Pregnancy working ECC nights at vets now

RE: Pregnancy working ECC nights at vets now

Silvia Maldonado — Sun, 07 Jul 2019 13:14:22 GMT

[quote user="Clive Ansell"]

[quote user="Kate Richardson"]Probably because it's a highly sensitive and emotional issue that some people like to keep private [/quote]

Sorry, I meant the above post with the link, not the OP

[/quote]

For the same reason, sensitive and emotional. S/he prefers to stay anonymous, feeling ashamed or guilty for failing to raise a family, giving his/her profession priority and regretting it now.

RE: Pregnancy working ECC nights at vets now

Anthony Dennison — Fri, 05 Jul 2019 10:27:32 GMT

[quote user="An On MRCVS"]

Worth reading this controversial opinion. I wished I had read it before it was too late for me.

https://vetgirlontherun.com/why-you-should-stop-your-veterinary-career-and-have-kids-now-vetgirl-veterinary-continuing-education-blog/

[/quote]

This is in America though and the pathway she took was higher stress and higher workload working in a university referral setting. Then there was the pressure of feeling they had to have a kid - no matter how much mindfulness and relaxation techniques you try, if you're doing them to relax enough to have a child it's still pressure.

I'm not surprised they found out they were pregnant after they stopped actively trying - much lower stress levels!

RE: Pregnancy working ECC nights at vets now

Joyce Whitehead — Thu, 04 Jul 2019 18:49:32 GMT

I think the link quoted above is a bit of a side issue. As the vet there didn’t meet and marry her “man of her dreams” until she was nearly 40. We all know sadly that fertility diminishes with age for women. Her infertility was to do with her age not her job. Although I’m sure having a busy career maybe makes it harder to find the right one to have a family with.

Good luck opening anon, hope the treatment goes well for you. I had two pregnancies whilst working as a vet, and coped ok with help, although the tiredness gets to you even with day working so you may need to alter your rota as a night vet.

RE: Pregnancy working ECC nights at vets now

Clive Ansell — Thu, 04 Jul 2019 13:57:59 GMT

[quote user="Kate Richardson"]Probably because it's a highly sensitive and emotional issue that some people like to keep private [/quote]

Sorry, I meant the above post with the link, not the OP

RE: Pregnancy working ECC nights at vets now

Nicola Cole — Thu, 04 Jul 2019 13:31:58 GMT

[quote user="An On MRCVS"]

Worth reading this controversial opinion. I wished I had read it before it was too late for me.

https://vetgirlontherun.com/why-you-should-stop-your-veterinary-career-and-have-kids-now-vetgirl-veterinary-continuing-education-blog/

[/quote]

Interesting article-but I’m not sure where the author has got her stats from about the average length of time taken to get pregnant. She says it’s 18months but that is far longer than any stats I’ve ever seen quoted.

RE: Pregnancy working ECC nights at vets now

Kate Richardson — Thu, 04 Jul 2019 13:13:24 GMT

[quote user="Clive Ansell"]

Why the anonymous post?

[/quote]

Probably because it's a highly sensitive and emotional issue that some people like to keep private

RE: Pregnancy working ECC nights at vets now

Clive Ansell — Thu, 04 Jul 2019 12:10:11 GMT

In theory at least, most of the time with a few exceptions pregnancy should not be an issue at all in the workplace.

If health and safety regulations are being adhered too we should all, pregnant or not, be adequately protected from the likes of anaesthetic gas exposure, x-ray radiation, drugs and from lifting, or from any perceived or avoidable risk. The workplace shouldn't be better or safer because a staff member is pregnant, it should be as safe as possible all of the time. The handling and injecting of some hormone based drugs maybe a sensible exception.

I once had a pregnant colleague who pricked herself with an insulin syringe that contained Domitor, Torbgesic and Ketamine for a cat GA. The syringe was not discharged, and the volumes drawn up were checked to still be in the syringe. Consultant anaesthetist at A&E was not worried at all, and said even if the whole amount had been injected it would be unlikely to cause any harm to her baby at all.

RE: Pregnancy working ECC nights at vets now

Clive Ansell — Thu, 04 Jul 2019 11:24:05 GMT

Why the anonymous post?

RE: Pregnancy working ECC nights at vets now

An On MRCVS — Thu, 04 Jul 2019 10:30:18 GMT

Worth reading this controversial opinion. I wished I had read it before it was too late for me.

https://vetgirlontherun.com/why-you-should-stop-your-veterinary-career-and-have-kids-now-vetgirl-veterinary-continuing-education-blog/

RE: Pregnancy working ECC nights at vets now

vs0u — Tue, 02 Jul 2019 21:32:07 GMT

Not vets now but another corporate.. It was very much up to me to say what I was and wasn't willing to do and they were happy to support me. So make your list in advance of the meeting.

I was happy to do xrays safely, was fine with reasonable lifting in the first few months (it became impossible after about 32 weeks). They no longer advise against lifting in pregnancy but it is awkward when your own body weight becomes hard to lift! At the end needed others to do the lifting for me. A few injectables such as hormones but that only arose once. Corticosteroids ok - just made sure dog restrained properly.

Iso is a tricky one as despite best efforts there will be some exposure. I think the risk is small but definitely present. Difficult to avoid ever masking an animal.

The worst issue may well be exhaustion. This can hit in early and late pregnancy and can make you feel awful - much worse than non pregnant tiredness. (plus morning sickness). Could you maybe do more back shifts /weekend days to allow sleeping at night?

RE: Pregnancy working ECC nights at vets now

Jill Butterworth — Tue, 02 Jul 2019 13:30:57 GMT

I ran a sole charge practice with a veterinary nurse who was pregnant (I knew she wanted children and so I did a lot of prior research.) I bought a brilliant stainless steel operating table on wheels by Technik, that was electrically operated and went really low to the ground (many don't). In combination with a nylon sliding stretcher, without poles, we used it around the practice as a trolley for collapsed or heavy dogs: from going out to the car park to move dogs from the back of cars, the waiting room or kennels, from prep room to theatre, back to kennels, and even out to the freezer. Clients were always impressed and were happy to walk along side to ensure their animal didn't fall off if it was conscious. The practice was wheelchair accessible, and this helped.

Do you have a receptionist as well as a nurse? I think you probably need two support staff.

RE: Pregnancy working ECC nights at vets now

holly1234 — Tue, 02 Jul 2019 13:19:02 GMT

Not been pregnant whilst working at vets now but I have worked for them and worked in day practice whilst being pregnant. You'll be asked by your line manager what you perceive as a risk so it’s worth thinking carefully about what might be a problem and discussing it with a midwife as well. The main issues that I think will be hard to get around are the long shifts- exhausting for anyone but even worse when pregnant and lifting large dogs- getting a 70kg GDV on the table with just one nurse when heavily pregnant sounds pretty difficult. All the other things you mentioned are easily managed. I expect Gillian is right and they will have dealt with these things many times before with other staff.

RE: Pregnancy working ECC nights at vets now

Nicola Cole — Tue, 02 Jul 2019 13:15:58 GMT

As Gillian has said, I think it’s highly likely that a large company such as VetsNow has had experience of pregnant vets working sole charge before so should have protocols in place.

The lifting side of things is no different really to having a vet/nurse with a bad back working for them-they shouldn’t be lifting heavy weights either. What is the policy on that?

Good luck!

RE: Pregnancy working ECC nights at vets now

Gillian Mostyn — Tue, 02 Jul 2019 11:27:21 GMT

I don't think there is going to be a lot of advice as every situation is very different and specific. Your own working environment and workload will dictate what you can do and what may need changing. I do expect, however, that vets now will have experience of managing risk in pregnant sole charge situations. If I were you I would try not to worry, and as soon as pregnancy is confirmed just ask your line manager and HR to a meeting to discuss your concerns. They have a duty of care to look after you, and, for the sake of 6 months, I'm sure they will. The law does safeguard you.

https://www.gov.uk/working-when-pregnant-your-rights

As for things like iso etc, id id amazed if Vets Now don't already have protocols in place for use during pregnancy.