Health care workers and pregnancy

EQKarli88

Question for all you health care workers...
My husband and I are going to start TTC spring/summer. I work in health care and have been considering a job change. I will stay working as a nurse , just something different. The position I want is cardiac catheterization. Anyone in health care knows that means exposure to radiation. I obviously have concerns over this and being pregnant, not to mention being young and in my childbearing years. Do any of you work in areas like this and what does your facility do to protect you and your baby?

kgm92

I don't work on a unit that involves radiation, so I don't really have an answer for you. But I just wanted to say hi to a fellow nurse! I recently transferred from med-surg to a busy L&D unit, and I worry about the stress of the job hurting my chances of getting pregnant or causing PTL.  :-S  What about cath lab appeals to you? Are there other units that are similar in practice (like maybe OR?) but without radiation exposure? Best of luck!

EQKarli88

Hello fellow nurse! I wish something else appealed to me. It would make things easier. Right now I work on an ICU step down unit. Working nights just won't work for us with a baby. I might look into PACU as well. You get how it goes working bedside. If the radiation doesn't hurt me out my baby the stress of being a bedside nurse will. :-)

LCRNinCA

Hello fellow nurses!
We recently moved back to San Diego - and I got two job offers yesterday. One for day shift Cardiac PCU, and another for night shift Surgical ICU. The ICU is my goal as a nurse, but we are TTC within this next year - and I feel like the stress and mood swings I experienced while on night shift will negatively impact my ability to conceive and have a smooth pregnancy... I'm sure I'm overthinking it - but it was painful turning down that ICU offer.
Staff within the Cath Lab have their own radiation vests, but there is always a risk involved... However, I think it is a great department to get in to. Depending on the hospital, the hours and scheduling can be really favorable.

kaitlink33

Hello! I am not technically a nurse, but I do work in healthcare as a CNA and I do worry about the stress of my job and the fact that I do a lot of lifting and I know that can be a bad thing while you're pregnant. 

EQKarli88

I think being pregnant anywhere in health care is tough. If we aren't dealing with radiation exposure, we are being exposed to diseases and combative patients. I COULD take a pay cut and go to the clinic but I would go crazy with that. I need to be happy with my career too. It is a tough career to be in and try to have a family between hours we work and exposures.

kaitlink33

Yes!!! I worry about the combative patients all the time with ttc. I have been beat on so many times that I worry what will happen when I do get pregnant?!? Its hard enough ttc without potentially losing it because of some abusive patient. 

breadandbutterfly

Hello! I am a nurse in the UK and work in the cardiac catheterisation labs, it really is a great place to work!
We have had many of our staff fall pregnant and leave for maternity since I started work there (lots of jokes of there being something in the water!) I think nurses with families like the shifts that we work (evenings & weekends off). We have lots of safety protocols for radiation exposure, we wear radiation sensitive badges under our lead aprons whilst in the labs and also have numerous lead screens, etc.
The level of radiation staff receive is very safe and pregnant nurses are able to stay working in the labs (whilst the lead aprons still fit!!) In later pregnancy our nurses work all their shifts in our daycase unit (where patients are prepped pre-procedure and then recover post procedure before being discharged) as there is no radiation used there. (Usually all of our nurses work on a rotation between the labs and daycase).

Hope this helps!

EQKarli88

Very helpful, thank you. Currently there is only a part time position. I would like full time so I'm holding out until then to try. I just need to get away from the crazy hours I currently work and more of a day shift schedule.

And yes. Combative/aggressive patients scare me during pregnancy. They don't bother me now, I accept a great challenge. I have geodon and gaurds, they don't :-). I have no issues refusing care for a patient should I be assigned one while I'm pregnant.