New Grad Nurse & Pregnant

[cp2012]

Hey everyone! I would like a little insight on my situation...I graduated in May with my BSN and passed my NCLEX in June. I had started applying for jobs before the NCLEX, but hadn't heard anything from anyone. Well, right after the NCLEX I found out that my husband and I are having a baby. HUGE SHOCK. And definitely the worst timing ever!

I have been miserably sick with this being my first child. Throwing up multiple times a day, constantly nauseated, easily winded...Exhausted. I've been so sick that I stopped applying for jobs and had pretty much decided to work for the family business until after the baby is born and then start looking for nursing jobs...Well, just when I thought I had a plan, a local hospital called me for an interview this week. The position is in med surg (and of course I'm a little bummed about that), but it is a DAY SHIFT...In my city that's unheard of for new grads. So I'm going to the interview tomorrow, but I'm just so unsure of everything this entails...

1. I'm nervous about working as a new graduate in med surg while being pregnant...I'm a high risk pregnancy patient because I have to be on Lovenox the entire time (blood clotting disorder)...Which is new to me. So much information that has come along with being pregnant and now to add in taking care of patients in the most broad area of nursing makes me anxious.

2. I'm nervous that I'll be too sick to take care of patients. Will the distraction help or make it worse?

3. I won't be telling the employer until a while after being hired that I'm pregnant and I'm not sure how that will play out.

Any advice or personal testimony would be greatly appreciated. While I don't have the job yet, I would really like to have an answer in my head if it were offered to me...I've considered not taking it because my husband's job makes enough money for us to live, but I wonder if I will regret that in 9-10 months when I start applying for jobs...Will I remember how to be a nurse if I wait that long after school to get a job?? Will I regret not taking a day shift when all I can find is nights later on?

HELP?!?

[mcnacht]

If the job is offered, take it. You will regret it if, as you say, you can only find night shifts or have a hard time finding anything later. Getting even a few months of work on your resume is better than nothing at all, and a delay after graduation until your first job. Take Zofran and hope for the best. Is it an 8 hour shift or a 12?

I had something a little similar: 1st child born 3 months after I graduated from my NP program. I delayed looking for NP positions, just continued to work as an RN, and I have always regreted it. I think it made it much harder to get an NP job when I finally did start looking, and it took me almost a year of looking before I found a job.

Good luck, and congratulations!

[monkeybug]

I passed up an opportunity to interview in a another department when I was pregnant, and I always regretted it. Especially after I found out that they hired another pregnant girl (visibly pregnant)! I was high risk (though definitely not to the degree you are), I threw up all the time for the duration of the pregnancy, and I was absolutely exhausted. But, I worked until the day I went in labor. Day shift jobs don't come along every day. Go for it, or you may find yourself working nights a year from now, kicking yourself because of the opportunity you passed up.

One thing you do need to think about, though, is maternity leave. You might want to check into the hospital's leave policy. You don't qualify for FMLA until you've worked 1,200 hours (I think).

And congratulations!

[cp2012]

Thanks everyone! The interview went really well today so I'll post if I get the job. If it's offered I think I'm going to take it! It's 12 hr shifts, but it's days...And that's a complete blessing.

[duckyluck111]

It sounds like you are still fairly early in your pregnancy and while a small minority of people have nausea all the way through their pregnancies, for the majority it clears up by about 14-16 weeks. Even before then, I felt that the distraction of work did help...I even vomited a few times at work and just kept right on working (usually I would feel better after vomiting). I just kept a toothbrush and breath mints around. Just about everybody I know felt great during the 2nd and most of the 3rd trimester until the last 3-4 weeks or so when you get huge and uncomfortable and being on your feet for 12 hours may present a problem but cross that bridge when you come to it...you can always request a schedule change at that point. Good luck to you!