ER nurse

Re: ER nurse

• letpaymar member

  April 2022

  Hello! I totally feel you in this. Im 6w4days with my first, I’m a perfusionist and run the heart lung machine during open heart surgery. 

  
  

  Stick to your PPE and follow your gut, if you feel a situation isn’t safe say something to a manager. I awkwardly told my manager super early because I didn’t want to be involved in our hybrid procedures with fluoroscopy and radiation. But now I’m not doing those cases and I feel so much better. If you are around anesthetic gas make sure the scavenging system is up to par. 
  
  

  If you can reach out to someone who has already been through pregnancy in your department or one like it. They can give you so much good advice and be a source of calm and encouragement. 

  Easier said than done don’t work too hard!! xoxo

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• portentosa member

  April 2022

  You could get with your boss or HR rep and discuss possible hazards in your work place and adjustments that could be made for you while you're expecting. 
  
  I did something similar. At my research lab there's a process where I signed a paper becoming a 'declared pregnant worker' and now my dossimeter is checked monthly instead of every 6 months and I have a lower dose rate allowed. And various safety officers looked at my work and we made a couple adjustments... things like removing my exposure to some chemo drugs I was previously working with.
  
  I was really worried about all the various types of hazards I have at work and having someone(s) confirm what was safe and what was best avoided, and then making a plan to avoid those things, really helped ease my mind.
  

  

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• mamawhistledown member

  April 2022

  I'm a nurse and worked in the ER during my first 2 pregnancies. I notified my managers almost as soon as I found out to avoid issues with radiology procedures I would go on and working with patient with things like chicken pox. I was also pregnant with my second at the very start of the pandemic. I wore a mask every moment I was in the ER way before they recommended it. My manager gave me push back one day and I informed them that I was being cautious with the amount of PPE I used and that masking in every room was not negotiable. We found out several days later I unknowingly cared for the hospitals first COVID case that day, but guess who had their mask on 😷 
  Follow your gut, use your PPE, and don't let anyone make you feel silly.

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• sprout1234 member

  April 2022

  I second what everyone else has said. Trust your gut and tell your supervisor so you can make accommodations.
  
  also just want to say a big Thank you to all the nurses and other healthcare workers out there for all the wonderful work you do! Xx 

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