Just found out I'm pregnant

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rookieemt17

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Hello Everyone,
I just recently passed my NREMT AND also found out I'm pregnant (only 5 weeks).
So I need some advice. Should I start looking for work right away, or wait till after the baby is born?
If I do wait it will be almost a year before I can apply and I don't want that big of a gap from when I finished school to when i'm applying for work. Won't the gap look bad?
IF you do suggest I wait, what should i do in the mean time? any suggestions would be helpful. Thank you so much.
 
rookieemt17 said:
Hello Everyone,
I just recently passed my NREMT AND also found out I'm pregnant (only 5 weeks).
So I need some advice. Should I start looking for work right away, or wait till after the baby is born?
If I do wait it will be almost a year before I can apply and I don't want that big of a gap from when I finished school to when i'm applying for work. Won't the gap look bad?
IF you do suggest I wait, what should i do in the mean time? any suggestions would be helpful. Thank you so much.
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I'm assuming that you'll start out in private EMS like most of us have. Understand that if it's likely that if you can convince some place to hire you when you're already pregnant, you could be stuck in the field lifting patients until you're 7-8 months pregnant. I've seen this happen on multiple occasions. Light duty positions are few and far between in EMS, and I wouldn't expect a private company to be very accommodating to a new employee that needs light duty with less than six months on the job. That position may go to someone who's been there a few years, and has an injury, for example. You're not going to want to move around much, let alone lift heavy loads numerous time a day when you're seven months along. Resources in private EMS are typically scarce, so it's unreasonable to expect anything more than an occasional lift assist, and even then only if the patient is heavy.

I would suggest getting your EMD cert, so that you could move to dispatch when working in transport gets too difficult or risky. Otherwise, just wait. A potential employer should respect you more for waiting until you've had your child, rather than waste their time by working for a few months while pregnant, and then looking to get off of the road but still work for them in some limited capacity. You could work in dispatch up until your due date if you wanted to. I would go with that.
 
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You aren't FLSA eligible until you've been 12 months on the job, so they are not obligated to hold your position or give you light duty or anything.


When I was making this decision I made the rule for myself that I wouldn't work after I didn't fit in my regular pants any more. That rapidly expanding belly jacks up your center of gravity and all the relaxin flowing through my body loosened up my pelvis way too soon and increased the risk for injury.

I would find a different job, and come back to it after the baby, but that's just me. Lots of women proudly work the whole way through.
 
Your only real chance of working professionally would be to find a medium to large company that would be willing to hire you on PRN, and give you "leave" when the time comes (basically, extend the length of time between shifts you work before they consider you to no longer work for the company.)

Alternatively, there's finding a volly department to run with (I have no idea where you are, so I don't know how likely this is, it'll get you some time in, and they shouldn't have a problem with you taking time off.
 
UnkiEMT said:
Alternatively, there's finding a volly department to run with (I have no idea where you are, so I don't know how likely this is, it'll get you some time in, and they shouldn't have a problem with you taking time off.
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This is probably your best bet honestly. EMS agencies have such a large hiring pool, making accommodations for inexperienced new hires right off the bat would be really pushing the envelope. Volunteering also looks really good on a resume when it is in a related field when it is actually time to apply for a job.

Also, you may very well not even be interviewed for a couple months depending on the amount and size of EMS agencies in your location. By then you'd have MAYBE a few months to train and actually start work? That is tough, but still a blessing, I wish you luck and the best of wishes with your pregnancy and future employment opportunities.
 
It is a tough decision and only one you can make. I'd be worried about being fresh out and having an unemployment gap as well. If you decide to apply and get hired now, then at least you can gain few months of experience.

You do not have to disclose that you are pregnant during the interview.

Much luck to you
 
Consider working the wheelchair van division in the meantime. The patients are loaded into the vans via a hydrolic(?) lift. I'm not sure how much lifting they actually do since they work without partners.
 
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