Periop program and pregnancy

[quinnle]

Hi everyone. I just got a job offer for new graduates in OR at a trauma level 1 hospital in Ohio. I will start the program very soon. According to the recruiter, the program lasts 3 months, but to the nurse manager, it will last a year. I guess that after 3 months studying in classroom, I will work with a preceptor in OR for the rest of 9 months. However, I just found out that I am pregnant with my first child (I will go to see a doctor to confirm, but I guess it is just a few weeks). I am currently taking classes to get a BSN, and I will finish it next May. What should I do? Should I let the nurse manager know about my pregnancy, and ask her if I can stay in the program until the day I give birth (April or May 2016), or should I ask her if I can start the program after giving birth. I really do not want to lose this opportunity, as well as health benefit for the baby and me. I already submitted my resignation at a nursing home where I have worked for 10 months. I do not want to work there during my pregnancy since the workload is heavy, and the new psych unit is handful. Please advise. Thank you so much.

[Rose_Queen, BSN, MSN, RN]

While I have no idea of the policy for the facility as far as leave during orientation, I do encourage you to be open about the pregnancy. It's a safety issue- some of the things used in surgery (bone cement comes immediately to mind) can be an issue for a developing fetus. Also, there may be different or additional monitoring of x-ray exposure. My facility provides OR employees with a single dosimeter to be worn outside the lead. For pregnant OR staff, they will add a second dosimeter to be worn at waist level under the lead so that exposure to both staff and fetus can be monitored.

[benrosy]

I would wait until you have your official offer letter. Once you have this you can should tell her so that there is consideration due to your pregnancy. I was pregnant when I started a residency, but I didn't say anything until I started the program.

The OR residency is probably 6 months, and after that they usually do not put you on call until you're comfortable (1 year). My friend went through an OR residency and that's how long it was.

I'm also starting an OR Residency next month and I was told it is 6 months but that they will do additional training.

Good luck :)

[Spiker, ASN, RN, EMT-P]

Very good points, & excellent advice. It's better to be up-front about your pregnancy (once you've verified it!) than to start the program & spring it on your preceptor. They can do the math & may perceive it as a deception on your part, which isn't a good way to start out. If you've been officially accepted into the program, then I expect they will work with you to take the pregnancy into consideration (Xray, bone cement, heavy lifting, etc). That said, if they run their preceptor program on a time line, such as certain class times/clinical times, you may have a problem if your maternity leave coincides. Open communication with the nurse manager is the only means to come up with a good solution. Good luck, & welcome to OR Nursing!