New Grad RN, 17 weeks pregnant with upcoming interview

[skschultzRN]

I live in Southern California and I graduated from nursing school in June from an LVN-ADN program. I passed my state boards in July and have been looking for an RN position ever since with no luck. I currently have an interview lined up for a hospital that I have been trying so hard to get hired at, but my predicament is that I am currently 17 weeks pregnant. At the time of my interview do I tell them that I am pregnant, but plan on working until as close to my due date as possible and plan on returning back to work right after maternity leave? I really don't want me being pregnant to deter me from getting this job, but don't want to make an uncomfortable working environment when they find out that I am pregnant after being hired. Since finding an RN position as a new grad is hard enough in this economy I wanted to know what the best advice is for my situation. Thank you so much.

[LACA, BSN, LPN, RN]

I'm glad you decided to tell them that you are pregnant...I don't think starting out a new job by being dishonest is a good idea at all. And that's how they are going to see it when they realize that you were plenty far enough along to know you were pregnant and didn't tell them. It may not be their business, it may be discrimination against women, and so on and so forth but that doesn't mean that it's okay to hide something like that. I would perhaps mention it in the interview if everything is going well. Maybe when they ask you a question along the lines of "Tell me about yourself" or however they word it. Slip in a statement about how you recently found out you are pregnant and when you are due and etc. Tell them of your plans to work until your due date and then come back immediately after maternity leave. They will view your honesty as a positive and they are more likely to believe you in the future. I don't think someone would outright not hire you because you are pregnant...it's never been an issue with me, as far as getting a job.

[netglow, ASN, RN]

Op, you are so right in doing this. If hired you will save yourself from another layer of nurse animosity. Who wants to add on to what you already will have to go through!! Nurses are bad enough as it is. Now you will be able to counter all of the "talk" by announcing yes you are pregnant, and that the powers that be are totally aware and are supportive.

[tyvin, BSN, RN]

Will you admit that maybe graduation and taking-your-boards-time isn't the BEST time to start your new family?

Established employees are valuable to a company and more than entitled to a leave for any legitimate reason, but please stop saying it shouldn't matter if you're starting a new job while pregnant- it does for practical, not legal reasons.

Sure I'll admit that maybe graduation and taking my boards are not a good time to start a family but when this happened to me I wasn't planning on starting a new family in fact I had a 12 year old, was single, it was a one night stand and no I didn't wear protection when having sex for the first time in 7 years because I was told that my equipment was plugged and I couldn't possibly get pregnant unless I had my tubes cleared. Imagine my surprise; can you? And imagine me at work getting a physical by the house doc and he tells me my BP is up and I realize that the last time my BP was up was when I was pregnant before. Yea; I passed the physical regardless of the high BP and signed the contract for my job knowing I was pregnant. I finally got a job and was about to settle in and then found out I'm pregnant Hmmmm I signed the papers because I needed to feed my family.

Now I'm sure this nurses story is different but I think we can all assume that it wasn't an "intentional" thing to do. Life is not fair sometimes; so we deal with it and women unfortunately have a little more to deal with then men IMO. So she's going to tell them anyway; that's her call. BTW; practical and discrimination are oxymoron's.

You see you got it backwards; it's the uneducated young girls that are out getting pregnant on purpose to get on welfare, not the college graduate. There will always be a set of circumstances that we are not apprised of or will not understand. But until women can be assured that there will be no discrimination against them concerning this issue what would you have them do? Perhaps it may work out for this women but I have seen too many where it didn't.

[darrarizer]

I was also told I could not get pregnant and here I am, 11 weeks along, and about to graduate from nursing school. Luckily, I've been working as a Nurse Extern at my hospital for over a year now, so it should be easy for me to transition to become an R.N. After reading these posts I just want one thing clarified: As a single mother with no family or anyone else to help me out, some of you think I should not become a nurse at this time? I should forget the last 4 years of hard work, put a smile on my face, and work for less than $30,000 a year, just because it will mildly inconvenience the staff at work? I wonder what you would do in my situation?

[LouisVRN, RN]

I know this my situation is not exactly the same is yours but I will be sitting for a promotional interview on my due date. (I don't think my manager realized it was my due date when she scheduled me). That being said I think had she thought that my being pregnant made me unfit to do my current job she would not have wasted her or other staff' (panel interview) or my time interviewing for a promotion.

At 17 weeks there is very little that your job will keep you from doing as long as you are careful. I doubt you are showing to the point where it will be obvious and as such I would not mention anything. I believe it is illegal for them to ask. So go in there and impress them with your knowledge and desire to learn and do your job!

I have to say my current job has lost 3 new grads due to pregnancies where they didn't want to come back or left shortly after coming back in the past year. So from a managerial standpoint you have to understand their concerns as well.

[darrarizer]

Amazing to me how so many people can afford not to work. If I don't have a job the baby and I will starve to death.

[nulife4good]

Wow, I'm in the same boat. I'm a new grad RN and I'm 16 weeks pregnant. First of all, congratulations!

I just finished an interview and didn't mention my pregnancy-- which they legally can't ask you questions about. Pregnancy is a temporary condition and I will be judged on my qualifications for the job that I can perform. I had a classmate receive a job offer at 8 months pregnant-she started the position, took a short leave and returned. Another classmate also received a job offer in August, she is due in October, and the manager said that she'd wait for her! You just never know what a hiring manager is looking for and your skills set and previous experience may be what pushes you to the front of the line.

I'm definitely not judging you. I don't think that you or I (or any woman for that matter) needs to feel compelled to explain why you decided to have a child at this very moment. Every situation is different--and although I've had my moments of stress, my husband and I are thrilled at the prospect of being parents again. And as for those who feel disgruntled that they may have to pick up the slack, sorry. One day, another team member may need to help you out when you least expect it. I know that I've had many times when I was single in my previous profession that I had to complete tasks and projects because a co-worker went on maternity leave or had to leave the worksite due to child related issues.

If you receive an offer, accept it and then contact HR about the best way to proceed over the upcoming weeks. Best of luck to you!:redpinkhe

[beeker]

I just did a search about this topic and found this thread. I am in the same boat. Prior to my nursing career we tried to start a family for almost a decade, and we practically bankrupt ourselves on fertility treatments. So now that I am pregnant, I feel like it is a miracle. A position has opened on another unit with better hours and I want it. I just feel dishonest not telling them at he interview, but I don't want to miss out on this spot because I can do the job and plan to only take 6 weeks off after the baby comes. I am really not sure how to proceed.