on light duty.

His main concern was of course the fluid loss and the fact that my mother had given birth 2x's to premature babies at 27 weeks (where I am now) and lost one of her children. My brother is a strong and healthy man now but spent the first 8 weeks of his life in the NICU. My OBGYN said my mother's history wasn't of too much concern, but was of some concern to him. He said "I need you to carry this baby at least 2 more months."

I'm not looking to be on light duty because I'm "just pregnant." I expected to work until at least 38 weeks with my normal everyday assignment, with the exception of taking patients who would need a lot of heavy lifting, or someone on contact/droplet precautions that could be harmful to my baby.

I'm looking to go on light duty so I have a chance to carry my baby full term and not have to leave work yet. Of course I will leave work if he wants me out when I go for my next visit, but until he says that I want to work so I don't use up all my time off while sitting home alone. I want to spend the time with my baby and we can't afford for me to go out earlier if we can prevent it.

I hope that makes things a bit more clear...

What I'm most frustrated about is the fact that they assign light duty to other nurses who have been hurt both on and OFF the job.

Thanks for clarifying. However it sounds like you should be put on LOA. I had some preterm labor(cramping and had to leave about 6 weeks early. On some units having you light duty would be harder than just replacing you with a float nurse who can carry a full assignment. Yes you want to save your LOA so you have more time after the baby is born but sometimes those plans have to change for the health of the baby.

[Otessa, BSN, RN]

I know I will be flamed for this, but I don't understand why someone gets pregnant if they can't afford to take some time off either for your health and/or to raise the poor little thing? I dunno, when I had my child I made sure I was financially able to take care of her.

I apologize if this offends anyone, I just don't understand.

I understand where you are coming from. My husband and I had planned for 5 1/2 long years for childrenand then I was pregnant with twins-he got laid off when I was 6 months along-was I supposed to give them up because we couldn't afford them at that time because we had bills to pay?

[RNnik07]

If your doctor found something concerning why didn't you tell your manager about it? You should have been more clear.

I explained it to her the morning following our brief phone conversation stating he wanted me on light duty. She didn't care about the reason as to why he wanted me on light duty. She just repeated that I can either take maternity leave or not.

[RNnik07]

I know I will be flamed for this, but I don't understand why someone gets pregnant if they can't afford to take some time off either for your health and/or to raise the poor little thing? I dunno, when I had my child I made sure I was financially able to take care of her.

I apologize if this offends anyone, I just don't understand.

FYI my husband and I have plenty of money put away that we intended to use while I was unable to work. Enough to get me off of work for 6 months without having to lift a finger. However, I do not want to use 3 months before the baby is born. I want my full 6 months with the baby, not 3 with and 3 without. I would never bring a child into this world if I didn't think I could support them. Also, by me working another 3 months I will accumulate even more holiday time/sick time that I can use for maternity leave!

[RhiaRN75, RN]

It really comes down to what's safe. When it's all said and done, it's your decision/responsibility to do what's best. I can understand your manager's reluctance... 'just pregnant' is not the same as 'just a sprained ankle.' Who knows the worse-scenario outcomes better then a peds nurse? Maybe she's not trying to be difficult so much as she's considering 'just pregnant' to be more then 'just'. I might think worse of a manager who wanted you to continue working and says 'just pregnant' is no different then 'just sprained'.

What do you mean by 'light duty'? I'm not being sarcastic- it's just that light duty can be a rather vague description. When we give 'light duty' notes we are usually pretty specific since many employers don't accept a generic 'light duty' note. For example, an injured shoulder is instructed- No lifting over x pounds, no over the shoulder lifting, no reaching above shoulder level for y days. 'Light duty' can be a legal catch-22 for employers. If a person is working with a non-specific 'light duty' instruction, any further injury can be argued to be the result of the employer not complying.

If your coworkers are helpful in regards to lifting, chemo, and certain illnesses, you're already on 'light duty'. It makes me wonder if your OB is more concerned over the hours worked v/s work load. If this is the case, it may be easier to continue working safely. It's easier, in terms of the schedule, to not work consecutive shifts as opposed to having an extra nurse because someone is on light duty. The same applies to part-time, it's easier to have someone drop to 24 hours a week. Maybe not easy or ideal, but easier then working around 'light duty'. If something bad happens to you or a pt as a result of light duty restrictions, your employer is toast.

When my OB didn't want me working more then two twelves in a row- I went to two weekend nights plus a weeknight. It was the easiest way to comply without creating a nightmare for my coworkers; more weekends off for them. It wasn't too bad- I stayed on that schedule for a year after birth because it solved the daycare debate.

If you have short term disability or a seperate sick-day bank, you may also be able to use those hours so that you can still have a decent maternity leave. I can see the problem with being written out of work too soon. If you carry insurance for the whole family, you'll be in a bind when you run out of vacation time. Who can afford COBRA?

If your OB wants to write you out for high-risk, you're stuck. Beyond complying for baby's sake, if you disregard the instructions and work anyhow, insurance may deny charges if things go wrong. It's not worth that risk- consider how expensive a NICU stay would be. Besides, it's not just money at stake.

I've never worked with someone who used pregnancy as an excuse. It does happen though. I see no end of pts coming through the ER wanting to use a normal pregnancy as a work note. It works, too. There's no way we can determine it's safe enough to continue normal activities on a Friday night. We write them out as 'don't do anything, no driving, no work, pelvic rest, etc. until cleared by your OB.' (We also are obliged to perform labwork, a pelvic exam, and US resulting in an unpleasent visit for the woman- not to be mean but because complications do happen.) Total bedrest for a pregnant woman is a rarity- it's not healthy to be on bedrest and difficult to get back on your feet once cleared. If we say bedrest, we usually say admission to the OB floor... because we mean it!

In any case, I wish you the best! I hope you have a healthy and happy pregnancy- with a healthy/happy baby!!

[RNnik07]

Thanks all who have wished me good luck with the pregnancy, I very much appreciate it. My husband and I can't wait to welcome our little baby boy into the world (who by the way was planned and we couldn't be happier!!) I just don't want to meet my baby too much sooner than March 30th - his due date!!

I wasn't looking to start any type of debate. I just wanted to know my rights.

I don't want light duty because I'm pregnant. I want light duty due to my complications/risks and because I want to be treated fairly at work like others who have been disabled.

Anyway, I'll let you know what the disability office has to say, I'm hoping to hear from them this coming week.

[Fiona59]

I'm having a hard time understanding why American nurses (and female workers in general) don't have paid maternity leave. We have six months maternity leave payable by our government and six months paid paternal leave (which can be transferred to the mother). All in all one year at roughly 66% of your wage at home with your child.

And yes, we have nurses who will use the "I'm pregnant" card to get out of caring for those in isolation, who are obese, etc. Hell, us over 50's are tired of hearing "open this for me, you don't have to worry about getting pregnant". Yup one actually said this to my coworker.

I wish you well in your pregnancy but bear in mind my kids all arrived before their due date and were healthy for it.

[TiffyRN, BSN, PhD]

Some employers do not offer the light duty option. Their opinion is that if one cannot function fully then one needs to go on LOA or resign. Exceptions must be made for on the job injuries.

The OP's employer however has set a questionable precedent by allowing "light duty" for employees who are not injured on the job. That would be the avenue to pursue. I am afraid however that what will result will not please the OP or her co-workers. I am afraid what will happen is that the management will crack down on all light duty. Maybe the OP will get the exception since she brought up the inconsistency but after that other light duty will be restricted to on the job injuries.

The employee must always push for the best benefits they can get, but remember. . . and never forget this. . . The hospital (or whomever your employer is) is only looking out for itself and it's bottom line. There is no compassion in those business decisions. The sooner we all realize this, the better off we all will be.

Unfortunately they don't care that you have decided to start (or expand) your family, all they see is that they want fully capable employees. I worked for one employer that was just that strict about work limitations. They almost didn't hire me because I had chiropractic treatment a year before. They kept asking me was I sure it wasn't for a specific work injury, they wouldn't even hire someone who had a history of on the job injury. And you had to lift 50# without pain to pass one's work physical. The upper management caught that a floor manager had been giving a pregnant employee desk duty (due to similar issues to the OP) and immediately sent her home, put her on LOA, got the manager in trouble. The employee could not return until her MD cleared her for full duty (which was after the infant was born).

[Otessa, BSN, RN]

Rnnik07,

How are things going for you?

otessa

[RNnik07]

Things are going well. No changes in my pregnancy or at work. So far baby seems to be doing great! Headed to the doctor on Monday to see if he wants me to continue to work! Thank you :)