New Job and Pregnant

[mindlor]

Let me preface this by saying that I am a guy.

I have seen many threads on here where people ask..."I know I am pregnant, should I disclose this to a new employer prior to being hired."

The answer is always, no way, there is nothing they can do. It is illegal for them do discriminate.

And it is, you are absolutely correct.

However I feel it is certainly not the moral thing to do and bordering on being fraudulent.

Employers spend a lot of money orienting and precepting new employees. If I were in HR and someone pulled a fast one like this on me, my hands would be tied certainly, but I would never forget it and it would surely matter on down the road.

The potential not knowng they are pregnant is a whole different thing altogether.

I know this may be controversial but I am curious as to what the female perspective is.

[~Mi Vida Loca~RN, ASN, RN]

Okay, fair enough. Conversely, what do you think the employer owes its employees? A paycheck only? Benefits, a pension? A lifetime job, even if a better qualified applicant comes along?

How about plenty of notice if they are going to terminate the employee as well. I mean it seems fair enough, especially since it's expected for the employee to give ample time of leave

[TDCHIM]

Hmmm, OP, let's make up a list of things a job candidate should have to reveal to each potential employer, judging by the line of logic you seem to have expressed....

1. Pregnancy - after all, those mooching women aren't going to be there to pull their weight for a couple of months.

2. Surgery - yes, candidates should definitely disclose that upcoming surgery, no matter how minor and how brief the resultant absence! Such a disclosure obviously would never be used against anyone. No one would be refused a job not because of the brief absence required but because of the potential strain the person could put on the company's insurance.

3. Disability - I mean, come on, we all know those people can't pull their weight either, always needing to be accommodated with different workstations or modified duty. They ought to have to disclose all details about their medical conditions at the beginning of the review process; in fact, they should probably have to put the details on their resumes. That way, they can be ruled out without wasting any manhours interviewing them or checking their credentials, and long before they cost the employer or the employer's insurance plan any money.

4. Familial status - if a woman's young and married, she's probably either going to have kids or already has them, and that's just going to be a constant problem for the poor employer. She might have to miss work sometimes to take care of them while they're sick. Plus if a middle-aged woman's parents are still alive, she might get stuck taking care of them, and that's just a total hassle for any employer. So candidates should definitely have to disclose their entire familial structure and any potential "trouble spots" like kids, aged parents, etc.

5. Genetic background - Well, this is a no-brainer, right? Employees should have to be tested and their full results made available to every potential employer during the interviewing process! I mean, if some 30-year-old woman has a significant genetic predisposition for breast cancer, who wants to hire her? She could cost the place a ton of money and end up missing a lot of work! Who knows when that stuff will start up in her? She's not worth the risk!

Ugh, I'm going to go take a shower after all that. In a way I can see your general idea, OP, but wow! To me, you are way beyond off-base in your thoughts on this topic.

[CranberryMuffin]

Previous poster brings up a good point.

At what time in a pregnancy is it no longer safe to work as a hospital bedside RN? Turning patients, exposure to pathogens, etc etc.

Also previous poster sees no issue with taking a job whilst knowingly pregnant. Thats cool and is an individual choice. But to answer your question, you are taking a job, one where you know you will be counted on when you KNOW that in the very near future you will be unavailable for an extended period of time........

So, are you arguing that the woman shouldn't take the job and instead not have any income and just starve? What's the solution here? Obviously you think that working (and a paycheck) is a luxury as opposed to a necessity.

The purpose of supplemental staff at hospitals are to provide additional staff when units need the additional help - i.e. when someone goes on maternity leave.

[imintrouble, BSN, RN]

To tell or not to tell. I thought women were supposed to be more moral and ethical than men. Or was that empathetic? No, couldn't be empathetic. Being hired, then leaving your fellow nurses and nurse manager in a pinch. Honest? Nope, that's not the quality either.

I would disclose my pregnancy, because I feel it would be the honest, ethical, moral thing to do.

I would then have to wait and see if the person who interviews me is as moral and ethical as I am.

[~Mi Vida Loca~RN, ASN, RN]

To tell or not to tell. I thought women were supposed to be more moral and ethical than men. Or was that empathetic? No, couldn't be empathetic. Being hired, then leaving your fellow nurses and nurse manager in a pinch. Honest? Nope, that's not the quality either.

I would disclose my pregnancy, because I feel it would be the honest, ethical, moral thing to do.

I would then have to wait and see if the person who interviews me is as moral and ethical as I am.

Hmmm really??? I have never heard that.

You're not leaving people in a pinch, that is why there are PRN and float positions.

It's being made to sound as if the person was hired and than 2 weeks later up and leaves and never shows up again.

[cb_rn]

Perhaps all women of childbearing age should be made to sit at home, waiting to be barefoot and pregnant, unless they can show evidence of sterilization. Strained resources due to someone else's maternity leave isn't just confined to the nursing profession, you know. I'm sorry, this post entire thread is ridiculous. I think you were just trying to stir up a response with a good ol' dose of cleverly disguised, well written misogyny under the guise of debate. I'm irritated with myself for even being ruffled at something I'm reading online. Its just irritating when someone has such a sexist opinion but plays the "Here is my rational debate on the subject so you can't just call me a sexist because I have a neatly ordered list of reasons on why I'm right."

When someone asks you "Should a person needing surgery have to disclose that in an interview?" you say yes, & yet your post isn't a generic "Should you disclose that you are going to need medical leave during a job interview?" I've been hired obviously pregnant and I'm sure I'm not the first nurse to have had that honor. It must be that not everyone in management buys into your song and dance about the strain a maternity leave puts on a unit.

So since I've become irritated, I'm excusing myself from this thread. I'm sure you're a very nice person but I think that your opinion is lame. Feel free to feel the same about mine.

I hope everyone else reading this topic will quit responding to you because its obvious you aren't going to be convinced that anyone is right other than yourself and is basically just giving you a venue to type out some well written response so that you can justify your archaic and offensive opinion over and over again.

God bless you. The end & goodnight.

[melmarie23, MSN, RN]

I just found out I am pregnant a couple weeks ago and I am currently job hunting, so this thread struck a nerve with me. As if a new grad didnt already have enough to worry about.....I am already sick to my stomach with worry that I am going to be discriminated against because I am a woman and because I am pregnant.

When I interview, I absolutely do not plan on disclosing my pregnancy unless they specifically ask. What I do in my personal life has nothing to do with my work, so the two should remain separate.

I can assure you that I am well equipped and able to perform my job correctly and efficiently. And I am appalled at the suggestion that pregnancy renders a woman incapable of doing so. Pregnancy=/=disability.

As an employee you are issued time off to use as your see fit-vacation, sick days, whatever. And as the employer, if you are issuing these to all employees, then it is none of your concern how exactly they are used. As long as the employee gives you enough notice so that you can find backup, then well I don't see what the big deal is and what the whining is about.

And if I were not to be hired, or let go once I was hired, all because of my pregnancy, then well, your institution is not one in which I would like to be working. I am much much more than a warm body and I prefer a place who values their employees.

[SCSTxRN]

I think if you're asked, you should answer honestly.

If you're anticipating complications - you should bring that possibility up.

If you're not? Hmm.. nope, I wouldn't say oh - by the way - I'm going to need six weeks off in about 7 months to deliver my biscuit.

JMO