question...new job and pregnant

Jolie, BSN · Oct 5, 2005

hello,
i just excepted a job at a large hospital in our area. i am a recent graduate (lvn) and have been talking with this hospital since july. i am supposed to start training next week. i found out sunday that i am pregnant with our second child. i am excited because we have been trying for sometime now. we quite trying and BAM...pregnant. anyways, i have to have a complete physical for the hospital. do they usually do pregnancy tests? if so, can they not hire me because of it? i thought it would be descrimination, but then i got to thinking...what if they said that i cant meet job requirements of lifting????? any advice would be greatly appreciated......

I have never had a pregnancy test included as part of a pre-employment physical. To deny you employment solely because of pregnancy would be a violation of federal law.

You should check with your OB/CNM regarding any restrictions on working conditions because of pregnancy. If you are healthy and have no complications, I doubt that there will be any lifting restrictions, but there will probably be a few other safety concerns, such as avoiding x-ray exposure, handling chemo, etc. Depending on your unit, these may not even be applicable.

It is your choice as to when you disclose your pregnancy to your employer. Just be aware that you will not qualify for Family and Medical Leave at the time the baby is born, due to your short time of employment.

Best wishes for a happy, healthy pregnancy!

LincErin · Oct 5, 2005

I have never had a pregnancy test included as part of a pre-employment physical. To deny you employment solely because of pregnancy would be a violation of federal law.
You should check with your OB/CNM regarding any restrictions on working conditions because of pregnancy. If you are healthy and have no complications, I doubt that there will be any lifting restrictions, but there will probably be a few other safety concerns, such as avoiding x-ray exposure, handling chemo, etc. Depending on your unit, these may not even be applicable.
It is your choice as to when you disclose your pregnancy to your employer. Just be aware that you will not qualify for Family and Medical Leave at the time the baby is born, due to your short time of employment.
Best wishes for a happy, healthy pregnancy!

thank you for your reply. i am going to be doing nursery, PP, and womens medsurg in 2 week rotations, 12 hour nights. my 1st pregnancy was wonderful...no complications, but every pregnancy is different. i signed a year contract to get a signing bonus as long as i stay full time. also, i did it withno benefits b/c my husband is military and im on his insurance....it was $2 more/hr. would i still be considered full timeif i have to take off for maternity leave?????

Jolie, BSN · Oct 5, 2005

I think the issue of your signing bonus is one you'll have to work out with Human Resources when you are ready to inform them of your pregnancy.

What a great job to start as you prepare for your own baby!

LincErin · Oct 5, 2005

if anyone had any info i would greatly appreciate it...thank you to all that reply

Schmoo1022 · Oct 5, 2005

Hi there,

I had a similiar question, but in my case I am looking for a new job, and I am 4 months pregnant!!

LincErin · Oct 5, 2005

Hi there,
I had a similiar question, but in my case I am looking for a new job, and I am 4 months pregnant!!

congrats to you! i wish you the best on your new little one!

CapeCoralNurse2be · Oct 5, 2005

It's up to you when you let them know of the baby. And congrats by the way, on both baby and job.

I started a job about a month before I got pregnant with my daughter 8 years ago.

I ran into a bit of a problem, I didn't know I was pregnant until I was almost 3 months and I let them know at that time.

As I got close to my due date, I started having some complications and I had to stop working 2 weeks before my due date. I wanted to take 8 weeks off since I would be having a c-section and my boss flipped out. She said if you take off more than 6 weeks I will not gaurentee your job when you are ready to come back. I did't qualify for FMLA because I had been there less than a year. So I had my 2 weeks off prior to the baby, and then they would have expected me to return to work when the baby was only 4 weeks old...of which the day care places wont even take a child that young. Well as luck would have it my husband took a new job about 2 weeks after the birth of my baby and I ended up quitting and staying home! In the end they were mad that I quit, as I was a really good employee, but they were trying to strong arm me so they wouldn't have to deal with temporarily replacing me for longer than they needed in the mean time. (by the way I found out a few months after this happened that my boss was demoted! hehe).

So it can be a bit tricky, hopefully you have nicer bosses than I did!

hope3456, ASN, RN · Oct 6, 2005

Hi all,

2 questions -

If you do take time under the FMLA act does your employer still pay your insurance? I am assuming probably not but was wondering if anyone had an experience with this.

And then this question off the subject - I am 3 mo pregnant w/ my first-not really showing yet but for when I do get bigger - I cant seem to find any maternity scrubs. Are most women still able to wear their regular scrubs throughout the pregnancy?

And then what about shoes? I usually wear birkenstock clogs, but i have heard of women "outgrowing" them - something about your feet get bigger due to the ligaments getting stretched out. I've been wanting to buy a pair of dansko's, but not if i am going to outgrow them!

Thanks!

Aneroo, LPN · Oct 6, 2005

You won't qualify for FMLA if you haven't been an employee for a year. I am in the same boat.

I did not tell my boss until after I started. I did not want to risk losing my dream job over that. However, my work has been awesome with working with me.

We're in such high demand! To not hire you over a temporary thing is foolish, IMO.

Hope- I am still wearing regular scrubs. We are allowed to wear t-shirts that have our dept logo on them, and many of the RN's that are further along wear those and scrub pants. That elastic waist comes in handy! Another thing someone mentioned on here a while back was vests. You can leave the bottom buttons open for belly room, and can wear a comfy t-shirt under it. I wouldn't buy new shoes until after baby is born.

Jolie, BSN · Oct 6, 2005

Hi all,
2 questions -
If you do take time under the FMLA act does your employer still pay your insurance? I am assuming probably not but was wondering if anyone had an experience with this.
Your employer should have a policy in Human Resources regarding the specifics of how they implement FMLA. Check it regarding insurance coverage. It is my understanding that if you qualify for FMLA, your employer continues to pay their portion of your premiums during your leave, and you continue to pay your portion.
There are other considerations regarding insurance. If you do not return to a benefits-eligible position at the end of your leave, your employer has the right to bill you for the insurance premiums they paid on your behalf during FMLA. So if you do not intend to return to work, it may be better to rely on your spouse's coverage during your leave than to have to repay premiums to your employer.
Check into all of this once you have made your pegnancy known to your employer.

kurtzmobile · Oct 6, 2005

hello,
i just excepted a job at a large hospital in our area. i am a recent graduate (lvn) and have been talking with this hospital since july. i am supposed to start training next week. i found out sunday that i am pregnant with our second child. i am excited because we have been trying for sometime now. we quite trying and BAM...pregnant. anyways, i have to have a complete physical for the hospital. do they usually do pregnancy tests? if so, can they not hire me because of it? i thought it would be descrimination, but then i got to thinking...what if they said that i cant meet job requirements of lifting????? any advice would be greatly appreciated......

Hello there,

Just thought I would offer my input. First of all congrats on your new pregnancy. Thought I would offer my personal experience regarding this topic. I worked @ a regional hospital for about a year and 1/2 prior to becoming pregnant and did not notify my supervisor until I was into the 2nd trimester. No problems, however, I don't think you will qualify for paid time off until you have been w/ your current employer for a year. During that time, I was approx. 5months along, I had applied for a VA hospital. After much preliminary work, they called me back {after my phone interview and letting them know I was preg.}, and informed me that I could not be hired as I couldn't meet the physical requirements. Part of the physical required a back Xray and well for obvious reasons, could not have that done. I was a little upset over the issue as I felt it was discrimination, however, did not pursue the issue.

I would definatelly check w/ your employer to see if you would qualify for FMLA and in most circumstances like this, employers are pretty good about it. Just check it out and work out a plan on when you plan to return to work after the baby is born. That is what I found helpful. Heck, most large facilities are just so understaffed that they're happy to have you return, even if it's PRN.

The way I look @ it is....Your pregnant not sick. That was my motto everytime somebody said, "Oh your pregnant, I'll ask someone else."

If you do your job and work out a "after baby-return to work" plan everything should be fine.

Hope this helped,

Jen, RN/BSN